Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

Hello! My friends and I are doing a science fair project about whether a potato battery or a lemon battery produces more power. We sort of went in blind, and haven't done any experiments yet. I'm not sure why exactly one battery would produce more electricity. I did some research on this website, and checked these two topics: viewtopic.php?t=9529 and viewtopic.php?t=2972 . The reason/answer is probably on one of them, but I'm having trouble phrasing it into one specific answer (My science teacher probably won't accept something like "it produces more electricity because of what it is made up of").

So essentially, why would a potato battery produce more electricity than a lemon battery? (In something a 6th grader can understand)

Many thanks,
digitt

digitt - There are a few things you should understand better about fruit/vegetable based batteries. First, you mentioned 'power'. Power is defined as a product of the voltage and current produced, usually measured in watts.

The choice of electrodes materials used also defines the voltage and current produced, as does the physical area of those electrodes. You may produce a high voltage but a low level of current, or inversely, low voltage and a higher current.

I think a little more research on the concept of these types of batteries will help you to better define the experiment you may want to pursue as your science project. Good luck.

Rick Marz

Oh, I see. Thanks!

digitt