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PIT
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& User Guide
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Solut
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59736 V0207
Introduction
Demonstrate the basic principles of a battery – as well as some chemistry – with this ElectroLight Battery that you or your students build.
When the LED is placed into the electron flow, it lights!
When constructed, the salt solution in the battery tray reacts with the
metals to move electrons from one cell to another. The zinc piece in
each cell transfers the electrons from the solution to the copper, which
transfers the electrons to the next cell. Each cell generates a little more
than a half volt, so the series generates approximately 15 volts.
Materials Included
• Squeeze bottle
• 3 salt packets
• 3 strips of copper
• 3 strips of zinc
• Box of paper clips
• Tray
• 2 alligator clip leads
• Red LED
Note: There will be extra salt packets and copper and zinc pieces left
over – these can be used to renew the battery when the first salt solution and metal pieces lose their effect. If any items are missing, please
contact customer service at 800-358-4983.
Required for Assembly
• Scissors
• Standard ruler
• Water
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Assembling the ElectroLight Kit
1. Fill the squeeze bottle
with water. Add one
packet of salt to the
bottle and shake it well
to dissolve the salt in the
water.
2. Use the scissors to trim
the copper and zinc
strips into 19 one-inch
strips (Figure 1).
3. Pair one copper piece
and one zinc piece and fasten them
on one end with a paper clip
(Figure 2). Repeat this step 17
more times.
4. Take one each of the unclipped
copper and zinc pieces. Using the
scissors, cut these in half lengthwise. Clip together a copper and
zinc half piece with a paper clip;
repeat for the other halved pieces.
Figure 1
Figure 2
5. Face the tray so the end with
the hole (which is the back of
the tray) is away from you.
6. Note that the tray is divided
into three rows of 10 cells
each. Starting on the left row,
place one of the wider copper
and zinc clipped pieces over
the dividers between the cells
(Figure 3).
Figure 3
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Make sure the zinc side faces the
front, toward you.
7. Take the narrow clipped pieces
that you cut during Step 4 and
place them over the two narrow
dividers between the cells at the
back of the tray (Figure 4). This
will connect one side to another.
Be sure to place the pieces so the
zinc is facing left.
8. Place the remaining clipped
pieces over the dividers of
the tray’s right-hand row
(Figure 5). Make sure the
copper is facing the front,
which is toward you. Notice
how as the pieces go around
the tray, the zinc and copper
face the same direction – this is what
will make the electric
circuit.
Figure 4
Figure 5
9. Place a paper clip over
each of the two narrow
dividers in the tray’s
front row (Figure 6).
You will attach the
leads to these paper
clips later.
Figure 6
10. Using the squeeze bottle with the saltwater solution, halfway fill
all the cells on the two side rows and the one cell at the end of the
middle row (where the two halved pieces of copper and zinc are
attached).
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11. Opening the alligator clip,
attach a lead to one of the two
paper clips in the front row
(Figure 7). Do the same with
the second lead and the other
paper clip.
12. Take the other end of the two
leads and attach one to each
wire of the LED (Figure 8). If
the LED doesn’t light, switch
the leads. Your LED should be
lit by the electricity generated
by this small electrical series
(Figure 9).
Figure 7
13. Any extra pieces of zinc and
copper should be stored away
for later use. Over time, the
metals in the battery can
become corroded, so they will
eventually need replacing.
Figure 8
Figure 9
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History of Batteries
Batteries were invented in the late eighteenth century before much was
known about electricity. An Italian physician named Luigi Galvani
discovered galvanism, which is the direct electrical current produced by
chemical reactions.
In 1783, Galvani was experimenting by putting a copper hook through
a dead frog and touched the frog with iron. The frog’s legs would jerk
as if alive. Galvani thought it was because the frog had some kind of
electrical fluid in it.
In 1800, Italian physicist Alessandro Volta determined the electricity in Galvani’s experiment was actually due to the chemical reaction among the copper, iron, and body fluids – not from an electrical
property in the frog. He made a battery by placing two different metals
(copper and zinc) in a wet solution (salt water) to form a cell.
A cell like Volta made is considered the powerhouse of batteries. It
changes chemical energy into electrical energy. A simple cell consists
of two metal electrodes with different electrical charges (positive and
negative) in a liquid electrolyte solution that allows the transfer of electrons between the electrodes. Using the ElectroLight Battery Kit, you
can make a whole series of connected cells to generate a usable voltage.
A voltaic cell, named after Volta, uses two different electrodes (zinc
and copper) suspended in a liquid electrolyte (salt water). Each cell can
produce approximately a half volt of battery power. By connecting the
cells in series, enough electrical energy is made to light up the red LED.
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How it Works
Pitsco’s ElectroLight Battery Kit makes a voltaic battery. By dissolving
salt in water, an electrolyte is created. You might have heard of electrolytes in sports drinks. Electrolytes provide energy to your body in the
form of sports drinks, but they can also provide energy for batteries.
The electrolyte solution will conduct electricity. The zinc and copper
pieces act as electrodes for the electric current to enter and leave each
battery cell.
In this situation, an excess of electrons builds up on one end of the
circuit of battery cells. On the other end, the electrons are leaving. So,
when the LED is connected to the electrical circuit via the leads, those
electrons can travel to power the LED.
Activity Suggestions
• Students may not grasp the importance of the series of cells. Try
removing a zinc and copper piece from the series. Observe the
effect on the LED (or a volt meter if you have one available).
• Ask students what would happen if there were a higher concentration of salt in the solution. Conduct such an experiment to see if
their theories prove true. Discuss the results and draw conclusions
about why the student theories were or were not correct.
• Assign research about electrons, molecules, and the chemical
makeup of zinc and copper. Based on what they find, have students
explain how this experiment works.
• Make the battery but add to the water other substances such as
sugar, vinegar, or plain water. Did they all light the LED? If you
have a volt meter available, use that instead of the LED. Did the
volt meter readings vary much between the different substances?
Record the reaction for each substance; have students research the
chemical makeup of the substances tried. Then, ask them why they
think the different substances reacted the way they did.
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PIT
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&
Ideas ions
Solut
E M
T
S
P.O. Box 1708
Pittsburg, KS 66762
www.shop-pitsco.com
800-835-0686