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Potato Battery Experiment: Powering a Light Bulb With a Potato

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Did you know you could power a light bulb with a potato? The chemical reactions that take place between two dissimilar metals and the juices in the potato create a small amount of voltage that can power a very small electrical device [source: MadSci].

Follow the instructions below to make a potato battery .

How to Make a Potato Battery

The science behind potato battery experiments, using potato batteries to power other devices.

• One potato (ideally large)
• Two pennies
• Two galvanized nails (zinc-plated nails)
• Three pieces of copper wire
• A very small light bulb or LED light

What You Need to Do:

• Cut the potato in half, then cut a small slit into each half, large enough to slide a penny inside.
• Wrap some copper wire around each penny a few times. Use a different piece of wire for each penny.
• Stick the pennies in the slits you cut into the potato halves.
• Wrap some of the third copper wire around one of the zinc-plated nails and stick the nail into one of the potato halves.
• Take the wire connected to the penny in the half of potato with the nail and wrap some of it around the second nail. Stick that second nail into the other potato half.
• When you connect the two loose ends of the copper wires to the light bulb or LED, it will complete the electrical circuit and light up.

Be careful when handling the wires, because there is a small electric charge running through the wires. Hydrogen gas may also be a byproduct of the chemical reactions in the potato, so don't perform the experiment near open flames or strong sources of heat [source: MadSci].

Batteries store energy for later use, but where does the energy come from? All batteries rely on a chemical reaction between two metals.

In a potato battery, the reaction — between the zinc electrodes in the galvanized nails, the copper in the penny, and the acids in the potato — produces chemical energy.

The potato doesn't produce electricity, but it does allow the electron current to flow from the copper end to the zinc end of the battery.

You can try using multiple potatoes to power other battery-equipped devices, like a clock.

In the battery compartment, connect the potato with a copper coin inside to the positive terminal (marked with a "+") and a potato with a galvanized nail inside to the negative terminal (marked with a "-"). Learn more about how to make a potato clock.

With any potato battery experiment, if your battery doesn't power your device on the first try, you can try increasing the number of potatoes. You can also use other fruits and vegetables to make batteries — lemon, which is highly acidic, is a popular choice.

"Food Batteries." MadSci Network. Mar. 14, 1998. (Sep. 20, 2023). https://www.madsci.org/experiments/archive/889917606.Ch.html

Potato Battery FAQ

How does a potato battery work, can a potato light up a light bulb, why does my potato battery not work, how many amps of energy can a potato battery produce, does using a boiled potato result in more power.

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How to make a potato battery

July 4, 2021 By Emma Vanstone Leave a Comment

Did you know you can use a potato (or two) to create enough power to light an LED? We did try a small light bulb as well, but our potato battery only had enough power to light an LED.

You might have seen our lemon battery activity which is very similar to this one! I’m going to show you how to make a potato battery in just a few easy steps.

You’ll need:

2-3 Potatoes

Copper and silver coins (or a galvanised nail) Copper and zinc strips also work well.

3 wires with crocodile clips attached

Voltmeter  ( optional )

Potato Battery Instructions

Carefully make two slits in each potato with a knife ( ask an adult to help ).

Place a copper coin and either a silver coin or a galvanised nail into each potato.

Attach the potatoes to each other using wires and crocodile clips. The copper of one potato should attach to the zinc of another potato to work.

If you have an LED, 2 potatoes should be enough to light it. You can also use a voltmeter/multimeter to measure the voltage passing through.

How does it work?

How does a potato battery work? Find a full explanation over on my lemon battery post!

More electricity projects for kids

Find out how to make your own torch using a simple circuit and a cardboard tube.

This drawing robot is great fun to make as well!

Or try one of my other easy electricity projects !

Last Updated on March 18, 2022 by Emma Vanstone

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Science Sparks ( Wild Sparks Enterprises Ltd ) are not liable for the actions of activity of any person who uses the information in this resource or in any of the suggested further resources. Science Sparks assume no liability with regard to injuries or damage to property that may occur as a result of using the information and carrying out the practical activities contained in this resource or in any of the suggested further resources.

These activities are designed to be carried out by children working with a parent, guardian or other appropriate adult. The adult involved is fully responsible for ensuring that the activities are carried out safely.

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DIY Potato Battery: Potato Light bulb Science Fair Project

• October 20, 2021
• 7-9 Year Olds , Physics , Science Fair Ideas

A potato battery is an interesting way to introduce kids to basic electricity. They are cheap, easy-to-make, safe experiments that will teach them about simple circuits. This experiment is an easy way to teach kids about basic electricity.

Purpose: The purpose of the experiment is to show how you can use potatoes as a power source.

Check out our Lemon Battery Experiment

Materials Needed

Get these handy before starting.

• 2 large potatoes 
• 2 zinc nails 
• 2-3 pieces of copper wire 
• 1 light bulb or LED light 
• Tube of Glue

Alternatively, you can also use ready to use kits :

Building a Potato Battery – Procedure

• Place the large potatoes on your experiment desk/table. The reason why we chose this vegetable specific is that Potatoes have an acid in them that reacts with metals like copper and zinc.

2. Push the two zinc nails in both potatoes. One each. 

3. After that, wrap one wire around either of the zinc nails. This is done because, during the chemical process, electrons start to flow from one electrode to the other.

They both have different charges, opposite to be precise since they are made of two different metals.

The potato does not have the ability to generate electricity on its own, it acts like a salt bridge connecting the positive and negative, the anode to the cathode. Thus, representing batteries. 

4. Try wrapping or connecting the other wire with the remaining nail. This will close the circuit and ensure current flows.

Although two potatoes can generate electricity, they may not be able to power a huge device. For that reason, you could add as many potatoes and wires as you’d prefer. That would increase the voltage automatically.

Nonetheless, the procedure will remain the same and the overall effect will be provisional. 

5. Connect both the copper wires to the bottom of the light bulb. Stabilize it on the desk so it sits upright. We’ll have one connection out of two established after this step is completed. 

The connected LED light bulb glows and when measured the voltage from the connecting wires. we found that when a new potato was used, the voltage was around 2 volts.

As we went on and used potatoes that were not as fresh, the voltage began to decline and eventually turned out to be almost zero volts.

How Does a Potato Battery Work

Have you really observed that certain batteries possess a positive copper side (represented by a plus [+] sign) as well as a negative copper end (represented by a minus [-] sign)? Zn is a material that enjoys sharing electrons with copper.

Normally, zinc just donates its electron to Cu metal and the reaction ends. You may create a loop with a continuous channel of energy by providing the electrons with a medium known as an electrolyte to aid them to migrate to the copper & a wire through which they can travel from the Cu back to the zinc.

A potato battery is a simple electrochemical cell that can be made from potatoes. This is an electrochemical cell that uses the rapid movement of negatively charged particles to transform chemical energy among two metallic electrodes.

The concentration of starch liquids in potato, coupled with the rods, enables the potato to work as a cell, according to the potato rechargeable batteries concept. Copper & zinc are indeed the metals utilised in this experiment, and they react with one another to generate chemical energy.

