We recently had a lab about electrochemistry. In it we learned about new concepts such as oxidation and reduction. When two differing atoms come together, there is an exchange of electrons. Oxidation, is when an element loses electrons, on the other hand, reduction is the gaining of electrons. The movement of electrons from one element to another is electricity, we then put something in between the flow of electrons, and it becomes powered, like a light. What we were going to do for our experiment was a transfer of electrons from zinc to copper, using the electrolytes in vinegar as our starting point for the electrons. it was found that in the batteries we made, each cell produced about half a volt. To get more voltage we simply stacked the cells on top of one another, effectively putting them in series. With enough voltage we found we could light a small LED. On the other hand if we wanted to produce more amperes, we would have to place the cells in parallel, albeit for our experiment we only needed a higher voltage. To make our batteries, we took pennies and exposed their inner zinc though the power of sandpaper and elbow grease. With these ready, we simply soaked some cardboard paper in vinegar and placed it on top of the penny's zinc side. We had made our batteries, but since we wanted a light to be lit, we would need a lot more than half a volt, so we stacked them to produce a little more juice. When we checked with our LED, we saw that we had done it! The makeshift battery actually lit the light! (though very dimly). Our experiment was successful, but it wan't a very be right light, so I feel that we should have added more power. But overall we did manage to get the current flowing through the battery into the LED. What I suppose happened was that the electrolytes in the vinegar soaked cardboard were attracted to the zinc. Since the zinc and copper were connected though touch, the electrons instantly went into the copper. I suppose after that those electrons went back into the cardboard underneath the copper, creating an electrical flow as the electrons continued this through the tower into the LED and back to the top. I feel that although it was a success, it could've been much brighter, so I don't think these results were desirable. Especially if it were a survival situation and the light was needed, the poor lighting is no where near sufficient. And I think that I could've done more to help get the results to where I want them. Once again, I worked with my table, and as I've stated before we work relatively well together, being able to make usually mundane tasks (such as sanding down the coins) much more enjoyable while still completing the task. If I could do this again, I would make more cells to get a higher voltage, though the next time I would probably want to use the zinc washers instead of sanding down some pennies! This is a lab that you could definitely take to the next level by maybe trying to increase the amps instead of voltage and seeing how that affects the LED. Some things I took from this was that I should be more careful when sanding and handling that debris. As I am very sure that during all the hard sanding we did I inhaled a lot of the copper/zinc dust that we had produced and almost immediately felt sick. I learned that I should be much more careful when it comes to heeding safety precautions during experimentation. |
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AuthorHello there! I am a sophomore here at High Tech High, and on this blog I will be making weekly posts to what I've been doing in my 10th grade chemistry class! So check back often! Archives
May 2015
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