How to Make an Electricity Science Project
Creating a science project which involves electricity is a great focus for kids as the possibilities for projects are not only endless, but you can tailor them to accommodate a variety of grade levels. The following project allows children to learn through hands-on experience how a lemon converts chemical energy into electrical energy. Children will not only understand how this happens but will be able to demonstrate the process to other people and show how they can use two lemons to power a digital watch.
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Things You'll Need
- Copper wire
- Knife or scissors
- 2 paper clips
- 2 lemons
- Sand paper
- Thin wire
- Digital watch
Instructions
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1
Strip the rubber, plastic or other insulation off 4 inches of copper wire with your knife. Cut two pieces of 2-inch copper wire once stripped.
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2
Straighten two paper clips and cut two pieces of straightened paper clip, so each is 2 inches long.
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3
Buff any rough patches on the ends of the wire with a piece of sandpaper.
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4
Squeeze the lemons a little bit, but don't break the peel. Alternatively, you can roll the lemons around on a table
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5
Push a piece of paper clip and copper wire into each lemon. Get the wires as close as you possibly can without having them touch.
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6
Wet your tongue with spit. Touch your tongue to the tips of the each free wire. You'll taste something that has a slight metallic taste. You are now closing the circuit and permitting a current to stream.
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7
Cut a thin piece of wire that is long enough to connect in between the two lemons. Wrap one end of the wire around the paper clip wire of one lemon and the copper wire of the other lemon.
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8
Cut two more pieces of wire. Attach each piece of wire to the remaining wire in each lemon. Connect those wires to the area where the digital watch's positive and negative poles on the battery connect. The lemons should act as a watch battery.
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Tips & Warnings
Help kids with step one.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit lemons and lemon tree image by jc from Fotolia.com