Copper atoms are more attractive to electrons than zinc atoms. Several electrons move from the Zn metal to the Cu when a piece of copper & a strip of zinc make contact. The electrons reject one another as they focus on the copper.

This movement of electrons stops whenever the force of repelling among electrons as well as the attraction of electrons on Cu are equalised.

Instead of generating electricity, the potatoes serve as just an electrolyte. As a result, by splitting zinc & copper, it compels electrons to pass via the potato, forming a closed loop.

A little portion of potato electrical energy is produced by only utilizing 2 potatoes. Its power output could be enhanced by increasing the count of potatoes.

Even though the 2 metals were not in contact without any of the potatoes, electrons might be transferred, but no energy would be generated because the loop will be incomplete.

Aside from carbohydrates, potatoes include a substantial quantity of elec­trolyte in the form of different soluble acids and salts.

The Zn wire inside the “bat­tery” acts as a negative electrode called (anode), while the copper cable acts as a positive electrode called a cathode.

An oxidation and reduction reaction occurs on the an­ode and on the cath­ode respectively. 

Chemical Equation for potato battery is :

Potato + Zinc ==> Zinc ion + Sodium ion

Potato Battery This reaction is a redox reaction, which means that the chemical reaction involves a change in oxidation state. In this case, zinc is reduced and sodium is oxidized.

The potato battery works by using zinc ions to reduce the sodium ions. These zinc ions then go on to oxidize the potato molecules and create electricity.

This chemical reaction occurs because of a change in oxidation state, which is why it’s called an electrochemical battery.

Potato Battery Kits

Now that we’ve got the scientific bit out of it, let’s move on to Potato Battery Kits you can find on Amazon. That way, you’ll be able to conduct the experiment at your convenience and ease, while remaining stress-free. Find the list below: 

STEM Toys: Chemistry Engineering Lab

STEM toys will ensure your child gets to experience only the best! 

It primarily fixates on the Potato Battery Charged Digital Clock, so you get to experiment on something other than an LED light. In addition to that, it’s child-friendly and makes the whole journey easy and fun for young enthusiasts by specifying each part of the process in a simple way. STEM also teaches its audience about the ‘transformative power of green science’ through their kit. 

The Salt Water and Potato Battery Kit

Well, the exploration begins with this kit! it offers you several attributes you must always look out for in a kit. Firstly, it’s got 4 different types of output materials. While at home you’d be experimenting with an LED or tube light, this kit gives you the option to explore your ‘current’ with completely different sources. Trust us, it’s worth the money you’ll be spending. 

Secondly, it is inclusive of extras. With 6 times the regular amount, the Salt Water and Potato Battery Kit gives you the same material with a higher quantity. Thus, you could conduct the same experiment six different times which is twice the number of times other kits would lend themselves to. 

Thirdly, it lets you experiment with different inputs. Typically, we’d use a potato at home to conduct this scientific exploration, but this kit offers you other types of acids like lemon, vinegar, sodium etc. You’ll be exposed to so many more kinds of results and can compare them after you’re done playing around! 

Lastly, the kit has a 10-page booklet that has instructions and other guidelines written down for you. That means you don’t have to go over the internet to understand what you’re supposed to do. It’s already there. But hey, don’t forget to read our post! 

Get yours as quickly as possible! 

We are in love with these kits. They have something for everyone! We hope you all had a great time learning about the experiment and wish you all the best in your own science experiments!

What to do in case the experiment fails? 

There are times you might not be successful in generating electricity. This could be due to the following reasons: 

• Loose Nails : You need to ensure that nails are properly inserted into the potato.
• Loose Wires : Make sure to wrap your wires around the nails tightly. At times, they start to de-coil. This will hamper the experiment as there will be no flow of current. 
• Type of metal : You must understand that potatoes react with specific metals only. Another property to keep in mind is that the metals need to oppose each other.
• Condition of potato: Your chosen potatoes must exist in their natural conditions. You have to do nothing to them. Bare potatoes will work most efficiently. 

Safety Measures you must take

• All experiments require adult supervision.  
• Please don’t conduct the experiment if you are not familiar with the process. This is a very easy and fun science experiment for kids of all ages, but can be dangerous if performed incorrectly.
• Do not touch the battery terminals while performing this experiment.
• If you are not sure of something, please ask an adult before proceeding with the experiment.

Besides these important aspects of the experiment, there are common questions that tend to arise. Let’s try looking at a few: 

• How much electricity can a potato generate? 

While this is one of the most frequently asked questions, the answer still remains subjective. There are several factors that are at play during the experiment. Reducing or increasing the effect of one on the other will tamper with the final results.  Generally, one potato produces around 0.5 volts of energy. However, a boiled one can produce 5.

• How many potatoes does it take to charge your phone? 

If you’re stranded on an island with no battery on your phone, but a potato in your backpack, chances are you could be saved.  It’s simple math. 1 potato generates 0.5 volts and 0.2 milliamps. Your phone charger output requires 5 volts and 2 milliamps to begin charging your phone. Thus, 10 potatoes would work perfectly. However, if you’re at home and have the patience to boil a potato, you’d only need 1-2. 

• How long can a potato power a light bulb? 

Even a single potato could do wonders for you. The only things you must keep in mind is the acid in the potato and the condition of the nails and wires. They shouldn’t corrode. If that’s sorted, then your battery could last for several hours. Some people even run it for days. That’s because they have good quality, stable equipment at their disposal. 

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Home » Articles » STEM » STEM Engineering » How to Make a Potato Battery

How to Make a Potato Battery

How do we produce electricity what is the battery let’s try to answer these questions by making our own potato battery which we can use to power up a lamp or a clock., article contents.

What is the Battery and how does it work?

The simple answer is that the battery is the storage for energy which is then used to produce electricity. The more complex answer is that the electrical energy can’t actually be stored . The battery, when connected to the electrical current, starts to produce electrical energy. There are different types of batteries, but they all function on similar chemical principles.

Batteries have three parts:

• Anode (negatively charged, usually marked with -). The most commonly used anode is Zinc . Zinc is a metal that has a lot of electrons and likes to give its electrons. 
• The cathode (positively charged, usually marked with +). The most commonly used cathode is copper since it lacks electrons and likes to receive them.
• Electrolyte (liquid or a paste between them). Without the electrolyte, the electrons would just simply pass from the anode to cathode and that would be it. But electrolyte helps the electrons to flow back to the anode and to create an electrical circuit.

There is surplus of electrons in the anode and a shortage of electrons in the cathode. Since electrons want to be in balance, they want to go from the anode to the cathode. However, they can’t pass because electrolyte prevents them. When anode and cathode are connected in an electrical circuit with the wire, an electrical current is produced. Now electrons can flow from anode to cathode with the help of the wire. The chemical processes in electrolyte take extra electrons from cathode so it constantly stays with the shortage of electrons and the circuit can continue.

The electrical circuit means that the electrical energy or charge (we call that voltage ) is produced somewhere and that it has a path to flow (we call that electrical current ). Another part of the electrical circuit that we must not forget is resistance . Resistance slows down or stops the electrical current and can be changed into heat, light, sound, or some other type of energy . The light bulb is a good example of resistance where it creates light when added to the electrical circuit.

