ELECTRIC POWER: EXPLORE THE ELECTRIC POWER OF A BATTERY
Summary of Activity
Grade: 5-9
Subjects: Science & Technology
Theme: Energy & Recycling
Time: 1 hour
Description
Students will understand the basic mechanism of a battery. They will learn about its
components, how it works, and its impact on the environment if not disposed properly.
The activity will start with a class discussion about the role of a battery in our everyday lives
and the types of batteries in the market. It will be concluded with a demonstration of battery’s
mechanism, how it works and the proper way of recycling it.
Ecoliteracy learning outcomes
Students will learn about:
• The basic mechanism of batteries, as well as the negative impact the improper disposal of
batteries can cause
• Complex issues, such as the environment and energy
• Reducing waste
Materials
• Battery Mechanism image
• Several batteries for demonstration
• Large chart sheets and markers
• A battery
• Paper towel
• 5 pennies
• 5 nickels
• Lemon juice
• Digital Multimeter
Overview
1. Start a discussion about batteries, their use and different types
2. Test the students’ existing knowledge about the impact of batteries on the environment
3. Ask students about how they dispose of batteries
4. Ask whether they know what happens to batteries if they are not recycled
5. Ask about the initiatives they know of related to proper disposal of batteries
6. Start a demonstration about the mechanism of batteries:
A. Anatomy of a battery
B. Chemical reactions
C. How is a rechargeable battery different?
7. Demonstrate why the chemicals in the battery are harmful
8. Put students into teams of 3-4, and provide them with large pieces of chart paper and
markers. Ask the following questions and allow them to write their ideas and present
their findings after 20 minutes of discussion in their respective groups:
A. What are the direct and indirect effects of batteries on the environment if
not recycled (examples: oceans, air, habitat, etc.)
B. What are some initiatives you can think of to reduce the negative impact
of batteries on the environment?
C. Name battery recycling initiatives that you have encountered in your
community, city or household.
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We use batteries on a daily basis, whether to power our clock, our digital cameras, flash lights or
MP3s. A battery is essentially a power supply that lets us power our electronic devices without
connecting them to electricity. To make this simple, you can imagine a battery as a can full of
chemicals that produce power through chemical reactions. These chemical reactions are called
electrochemical reactions.
When you look at a simple flash light battery you will notice the positive and negative sign
on its ends (show with a battery). These are called the terminals of a battery. One terminal is
marked (+), or positive, while the other is marked (-), or negative. However, some batteries that
power much larger machines, such as car batteries, have the two terminals next to each other.
The way a battery works is as follows: electrons collect on the negative terminal of the battery.
If you connect a wire between the negative and positive terminals, electrons will flow from the
negative to the positive terminal as fast as they can (this tends to drain the battery quickly and
can be dangerous, so it is not something you should do). To properly use the charges produced
by a battery, you would normally connect the battery to a load. This could be anything from a
light bulb to radio or some type of motor.
Cover
Positive terminal
Anode
(negative plate)
Insulatling
ring
Positive
tab
Case
Separator
ELECTRIC POWER: EXPLORE THE ELECTRIC POWER OF A BATTERY
1.1 Anatomy of a battery
Negative tab
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Cathode
(positive plate)
© 2013 Earth Day Canada. Used with permission.
ELECTRIC POWER: EXPLORE THE ELECTRIC POWER OF A BATTERY
Load
Electrons
Current
Separator
Anode
Cathode
Electrolyte
Source ©2006 HowStuffWorks
Source: http://spectrum.ieee.org/images/sep07/images/lithf2.gif
1.2 Battery reaction and chemistry
Inside the battery itself, a chemical reaction produces the electrons. The speed of electron
production by this chemical reaction controls how many electrons can flow between the
terminals. Electrons flow from the battery into a wire, and must travel from the negative to the
positive terminal for the chemical reaction to take place. That is why a battery can sit on a shelf
for a year and still have plenty of power — unless electrons are flowing from the negative to
the positive terminal, the chemical reaction does not take place. Once you connect a wire, the
reaction starts.
Let’s simulate the mechanism of a simple battery
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ELECTRIC POWER: EXPLORE THE ELECTRIC POWER OF A BATTERY
1. Cut paper towels into 10 small pieces (1cm x 1cm)
2. Pour lemon in a small cup and dip all your pieces into the lemon juice
3. Place a nickel on a clean surface
4. Place a piece of lemon soaked paper towel on the nickel and place a penny on top of it
5. Place another lemon soaked piece of paper towel on top of your penny and cover it with
another nickel
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ELECTRIC POWER: EXPLORE THE ELECTRIC POWER OF A BATTERY
6. Repeat step 4 and 5 until you have a small penny/nickel tower
7. Use a Digital Multimeter to measure the amount of power produced by attaching the red
prong to the copper at the top of your coin tower and the black prong to the nickel at the
base of your coin tower
You have now simulated the mechanism of a simple battery. Most batteries have the same
mechanism covered with a metallic cover to protect the internal structure. Store-bought
batteries have more complex chemicals instead of lemon juice to ensure that the battery
generates more energy, but most carry the same concept.
Modern batteries use a variety of chemicals to power their reactions. Common battery chemical
ingredients include: mercury, lead, zinc, nickel, carbon, potassium hydroxide, manganese
dioxide, ammonium chloride, zinc chloride, lithium cobalt oxide, lead dioxide and sulphuric
acid. These chemicals are extremely harmful to the environment if not properly disposed of. For
instance, if batteries are not recycled they will end up in a landfill and, overtime, the chemicals
inside the batteries will leak to the ground and contaminate the soil and underground water.
This is extremely dangerous because underground water makes up most of our drinkable water.
Contaminating it would be very risky to our health or the living things that depend on it, such as
aquatics animals, plants and land animals. When incinerated, certain metals might be released
into the air or can concentrate in the ash produced by the combustion process.
Recycling batteries also allows for the metal and certain components to be used in making new
batteries as opposed to consuming more metal. Thus, it saves us money and natural resources.
1.3 Rechargeable batteries
Recently, rechargeable batteries have become very popular. These batteries function
the same way as basic batteries, with the exception that the chemical reaction
can be reversed. When electrical energy from an outside source is applied to a
secondary cell, the negative-to-positive electron flow that occurs during discharge
is reversed, and the cell’s charge is restored. Rechargeable batteries do have a
limit as to how many times they can be used, though it may take hundreds of
charges before that happens. When they finally die, be sure to dispose of them
at a recycling facility.
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ELECTRIC POWER: EXPLORE THE ELECTRIC POWER OF A BATTERY
Conclude the activity by dividing students into groups of 3-4 and presenting each group with
large chart papers. Ask them the following questions and give them 20 minutes to think about
it. Afterwards, allow each group to present their ideas. You can also use the chart sheets around
the school to raise awareness about battery recycling and its impact on the environment.
A. What are the direct and indirect effects of batteries on the environment if not
recycled (example: oceans, air, habitat, etc)?
B. What are some initiatives you can think of to reduce the negative impact of
batteries on the environment?
C. Name battery recycling initiatives that you have encountered in your
community, city or household (e.g. Call2Recycle).
Next, discuss the initiatives that can be taken to reduce the impact of batteries on the
environment. Be sure to mention that students can visit www.call2recycle.org/locator/ to find
the nearest battery recycling station, or visit www.call2recycle.org/collection-kit/ to order their
collection box for their school or community.
Useful links
electronics.howstuffworks.com/everyday-tech/battery.htm
www.education.com/science-fair/article/lemon-power1/
www.chromebattery.com/battery-kids/how-batteries-work
www.youtube.com/watch?v=CX84l5ZZHVg
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