An electrical circuit powered by a potato.
Activity

Shocking Snacks

Amy, a student at Texas School for the Blind, tested the relative conductivity of lemons and potatoes.

This science project was done by Amy, who is a student at Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired (TSBVI).

Question:

Which food would produce more electricity?  Potato or lemon?

The procedure for Amy’s project was inspired by Shocking Science by Shar Levine and Leslie Johnstone, Scholastic Inc, 1999

Hypothesis:

The potato will conduct more electricity due to the starch in it being more conductive.

Materials

Procedure

  1. Chop 1 lemon and 1 potato of the same size in half
  2. Stick 1 strip of copper and 1 strip of zinc in the juicy part of the lemon,
  3. Connect wires by alligator clips to the copper and zinc strips
  4. Connect the other end of the wires by alligator clips to the volt meter
  5. Set the voltmeter to 2DV setting.
  6. Measure voltage and record
  7. Do this same method (Steps 2-5) with the potato with different copper and zinc strips.
  8. Compare voltage and draw a conclusion.
A lemon circuit
A student creates a lemon circuit.

Data

Conclusion

My hypothesis was correct. The potato conducted more electricity than the lemon.

Variations

NGSS Standards:

By Laura Hospitál

collage of shocking snacks

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