One interesting thing worth noting is that conventional current flows from positive to negative, opposite of an actual electron flow. The reason for this is historical – in time when this was decided, we didn’t know much about electrons and it stayed because of all the formulas that rely on it.

How does Potato Battery work?

Potato batteries work in a similar way. It consists of all 3 parts:

• Zinc nail is an anode (has a surplus of electrons), 
• Copper nail is a cathode (wants some electrons) and 
• Potato or other fruit is an electrolyte.

When we put a zinc nail in the potato, a chemical reaction occurs and it produces a surplus of electrons. Copper, which now has fewer electrons, attracts them. When we connect those nails with the wire, we create an electrical circuit in which electrons are flowing and producing enough electricity to light up a lamp or a clock. Potato energy!

We already mentioned that all batteries have a positive and negative electrode or terminal. And to create an electrical circuit, we need a conductor that will allow electrons to flow through them. Materials, like copper and iron , are good conductors of electricity. Through the conductor, the electricity will go from the negative electrode of the battery to the positive electrode. The force at which electrons are moving is measured in volts or voltage .

So how can potatoes serve as an electrolyte? Potatoes are rich in phosphoric acid , sodium ions , potassium ions , chloride ions , and all kinds of dissolved salts . That makes it a perfect electrolyte.

If we stick Zinc and Copper nails into the potato, it will act as a buffer between those two metals, preventing the flow of electrons. If we connect two nails with the wire (conductor), the electrons will begin to move. When electrons pass from Zinc to Copper, the potato starts to react and releases electrons from copper ensuring the equilibrium is not reached. That creates a constant flow of electrons from zinc to copper. As long there are enough chemicals inside of the potato to serve as an electrolyte.

One potato can produce around 0.5 Volt of electrical energy. That means we need around 3 potatoes to power up a LED lamp of 1.5 Volts . But if we cut the potato in half, each half will generate the 0.5 Volts so we can use only one and a half of the potato to create the potato battery.

Potato is not the best electrolyte among fruits and vegetables. For example, lemons work even better than potatoes! But since potatoes are more common, cheap, and resistant, they are the best choice for organic production of electricity.

Materials needed to make a Potato Battery

• LED Lamp. If you can get your hands on the 1.5V LED lamp, that would be best. But they are rarer. The easiest one to get is from the lighter that you can buy in any convenience store or from Christmas tree decorative lamps. That one requires 3.5V but that is still good enough to create our potato battery.
• 3 to 5 Potatoes . This can vary and mostly depends on the Voltage of the lamp you will be using. We used a 3.5V lamp since it is easiest to get. Also, it can depend on the potato freshness where more fresh potatoes can produce more Voltage. But the general rule of thumb is that we need one potato per 0.5V. But don’t forget we can slice potatoes in halves and each half can produce 0.5V, so we can say that each potato (sliced in half) can produce 1V. If you plan to use slices, we can plan: 1 potato needed per 1 Volt required for our lamp.
• Copper Nails . Copper coins can work well here too, but copper nails are more convenient to work with. We can get them from any hardware store. We will need 6-12 copper nails for our battery. We need the same amount of nails as potatoes (slices).
• Zinc Nails (galvanized nails) . Same as copper nails. We will need 6-12 of them and we can buy them in any hardware store.
• Copper Wire . We can also get a copper wire in the hardware store and one meter of it will be more than enough. The thinner wire you can get the better since it will be easier to wrap it around our electrodes (copper and zinc nails).
• Knife. Regular kitchen knife, used to cut our potatoes on halves.
• Pliers. Used to cut and wrap our wire around nails.

How to make a Potato Battery?

There is a video of step by step guide on how to connect potatoes and power the lamp. So we suggest you watch the video, or if you prefer reading, continue with the instructions below.

• Cut the potatoes in halves . If you decide to work with halves, use the kitchen knife to cut each potato into halves. Wash the potato first so the dirt doesn’t interfere with our electrolyte reaction. Remember, each half produces around 0.5V so you can plan how much halves you need to power the lamp. For a 3.5V lamp , we will need 7 halves of potato. You can connect 4 slices and then gradually add more until the lamp lightens up.
• Cut the copper wire using the pliers. To start, cut 8 pieces of copper wire with a length of around 20 cm . If the wire is thicker and harder to fold, use pliers to wrap it around nails . Fold one end of the wire around the copper nail and the other end around the zinc nail.  
• Stick your first copper nail into the first slice of the potato . Stick the zinc nail , that is connected with the wire to the first copper nail, into the second slice of the potato .
• Now stick the second copper nail into the second slice of potato (same slice where we already have the first zinc nail). Stick the second zinc nail (that is connected with the wire to the second copper nail) into the third potato slice .

• Repeat the process until all potato slices are connected. Since we have Zinc and Copper nail in each potato slice, it is important that they don’t touch each other . Best to stick them each on different edges of the potato so there is space between them.
• When we connect all potato slices this way, you will notice we have only copper nail in our first slice and zinc nail in the last slice of the potato. Now wrap copper wire around one zinc nail and stick the nail into the first potato slice . Leave the other end of the wire loose. Wrap the wire around one copper nail and stick it into the last potato slice . Leave the other end of the wire loose.
• Connect the loose wire ends on the lamp . We must connect it in the proper way, + to + and – to – for the lamp to light up. If you can’t tell which lamp wire is positive and which is negative, just swamp connected wires. And if it still doesn’t light up, add more slices of potato until the lamp lights up.
• And there you have it. Your homemade, natural, and renewable source of electric energy!

What will you develop and learn by making the Potato Battery?

• Knowledge about electricity and electrical circuits
• The functioning of a battery
• How to make our own battery
• Engineering skills
• Chemistry and chemical reactions

We hope you enjoyed this activity. If you are interested in more fun Engineering activities, check out How to make a homemade projector . And for more great kitchen experiments, check out how to crush a can using water and how to shrink a bag using microwaves .

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How to Make a Potato Battery in 8 Simple Steps

Potato battery experiments are an easy way to help kids understand how electricity works! Try the traditional and some of these fun variations too.

Erin is a seasoned writer and has contributed to both scholastic spaces and non-scholastic publications including Live Strong, Reid Hospital, and the Universe of Madison's Department of Medicine.

Learn about our Editorial Policy .

Think chemical energy is dull? Think again! Potato batteries are shockingly fun to make and this project is easy to do at home! The project is perfect for ages five and up, but younger children will need adult supervision and help working with the nails and wires.

If you want to learn how to make a potato battery, we show you how to conduct this experiment!

Potato Battery Instructions

A potato battery is a great activity to illustrate the transfer of energy, from chemical to electrical energy. It takes about 15 to 20 minutes to complete from start to finish.

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• Two potatoes
• Two copper wires
• Two pennies
• Two galvanized nails
• Multimeter with one black wire probe and one red wire probe

For a nail to be galvanized, it needs to have a zinc coating. This is designed to prevent rust and corrosion. Make sure to look for the word "galvanized" when shopping for this material, otherwise the experiment won't work.

