MLC’s 5th-/6th-graders create hot potatoes as an alternative source of electricity
The Cedar class (5th- and 6th-grade) of teacher Karin Stoesz at Mountain Lake Christian Elementary (MLC) went right to the tubers in order to find an alternative source of electricity.
Their hypothesis: Can a raw potato conduct electricity. The inquiring minds of the students discovered, with experimentation, that results could be positive – IF – the spud is adorned in just the right bling – a penny, a galvanized nail and wires with alligator clips.
The science of the experiment begins with the fact that electricity is the result of a chemical reaction. The penny is copper, and the galvanized nail is coated in zinc. When zinc – which is negatively-charged – comes into contact with an acid (such as in a potato), electrons are freed in a chemical reaction. The copper of the penny – positively charged – accepts those electrons, thereby creating an electric circuit or a charged hot potato.
The following photos are courtesy of MLC.
