Will the lemon battery light a light bulb?

School Year 2020-2021

Purpose:

• The purpose is to see if a lemon can power a light bulb.

​

Hypothesis:

If I use a lemon then it will produce enough electricity to power a small LED light bulb because batteries have an acid and alkali side so the acid makes the battery work.

​

Materials List:

• Copper plates
• Zinc plates
• Alligator clips with wires (2 per cell, so minimum 8 if you are creating a 4 cell battery)
• LED light bulbs
• Multimeter
• Knife

Procedure:

• The first step is to roll the lemons. Just like you would if you were about to eat or juice them. This release 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.
• Now it is time to hook up our light bulb!
• Voila! Light!
• Repeat experiment two more times.

​

​

Data:

Graphs:

Conclusion:

The lemon battery did light a bulb so are conclusion was right.

Real World Connections:

My project helps to prove that we can use other energy sources from natural elements and make your own electricity at a low voltage rate and light a light bulb. You can try this on your own and create a lightbulb source for any room in your house without making the electric bill go up.

Photos and Diagrams:

l