• Cut out a penny-sized hole inside of a raw potato.
• Strip one end of a copper wire (make sure to remove a few inches of plastic).
• Tie a copper wire around a penny, making sure the stripped end is touching the copper. You should wrap the wire around the penny a few times.
• Place the penny and copper wire unit into the hole of your potato.
• Pierce the potato with a galvanized nail on the opposite side of the potato as the penny.
• Follow steps one through five with a second potato, penny, copper wire, and galvanized nail.
• Place the two potatoes side by side.
• Wrap the copper wire from one potato around the galvanized nail of the other potato.

Does Your Battery Work?

So now you've made your potato battery, but what should you do with it? There are a variety of things you can do to see if your battery works and how it might be used.

• Use a multimeter . A multimeter measures voltage. All you need to do is touch the multimeter's probes to the nail and penny.
• Use your potato to power something. You can use LED lights, a light bulb, a simple clock, or anything else small that requires a battery. This is easiest to do if you use alligator clips to help connect your battery to the battery terminal of a small device. Keep in mind a potato battery isn't strong enough to power anything large.

More potatoes equal more power! If you want to power something larger, repeat the steps above to create a longer circuit and give your object some more juice!

Potato Battery Experiment Variations

There are a few variations you can try with this science experiment . All of them are appropriate for any age. However, small children will require adult supervision and guidance.

• Try boiling or cooking the potato first to see if this increases the output or voltage.
• Try the experiment with a lemon, an orange, or a pickle.
• Soak your potato in salt water before setting up this experiment. See how much extra voltage it gains from this salty soak!
• Determine how much energy comes from each potato battery. Add additional potatoes (with pennies and galvanized nails in them) one by one and measure your increase your voltage. This is easily done by attaching the potatoes to each other with copper wires (see video) and measuring the increases in voltage with your multimeter.
• Determine if a cleaner penny can conduct more electricity than a dirty one. This is a great way to introduce more science concepts to your kids.

Why Your Potato Battery Works

The reason potato batteries work is because chemical reactions are taking place between the zinc in the nail, the copper in the penny, and the acids in the potato. Essentially, this experiment changes chemical energy into electric energy.

Teach Engineering notes that potatoes create an electrolyte solution. This means that zinc's electrons have a way to move to the copper. Then, the attached wire allows the electrons to move from the copper back to the zinc. This creates a complete circuit allowing for a "flowing path of electrical energy." 

• Now Try Popcorn Experiments!

Learning About Electricity Can Be Fun 

The potato battery experiment provides an excellent way for kids (and adults) to learn more about science. Now that you've made a potato battery, you know more about how a circuit and electricity works!

Science Project Ideas

Potato Clock or Potato Battery

The potato clock science project teaches students the principle behind the working of a battery. The experiment is an ideal one to be performed at science fairs to invoke curiosity in kids on the science behind current and electricity. It is good to have some background information on the traveling of current from the positive to the negative terminal of a battery and that of electrons in the opposite direction before embarking on the investigation. Then, in case the potato battery clock does not work, they know how to troubleshoot.

How to Make a Potato Battery

On making the connections as explained below, 2 potatoes power a LED clock that has its actual battery removed.

• 2 galvanized nails
• 2 small pieces of heavy copper wire
• 3 alligator clips
• A low voltage LED clock that uses a 1-2 volt button type battery

Instructions

• Remove the battery from the clock making a note of which end (positive or negative) of the battery went to which terminal point in the battery compartment of the clock.
• Number the potatoes as 1 and 2 with the marker.
• Insert a nail in each potato.
• Insert a copper wire into each potato a far away from the nail as possible.
• Use an alligator clip to connect the copper wire in potato 1 to the positive terminal in the battery compartment of the clock.
• Connect the nail in potato 2 to the negative terminal in the battery section of the clock using the alligator clip.
• Connect the nail in potato 1 to the copper wire in potato 2 with the 3 rd alligator clip and watch the clock turn on.

Note that the battery lasts for only a short span of time. Drawing the circuit diagram prior to conducting the experiment minimizes the chances of errors.

Potato Powered Clock Video

Here is a video to help you carry out the building procedure.

How Does a Potato Clock Work

Being an electrochemical cell, a potato battery transforms chemical energy into electrical energy. A transfer of electrons takes place between the zinc coating of the galvanized nails and the copper wire inserted in the potatoes with the help of the alligator clips that complete the circuit resulting in a chemical reaction. Here the potato provides a favorable medium for the transfer of the electrons. That charges the clock.

• Research has shown an easily available and a green source of energy, potato clocks, could power cell phones and other small electronic appliances in remote, underdeveloped places having no access to a power grid.
• Boiling the potatoes further increases their electrical conductivity.

You Can Try

• Test if it can power a digital alarm clock, light bulb and flashlight. You might have to play around with the number of potato pairs connected in series to achieve the objective.
• Substitute the copper wires with copper pennies. Does it work?
• Can you measure the voltage supplied by the potato battery? Consider using a voltmeter or a multimeter for this.

A lemon battery utilizes a similar theory. Hence, after doing the activity with potatoes, you can repeat with lemons, bananas and apples and check the voltage and/or brightness supplied by them. A data chart for the observations and a graph with the voltage as the dependent variable and the fruits and vegetable as the independent one could make the comparative study easier. You may also prepare a display board to demonstrate the DIY tutorial in the lab.

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How to Create a Potato Battery

Last Updated: August 25, 2024 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Jessie Antonellis-John . Jessie Antonellis-John is a Math and Science Instructor who teaches at Southwestern Oregon Community College. With over 10 years of experience, she specializes in curriculum development. Jessie earned her PhD in Teaching & Teacher Education from the University of Arizona, her Master of Education from Western Governors University, and her BS in Astrophysics from Mount Holyoke College. She’s also co-authored several peer-reviewed journal articles in professional publications. There are 9 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 545,656 times.

Did you ever think that you could use a vegetable as a battery? Batteries produce electricity by passing electrons back and forth between two metal plates What if you didn’t have a battery around, but had a potato? Well, potatoes contain phosphoric acid which can serve as the chemical solution necessary to transfer electrons back and forth between the metal plates. [1] X Research source By adding some metal to a potato, you can make a battery using just a few household items! Let's get started!

Making a Potato Battery

• Galvanized nails are standard nails that have a zinc coating. [2] X Research source They can be purchased at any hardware or home improvement store.
• Use a fresh potato as the experiment depends upon the juices inside the potato. [3] X Trustworthy Source Science Buddies Expert-sourced database of science projects, explanations, and educational material Go to source
• Some juice will come out of the potato during this step, but that’s okay.
• Cover your work surface with plastic or newspaper to avoid getting potato juice everywhere.
• If the nails do end up touching, simply reposition them so they are no longer touching.
• The distance between the nails does not need to be exactly one inch, but you want them to be close together.
• Some voltmeters have black and yellow leads instead of black and red. In this case, use the yellow lead for this step.
• Make sure the alligator clip is securely attached to both the nail and the lead.
• If the voltage is very low, try moving the nails closer together. Again, make sure they are not touching within the potato.

