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General Chemistry Science Fair Project

Electrode Metals and Battery Voltage

Hard
Electrode Metals and Battery Voltage | Science Fair Projects | STEM Projects
What combination of metals produces the strongest battery? Every battery relies on two different metals reacting in a chemical solution. The metal pairing controls how much voltage the cell produces. You build simple electrochemical cells using zinc, copper, and lead sheets. Each metal sits in its own nitrate solution. A porous cup separates the two halves of each cell. Then you connect wires to a voltmeter and record the reading. By testing all three pairings, you discover which metals produce the highest voltage output.

Hypothesis

The hypothesis is that zinc and copper wet cell batteries produce the highest voltage.

Method & Materials

You will rub the copper, zinc and lead sheets against sandpaper to remove any deposits, pour electrolyte solutions into beakers, connect the electrodes to the voltmeter, and record the voltage readings.
You will need zinc sheet, copper sheet, lead sheet, zinc nitrate solution, copper nitrate solution, lead nitrate solution, porous cup, 2 beakers, 1 voltmeter, gloves, plastic safety goggles, a piece of sandpaper.

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Results

The results showed that the lead-copper cell produced the greatest amount of electricity. This experiment provides information about which type of material is most suitable as to be used as electrodes in batteries.

Why do this project?

This science project is interesting because it explores the effect of different materials on the voltage produced in electrochemical cells.

Also Consider

Variations to consider include: what would happen if more electrolyte solution was added, would increasing the temperature of the solution affect the voltage produced, and what other materials can you use for the electrolytes and electrodes?

Full project details

Additional information and source material for this project are available below.

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