Lesson 3
Rechargeable Batteries
Energy can be stored in a battery
Energy can be transformed from one form to
another
Different devices use energy at different
rates.
Objectives
Learn to test a battery
Store energy in a battery
Identify the energy changes that take place
when batteries are connected to different
devices
Vocabulary
Rechargeable Battery – A battery that can
be placed in a battery charger so that
energy can be placed in it for later use.
Dry Cell – A battery made of two electrodes
placed in an electrolyte that is a paste
Wet Cell – A battery made of two electrodes
placed in a liquid electrolyte
Potential Energy – Stored energy. Energy
waiting to be used
Chemical Potential energy – Energy stored
in the form of chemicals. Energy is
released when a chemical reaction occurs
Notes
A battery connected in an electric circuit can
power a variety of devices.
When a battery is used to run a device, it is
discharging and serves as the energy source
for that device.
To recharge a battery a current must be put
through the battery backward
This reverses the chemical process and
converts electrical energy to chemical energy.
The current is said to flow backward because
the ions flow in the opposite direction from
when the battery is operating a device
This cycle of charging and recharging can not
continue indefinitely because of gases that
escape from the cell and impurities in the cell
Eventually rechargeable batteries have to be
replaced
Standard Car Batteries
Car batteries have two electrodes. One made
of lead and the other made of lead dioxide.
The electrolyte is sulfuric acid
Misconceptions Corrected
Electricity is not stores in a battery.
Chemical energy is.
Current flows through the battery, it is not
stored in the battery.