Powering a Clock with Multiple Potato Batteries

• Galvanized nails are regular nails that have a zinc coating that is necessary for this experiment. They can be found at a standard hardware or home improvement store.
• Copper coins, if needed, can also be found at a standard hardware or home improvement store.
• It doesn’t matter what color your alligator clip leads are as long as they have clips on both ends.
• Use firm and fresh potatoes. The liquid in the potatoes is necessary for this experiment, so dried out potatoes will not work. [9] X Research source
• Remove the battery from the clock before you begin.
• Some potato juice may leak out while doing this, but it will not affect the experiment.
• To make cleanup easier at the end, cover your work surface with newspaper or a plastic bag.
• At this point, each potato should have one galvanized nail and one copper coin inserted about an inch apart from each other.
• The exact distance between the nails is not important, you just want them to be close together without touching.
• Finishing this step, the two potatoes should be attached to each other and the clock.
• Check to make sure that all of your clips are securely attached.

• Make sure the clip is securely attached to the nail and the battery box.
• This makes the first connection in the circuit for the battery.

• Again, make sure to clip the leads on securely.
• At this point, each potato should be connected to the clock, but not to each other. One wire should be attached to the copper coin on one potato and a second wire should be attached to the galvanized nail on the second potato.
• If it still isn’t working, try reversing the leads.
• Make sure you are also using fresh potatoes.
• When you’re finished, remove the leads connecting the potatoes and reinstall the battery into the clock.

Community Q&A

• You can also try this with other fruits and vegetables, like lemons . Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 1

• Young children should be supervised when performing this experiment. Nails and wires can be sharp if handled incorrectly. Thanks Helpful 4 Not Helpful 3

Things You'll Need

• Two galvanized nails
• Two copper coins/wires
• Two potatoes
• Three alligator clip leads
• Working Clock

You Might Also Like

Expert Interview

Thanks for reading our article! If you’d like to learn more about science, check out our in-depth interview with Jessie Antonellis-John .

• ↑ https://www.doitpoms.ac.uk/tlplib/batteries/potato_battery.php
• ↑ https://stemgeneration.org/potato-power/
• ↑ https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project-ideas/Energy_p010/energy-power/potato-battery#materials
• ↑ https://www.teachengineering.org/activities/view/cub_energy2_lesson04_activity2
• ↑ https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project-ideas/Energy_p010/energy-power/potato-battery#procedure
• ↑ https://www.scienceprojects.org/potato-battery/
• ↑ https://www.oregon.gov/energy/resources/Documents/Potato-Battery.pdf
• Videos provided by ExpCaseros

About This Article

To create a potato battery, start by inserting a galvanized nail near the middle of the potato and pushing it in until it's almost to the other side. Next, insert a copper coin halfway into the potato about 1 inch away from the nail. Make sure the nail and coin aren't touching each other! Then, using the end clips of a voltmeter, attach one clip to the nail and the other to the penny. You'll see a small increase in voltage on the voltmeter -- you just created a single-cell battery! For more tips, including how to use multiple potatoes for a stronger battery, read on! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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How to make a Potato Battery

• May 18, 2013

Making a potato battery is a great learning exercise that everyone getting into electronics should investigate! A potato battery is one of the first science experiments most school children do. It’s a great way to explain how batteries work and how the fundamentals of batteries and electrolytes work with electrodes in the creation of electricity.

Watch the Potato Battery Tutorial Video

How to Make a Potato Battery

To make a potato battery, we’re going to need just a few things that you probably already have laying around the the house. But just in case you don’t, here’s a quick parts list:

• Copper Pennies
• Zinc Washers

The basic components of a potato battery are a potato, some copper pennies, zinc washers, some test leads, and an LED or other device to power. A multimeter is also a great tool to have, but is certainly optional.

RELATED: Buying your First Multimeter

If you don’t have any pennies or washers, a strip of copper wire can replace the pennies, and some galvanized nails could replace the washers.  In fact, just about any metals made of (or coated) with copper and zinc will work.  You just need one of each.

Putting it All Together

The first step is to cut our potato in half and then lay the potato cut side down onto a flat surface.  Follow this up by making some slits in the top of the battery for our electrodes.  Just make a couple of pokes with a knife in the top of each potato about an inch apart from each other.

Insert one penny as a cathode and one washer as an anode into the top slits of each potato half, leaving only about an 1/10th of an inch exposed. Just enough to clip our test leads to (or touch the probes of your multimeter to). The acid in the potatoes acts as an electrolyte between our two electrodes, so we want as much of the metal’s surface touching the potato as possible.

Take one of your test leads and connect the zinc anode of one potato to the copper cathode of the other potato. If you have a multimeter, now is a good time to attach it. Mine gave me a reading of 1.5 volts. That’s amazing!

However, our LED requires a minimum of 2 volts to operate, so you know what that means?! Add more potatoes! And this time it lights right up, giving us a nice blue glow!

What would you say if I told you that the potato is completely unnecessary part of the potato battery, and provides none of the actual electricity?  That’s right!  The potato just provides an acid, or electrolyte, between the two metals, or electrodes!  Check out our penny battery project to learn how to make this same project, minus the potato!

If you’re looking to learn more about electricity in general, we also have a tutorial on How Voltage Works , and How Current Works !

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3 Responses

Those Russians figured out how to make vodka out of them there potatoes. Let’s see you top that! Great potato battery though!

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Potato Power!

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Explore the science behind the popular potato battery Science Fair project! Want to know how potato batteries work? It might simply look like a couple of potatoes with clips, wires and pennies sticking out of them in all directions. But when you connect the wires and pennies – WOW!  It creates energy!   

 [dt_divider style=”thin” /], potato battery demonstration, what is a potato battery.

A battery is something that causes chemical energy to be converted into electricity. Batteries have a positive side (terminal) and the negative side (terminal). The negative side is the source of the electrons that gives the energy to a wire that is connected to an electronic device. Batteries power electronic devices when connected with a conductive material, such as wires.

The potato battery is a type of electrochemical battery, or cell. Certain metals (zinc in the demonstration below) experience a chemical reaction with the acids inside of the potato. This chemical reaction creates the electrical energy that can power a small device like an LED light or clock. Incredible, huh?

There are a few different ways to create batteries. Different batteries can be made from different electrolytes (acidic fruits, vegetables and liquids) and different electrodes (metals).

An electrochemical battery has these parts:

• Acidic Electrolyte
• Zinc Electrodes
• Copper Electrodes

Gather these supplies:

• 3 Fresh clean potatoes – acidic electrolyte
• 3 Galvanized nails (or screws) – they have a zinc coating and will be used as your zinc electrodes
• 3 US Pennies (or copper wire with exposed copper end) – Pennies newer than 1982 are thinly copper-plated, while older ones have more copper. The pennies will be used as your copper electrodes
• 5 Dual alligator clip connectors (10 actual clips total) – you can find these at most hardware or electronic stores
• 1 LED clock that has a battery compartment

Now make a potato battery!

• With the close supervision of an adult, insert one nail about 1 inch into the potato end. Make sure not to poke all the way thru the potato. Use a pen to write a minus sign “-” next to the nail.
• Push one penny into the opposite end of the potato. Make sure most of the penny is still sticking out. Use a pen to write a plus sign “+” next to the penny.
• Repeat steps 1 and 2 with the other two potatoes.
• Connect the potatoes so that the penny on potato 1 is attached to the nail in potato 2.
• Connect the penny from potato 2 with the nail from potato 3.
• Connect the nail from potato 1 to the penny from potato 3.
• Open the battery compartment to your clock. Look for the “+” and “-” signs on either side of the battery compartment.
• Connect the nail from potato 1 to the negative terminal inside the battery compartment of the clock and the penny from potato three into the positive terminal inside the battery compartment of the clock.
• Once everything is connected, observe what happens!

