Team Members
Lee-Human Resources
Emily-Project Manager
Kayden-System Analyst
Saraiya-Technical assistant
Project Summary
With our project we tinkered with nails, copper wire and potatoes. We transferred energy from the two conductors (Stripped copper wire and nails, stuck into a potato) Our end goal is to light a bulb using a potato!
Habit of Mind…
A habit of mind is personal development characteristics that help you see who you are as well who you want to become. Our school has adopted these terms and way for us to grow as students. Personally as a group we have specifically appreciated applying these characteristics into our physical science learning every day.
Habit of mind that was critical to your group’s success and why
The most important habit of mind to our success is and was persistence. This is because the experiment we are conducting is very difficult to have a successful product. At first we weren’t able to light the bulb because we didn’t have enough potatoes. So far over the entire project we have lit a small LED light bulb, and our next step is to light a larger light bulb.After a two part research task we found out potatoes produce more volts if you cut them in half, then later found out that the potatoes produce more amps if you boil them. We have had to be very persistent throughout this whole project, from the lack of success. But in the end we have worked very hard as a group and will be happy with the result.
What successes gave you hope?
The success we got was as simple as getting a low voltage rather than nothing and that really encouraged us to continue and do something different for the procedure.
Observations made throughout the process
Some things we observed throughout the whole experiment was that we got a sufficient amount of energy to light a light bulb.
We also observed that the acid inside the potatoes worked the same as approximately 200 ml of hydrochloric acid.
The efficiency of the total energy transformed vs. total energy lost
The energy was potentially lost after the potatoes were left out on the table for a certain amount of time. That then caused the atmosphere to cool down the electrons, thus producing less energy. The reason the electrons in the potatoes decreased after being out on the table because the increase in temperature causes the particles to move faster.
The exact science of energy from our potato project was, the energy started with chemical energy from the potato then changed to electrical energy going through the wires which converts into radiant energy which we used to light a light-bulb
Conclusion
What did you learn?
From this experiment we learned that the average voltage collected from half a potato is approximately .5 volts. We also learned that if you boil them they produce more amps and less volts and how to use a multimeter. We learned a real life application for the science of particles moving slower and faster based on temperature.
What does your product teach or explain?
We boiled the potatoes because we needed them to heat up because when they heat up the electrons move faster and because of that the current increases. The product taught us the difference between volts and amps, how to measure for volts and amps, the scientific process and energy. The experiment also taught us that potatoes probably aren’t the best source of power.
Our First Success Lighting A Light Bulb
We held ammeter wands on the negative side of the LED bulb and the positive of the copper wire piece injected into a potato cut in half.
This entire experiment was kinda fun to watch, i thought it was a good smart idea to cut the potatoes in half and/or boil them, i never would have thought about that.
your determination and ability to keep trying and doing more research and figure out that you need yo boil the potatoes to get the most energy out of them was really cool
I knew that potatoes could produce energy, but it was very cool to hear that enough could even power a light bulb. I wonder what else could be powered.
I just wanted to say that The idea of using normal potatoes to create electricity and then having it WORK is astounding. You explanations and calculations was also great.
Very cool idea! Good job thinking outside the box. I wonder if it is possible to power something bigger like a fridge or a car using chemical energy from potatoes or some other food.
how did boiling the potatoes create more energy?
I liked how informative the first video was explaining how you used copper nails and potatoes. It was nice reading about the struggles your group went through and not giving up even when things didn’t work out.
Thats cool. You should make a potato gun.:}-MT
I really like your groups creativity with your concept and ability to work together.
what idea gave you the thought that boiling the potatoes would give you more energy ? Very interesting using potatoes as a source of energy and very cool , great job!!!
I think it’s really cool you figured out a way to use potatoes to light the LED lightbulb!
if you were to boil the patatoes for for twice as long what would change? its sounds like it would have been a lot harder if you didn’t figure out that if you cut the patatoes in half it gave more power you would have struggled much more. you guys did such a different project and still mznaged to light a light bulb thats impressive.
the fact that you were able to create power with a lightbulb was very cool
I bet you guys thought at first that this would be a ridiculous project. But the fact that you actually managed to light a bulb using potatoes is actually pretty impressive. Good job. I also found it interesting how they managed to generate amps and volts.
Since you figured out that potatoes aren’t the best power source what would you say would be an alternative power source that is also Eco-friendly?
I absolutely love that you guys did this experiment! I’ve always heard that it was possible to conduct electricity with a potato but I had no idea it was true!It was really cool to learn that yes in fact, potatoes can cunduct electricity, enough to light a LED light bulb!
What inspired you to use potatoes? Personally, I believe that this is a very cool project, and your persistence was amazing! If you were to go back and try again, would you do anything differently?
its so cool that you guys were able to power things with potatos, great job guys!
that’s really cool i wouldn’t have thought that the potatoes could produce energy.yall did a good job