Explore the science behind the potato battery

Now you’ve had fun building your potato battery and maybe even surprised a few people when that clock turned on using a potato . Now, let’s look at the how you can find out more about the real science of how it works. Some of the science might be tough to understand if you aren’t in middle school yet, but you can still give it a try.

The science behind a topic is called its scientific principles or concepts. Let’s learn a little more about the science of the potato battery by doing some background research. To do your background research, you can ask an expert, look in books or search the internet.

Below are some scientific principles and concepts of potato battery experiments that would be helpful for you to understand in order to plan your project. When searching the internet, include “kids” in your search to get age-appropriate information. For example, “kids potato battery project”.

• Acid (Late Elementary)
• Electrons (Late Elementary)
• Electrolyte (Middle)
• Electrical currents (Middle)
• Electrically conductive (Middle)
• Electrodes (Middle)
• Circuit (Middle)
• Voltage (High)
• Current (High)
• Oxidation-reduction (High)

[dt_divider style=”thin” /]

Now, think like a scientist.

Scientists make observations, ask a lot of questions, then try to find ways to answer those questions. They use their understanding of scientific concepts to explore their questions. Here are a few questions for you to try to ponder now that you have learned some scientific concepts:

• Think about all of the different toys, gadgets and tools that use batteries. What can you learn about different battery types?
• What other fruits, vegetables or liquids do you think you could try experimenting with instead of a potato? Why?
• Will your potato battery power your small electronic device if you only use one connecting wire? Why or why not?
• What other types of metals could you experiment with as electrodes?
• How do you think changing the environment would cause a change to your observations about the potato battery?

Inquiry Project

If your science fair allows inquiry projects (or demonstrations), then try to answer “why” or “how” questions as part of your project. In your own words, describe the scientific concepts that you learned about and some of the things you observed or discovered. The purpose of an inquiry is to demonstrate what you learned, observed and discovered. Demonstrations are not the same as experiments but can involve you having fun collecting data.

Experimental Project

When you do an experiment, you choose one thing to change and try to understand the results of that change. This is called Cause and Effect. If your science fair only allows experimental projects that follow “The” Scientific Method, then follow these steps:

•  After learning the science behind the potato battery, decide on just one thing that you will change during your experiment and what you will measure. For example, maybe you make a lemon battery instead of a potato battery.
• Write a detailed experimental question that makes it clear what you will change.
• State your prediction as a result of a change that you make.
• Plan how you will set up your experiment, including necessary supplies.
• Determine the potential health and safety risks of doing your experiment.
• Write down a detailed procedure that you can use when doing your experiment.
• Collect and record your data and observations.
• Display your data in a table and graph.
• Look for trends in your data graph.
• Try to explain why your data or observations turned out the way they did.
• Share what you learned with others.
• Create a project board display – refer to Project Display Tips

Want a little more help taking charge of your project? Let Mo and Pepper lead you step-by-step through an experimental project in Make Science Fair Fun ®![/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

© 2022 STEM World Publishing, Public Benefit Corporation, with permission.

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_cta h2=”Want to promote authentic STEM projects at your school?” h2_font_container=”tag:h2|font_size:48px|text_align:left|color:%23a11d21|line_height:60px” h4=”Help us connect with your school district to donate our impactful programs to you and your school community!” h4_font_container=”tag:h2|font_size:24px|text_align:left|line_height:30px” add_button=”bottom” btn_title=”Learn More” btn_color=”turquoise” btn_size=”lg” use_custom_fonts_h2=”true” use_custom_fonts_h4=”true” h4_link=”|||” btn_link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fstemgeneration.org%2Fprograms%2F|title:Parents%20-%20Inspire!|target:_blank”][/vc_cta][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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Potato Battery: Understanding Chemical and Electrical Energy

Introduction: Potato Battery: Understanding Chemical and Electrical Energy

Did you know that you can power a lightbulb with just a potato or two? The chemical energy between the two metals is converted to electrical energy and creates a circuit with the help of the potato! This creates a small electrical charge that can be used to turn on a light.

This tutorial is a great example of how energy comes in many forms and how products use that energy in order to do work. The potato battery converts energy from chemical to electrical in order to allow the light bulb to work ( benchmarks C and D ).

Follow Faith Davis, Cheyenne Balzer, and Spencer White through this tutorial in order to make a battery out of a potato, and hopefully learn something about the use of energy and the technologies that use it!

Step 1: Gather Materials

• 2 Potatoes (can be done with more if you want more power)
• 2 zinc-plated nails/screws (most screws are already zinc plated)
• 3 pieces of copper wire
• a small LED lightbulb or a voltmeter

Step 2: Strip Copper Wiring to Fit Penny

Step 3: Cut a Slit Into Each Potato

Each slit should be able to fit a penny, but it doesn't need to be exact because it can always be adjusted later!

Step 4: Wrap Penny With Wire and Put It in the Potato

Step 5: Cut the Other End of the Copper Wire

Step 6: Insert the Zinc-plated Screw Into the Potato

You want to leave enough of the screw out for the other end of the copper wire to wrap around, but still have the screw snug in the potato. Be sure that the screw doesn't go all the way through your potato! This step will take some force, and it's easier if you twist it in instead of trying to jam the screw in there.

Step 7: Wrap the Other End of the Copper Wire Around the Screw

Connect the two potatoes together with the wire going from the penny to the screw.

Step 8: Repeat Steps 2 - 4

Cut a new slit for a penny into the second potato that already has a screw and fit the new wire wrapped penny into that potato.

Tip: we cut all our wires to be around the same length overall to make things easier later on.

Step 9: Repeat Steps 6 - 7

Insert a screw to the potato that only has a penny, and attach a new wire to the screw.

Step 10: Review Connections

In the end, this is what the connections should look like. Look carefully at the sides of the potatoes. Each potato in the battery should have one zinc side (screw) and one copper side (penny) with wires attached.

Leave out two wires, one going to a penny and one to a screw. These wires will connect to the lightbulb or the voltmeter.

Tip: if you wanted to add more potatoes for more power, make sure to follow this pattern! Each potato should have one screw and one penny!

Step 11: Test Your Battery!

lay the exposed wire on the bottom of the bulb or to the prongs of the voltmeter to see your battery in action!

Tip: For only two potatoes, we found that it didn't produce enough power for a lightbulb. We ended up adding more potatoes after we discovered this.

Step 12: Reflect and Learn!

How it works:

A potato battery is a type of battery that is known as an electrochemical cell. The chemicals zinc and copper (in the screw and penny/wire) react with each other, which produces chemical energy. This chemical energy is converted to electric energy by a spontaneous electron transfer.

The potato acts as a buffer and an electrolyte for the two metals. This means that it separates the zinc and copper, forcing the electrons trying to get from one metal to the other to travel through the potato and form a circuit. The electrons are able to flow through the potato because it acts as an electrolyte. The two metals would still react if they just touched each other without the potato, but without the barrier and electrolyte, the energy released from the reaction wouldn't form a circuit, which is what gets the power to the light bulb.

When the two wires are attached to the bulb it completes this circuit, turning the light on!

Step 13: Our Learning Process

Problems we solved: Since we found that two batteries couldn't power our lightbulb, we were disappointed at the prospect of only showing the potato's energy through the voltmeter. To solve this, we decided to add more potatoes. When that didn't work we found an LED light bulb instead of the regular, incandescent one we initially were using. Finally, the light turned on with four potatoes and an efficient LED bulb, which is why we added the option to attach more potatoes to the instructions and why our materials say to use an LED bulb, even though our picture includes the incandescent.

Other ideas: We played around with a few ideas before deciding to make a potato-powered light bulb and explaining how and why it worked. We thought about making a small wind turbine or water turbine to produce electricity, and talk specifically about benchmark M or I but decided against it mainly because Spencer had some prior knowledge on how to make the potato battery work. Additionally, we wanted to try to use the potato to charge our phones but found that it would take far too many potatoes than we could afford. In the end, we were all happy with explaining energy in relation to benchmark C and D through the example of a potato battery.

Lemon and Potato Battery Experiment

Learn how to generate electricity from common fruit or vegetables.

Posted by Admin / in Energy & Electricity Experiments

Is it possible to produce electricity from common fruit or vegetables? Fruits and vegetables require energy from the sun to grow and produce a harvest. Is it possible that some of the sun's energy is stored in the produce for our use? We know that by eating fruits and vegetables our body can convert this food to energy. Is it possible to directly generate electricity from a piece of fruit or a vegetable. This lemon battery and potato battery science experiment tests this theory.

Materials Needed

• Copper strip or rod
• Zinc strip or zinc-coated bolt
• Circuit wire or alligator clips with wire

EXPERIMENT STEPS

Step 1: Cut 2 small slits in the skin of both the lemon and the potato. Make the slits are a few inches apart.

Step 2: Push the copper and zinc strips into the slits in each piece of produce. Make sure the rods do not touch each other.

Step 3: Connect an electrical wire to the end of each metal strip. Alligator clips make this step easy.

Step 4: Measure the voltage drop between the two wires attached to the metal strips on the lemon and the potato. This is the amount of voltage being produced by each piece of produce. Compare the difference in the amount of voltage produced by a lemon and a potato. What do you notice? How long will the fruit and vegetable generate voltage?

Science Learned

The lemon and the potato act like a low-power battery. This experiment shows how a wet cell battery works. Chemicals in the fruit or vegetable create a negative charge in the zinc strip. Electrons move into the zinc strip and travel up the wire attached. The electrons then travel through the voltmeter which measures the voltage drop and end up in the copper strip which becomes the positive end of the circuit. Pardon the pun, but from this experiment we can say that it is possible to "produce electricity".

Oberlin College: Demonstration of lemon battery powering a buzzer .

U.S. Dept. of Energy: Calculating Lemon Battery Power Q&A

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Making Potato Battery And How It Works

It seems impossible, doesn’t it?

Make a potato battery and light up a bulb? That doesn’t sound right.

But yes, you can do it.

In fact, the potato battery experiment is a Science project that is used by many schools to teach kids about electricity.

If you don’t have a potato in the house, lemons are good alternatives. You can even do a test using different fruit and vegetables and see which one works better than the other. There are also science toys for sale for this particular activity.

potato battery experiment, physics, circuits, electricity, engineering

The Potato Battery Project:

• 2 big potatoes Fresh and juicy potatoes work best.
• 4 copper coins or copper nails If you’re using a copper coin, make sure it’s new and shiny. Old copper coins will not work as well. If you only have old ones, clean the pennies to get rid of  the surface coating.
• 4 galvanized zinc nails
• multi meter (optional)

Step By Step Procedure

By Loadmaster (David R. Tribble)This image was made by Loadmaster (David R. Tribble)Email the author: David R. TribbleAlso see my personal gallery at Google Picasa – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=10681465

• First, cut one  potato in half.
• Next, using a knife, cut a slit on  one side of the potato.
• Insert the copper coin into the potato as deep as you can but making sure that there’s still a part of the coin that’s sticking out for connecting the wires with.
• On the other side of the potato, insert the a nail. Make sure the nail and the coin don’t touch each other inside the potato.
• If you’re using a multi meter, go ahead and see how much electricity is produced by this half potato.  Attach the black lead to the nail and the red lead to the coin. How much voltage does this one potato make?
• If you don’t have a multi meter, you can go right ahead and connect the two using your wire leads. Attach one lead to the nail and the other lead to the coin. Now attach the other end of these two leads to the led light. Is it working?
• If you don’t see a lot of light coming out from the led light (which is very likely), then you need to add more voltage and current by adding more potatoes into the mix.
• So let’s try and do that, shall we? Do exactly the same thing as you did with the first half potato i.e. insert the coin and the nail into each potato.
• Now what you need to do is to make a circuit.  Connect the coin of the 1st potato to the zinc nail of the 2nd potato with a wire. Next, using another wire, connect the coin in the 2nd potato to the nail in the 3rd potato and lastly, connect the coin in the 3rd potato with the zinc in the 4th potato. You will then be left with an unconnected coin in the 4th potato and an unconnected nail in the first potato.
• Lastly, get your led light and connect one wire to the 1st potato and the other wire to the 4th potato. Your led light should light up now.

EXPERIMENT VARIATIONS :

• You can make a higher voltage by wrapping a copper wire around the copper penny.
• Boiling potatoes for 8 minutes can produce ten times the power of a raw one.

Video: How To Make A Potato Battery

How the potato battery works.

It is important to take note that there is no electricity in the potato.

The potato is  simply acting as a medium (or the electrolyte) for an electrochemical reaction to take place.

The potato doesn’t chemically contribute to this reaction.  It’s only a bridge that facilitates the flow of electrons from one metal to another. And when there is a flow of electrons , there is electrical current.

Eventually, the metals will be oxidized and that’s when the battery runs out.

The Explanation In Video

This Science video is about lemon batteries and talks about citric acid in lemon as the electrolyte. The same thing happens with potatoes, except it is phosphoric acid in potatoes that’s causing this to happen. For more science experiment videos, subscribe to our channel on Youtube

Dissemination of IT for the Promotion of Materials Science (DoITPoMS)

How to make a potato battery?

• A clean copper coin (If necessary clean it by placing it in a fizzy drink for a few minutes, or clean with steel wool)
• Some aluminium foil
• Crocodile clips
• A voltmeter or multimeter

Instructions:

Cut the potato in half and place the flat end on the foil. Push the copper coin into the potato. Attach crocodile clips to the coin and the foil, then wires to the crocodile clips. Now attach these wires to the voltmeter. The volt meter should give a reading, showing that the stored energy is available and a current can flow, and that you have produced a battery!

Why this happens?

The potato contains a mild phosphoric acid (H 3 PO 4 ), which acts as the electrolyte.

At the copper coin there are two reactions that could take place. If there is sufficient oxygen present, oxygen ions will be reduced to oxygen gas in the reaction O 2 + 4H + + 4e – → 2O 2 – + 2H 2 O            1.23 V

If there is not sufficient oxygen, hydrogen ions from the acid are reduced to hydrogen gas in the reaction H + + e – → ½H 2                                             0 V

At the foil aluminium metal is reduced to aluminium ions in the reaction Al → Al 3+ + 3e –                                        1.66 V

The total theoretical voltage across the potato cell is therefore 2.89 V in sufficient oxygen (Aluminium/air battery), or 1.66 V in insufficient oxygen (Aluminium/Hydrogen battery).

This also works with lemons, tomatoes, apples and other fruits!

Lemon Battery Science Experiment

We love building circuits around here. From our very first Circuit Bugs creation to Potato Batteries , we have had a lot of fun over the years experimenting with low voltage experiments and electricity in our elementary science lessons. With summer here, that means lemons and lemonade. It also means it was time for us to create the favourite lemon battery science experiment.

How to Build a Lemon Battery

What you will discover in this article!

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We often talk around here about the energy in nature and in everything around us. When we can power a light bulb with that energy it suddenly makes it very real for my kids. That energy isn’t just some crazy weird thing that I babble on about, it is this very real power that is showing itself right in front of them.

Normally our circuits are powered by batteries, but one day I convinced the kids we could power a light bulb with nothing but a potato. You should have seen the looks on their faces! Serious side eye was thrown my way.

Then, once they stopped straining their eyeballs, we built a potato battery and it worked! These kinds of science experiments for kids really stick with them. Why? Because it makes things real that they can’t otherwise see. Like the energy in our food.

Plus, when a child starts a science experiment with serious doubts, yet still achieves success, it powers up their curiosity!

So when we went grocery shopping and there was a huge pile of fresh, juicy looking lemons on display the kids asked to buy some for lemonade, but I knew we had another science experiment in our future.

Note: These food based battery experiments produce low voltage and are safe for older, responsible children to do under adult supervision.

How to Build a Lemon Battery Video

Watch as I go through the whole experiment step by step in our video tutorial. If you can’t see the video, please turn off your adblockers as they also block our video feed. Alternatively, you can also find this video on the STEAM Powered Family YouTube Channel .

Lemon Battery Materials

Lemons! You need at least 4 to create enough energy, but why not grab extras and experiment? Copper anode strip plates Zinc anode strip plates Alligator clips with wires (2 per cell, so minimum 8 if you are creating a 4 cell battery) LED light diodes Multimeter Knife and cutting board

Copper and Zinc plates are invaluable in our science experiments, but if you don’t have them, you can use copper pennies (the older the better) and zinc plated (aka galvanized) nails. Copper wire can also be used, and a search of your local hardware store is likely to produce other copper and zinc items you could test in your experiment.

The first step is to roll the lemons. Just like you would if you were about to eat or juice them. This releases the juices inside and we want our lemons as juicy as possible.

Start with one lemon and make a small cut through the peel on either end. It is very important that you place these far enough apart that the electrodes don’t touch.

Insert a copper plate on one side and a zinc plate on the other side.

Now using your multimeter test your energy levels.

We have energy!

Now it is time to start adding more cells (lemons) to our battery.

Repeat the above steps on a second lemon. Once you are finished use an alligator clip to connect the zinc plate on the first lemon to the copper plate on the second lemon.

Test your energy level with 2 cells (you will test by touching the copper plate on the first lemon and zinc on the second). Remember you are completing the circuit.

Now repeat the steps to add a third and fourth cell.

At 4 cells we are now registering more energy than 2 AA batteries, which we tested in our Potato Cell experiment .

Now it is time to hook up our light bulb!

Voila! Light!

The goal of making a lemon battery is to turn chemical energy into electrical energy, creating enough electricity to power a small LED light. You can also use limes, oranges, potatoes , pumpkins/squash , or other acidic foods. 

How A Lemon Battery Works

How does a lemon battery work? The science behind how food can power a light bulb is really fascinating. Food has energy. With a lemon battery we are capturing that energy and using it to light up a LED. To do this we need electrodes to capture the energy from our electrolyte.

The zinc and copper plates are called electrodes, and the lemon juice is our electrolyte.

All batteries have a “+” (known as the cAll batteries have a “+” (known as the cathode) and a “-” (known as the anode) terminal. In our lemon battery, the copper plate is our positive cathode and the zinc plate the negative anode. The zinc metal (our negative anode) reacts with the acidic lemon juice (mostly from citric acid) to produce zinc ions (Zn2+) and electrons (2 e-).

Electric current is created by the flow of atomic particles called electrons. Conductors are materials that allow electrons (and the electrical current) to flow through them. Electrons flow from the negative to the positive terminal.

So in our experiment electrons are flowing from our zinc plate, through the lemon juice to the copper plate. From there it goes into our alligator clip, along the wire, into the zinc plate on the next lemon, where it picks up more energy as it travels through that cell. It continues on, building energy with each additional cell we add. Until finally we have enough voltage to power a light bulb.

Volts (or voltage) is a measurement of the force moving the electrons through our lemon battery.  The higher the voltage the more power the battery has, but higher voltage also means greater danger. Always remember to be careful and safe around electricity. Thankfully our lemon battery is very low voltage.

Troubleshooting

There are a number of things that can cause issues with your Lemon Battery.

First, make sure none of your electrodes are touching anything other that lemon and alligator clips. Also, ensure your alligator clips are placed near the peel of the lemon.

Did you roll your lemons? You want them juicy for this experiment to work.

Did you mix up any of your connections? Remember you always want to link “+” to “-“. On an standard LED light bulb the longer pin is the positive connection.

Does your LED bulb work? Test it on a coin battery to ensure your bulb works. It may be you have a faulty bulb.

Another area that can cause problems is the quality of your copper and zinc. You want your copper and zinc to be as pure as possible so it can conduct the electrons without any interference. This is one of the reasons I suggest investing in proper plates, so you know the quality of your materials when conducting experiments.

Finally, these food based batteries dimly light up the LED. If you hook your LED up to a regular battery, it will glow much brighter.

More Fruit Battery Experiments

So now we have made both a lemon battery and a potato battery, which one is better? Both were able to light up our LED light bulbs, so in that sense they are both successful. However, the potato battery was definitely a lot more work. So if you are looking for a quicker experiment, the lemon battery is faster and easier. However, both have significant opportunities for learning and would make great science fair projects. Why not do both yourself and see what you think?

And in the fall, don’t forget to make a battery with pumpkins and squash ! The concept is similar to Lemon Batteries but with a Autumn/Halloween theme.

Want to dig in more? Try this experiment with other citrus fruit such as oranges or lime or grapefruit. You can also combine a variety of fruits to see which combination makes the best fruit battery.

How to Reuse Lemon Battery Cells

This lemon science project is a ton of fun but once you are done, what can you do with the lemons? It seems like such a waste to throw them out. We have two really cool projects to do next with your lemons!

Check out the gorgeous lemon volcano we created here after building our lemon batterie s!

Another great project with these lemons is to make Lemon Oobleck for a fun, summery sensory project.

More Electricity Experiments

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