Shop Subscribe

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Schoolyard Blog | Teacher Resources | School Specialty

Classroom must haves for teachers plus essential teacher supplies, lesson plans and activities.

schoolyard-logo
  • Education Essentials
  • Inspiration & Planning
  • Learning Spaces
  • Topics
  • Search
  • < Previous post
    Next post >
    Start the New Year with STEM!

    STEAM & STEM
    School Specialty • Aug 22, 2016 • Last Modified: Jun 24, 2022

    STEM Learning: DIY Earth Battery

    In 1841, Alexander Bain (1810 – 1877) demonstrated the ability of moist dirt to aid in generating electricity–moist earth can be used as an electrolyte to create electricity in a voltaic cell. Thus an “earth battery” is a pair of electrodes, of two dissimilar metals, with moist earth used as an electrolyte. To create the battery, Bain buried plates of zinc (anode) and copper (cathode) in the ground about one meter (3.2 feet) apart, producing an output voltage of approximately 1 volt. Below, we’ve included instructions for making your very own in-classroom earth battery!

    Start with STEM

    • How much power [W = I * V)] does your earth battery produce?
    • Could you create a series circuit (current passes through each circuit element in turn without branching) to power a small LED?

    Challenge

    • Have students create earth electrodes out of two dissimilar metals.
    • Ask them to hypothesize what soil conditions are best for creating an earth battery. (Suggestions include: swamp or marsh muds, dry sand (no moisture), lawn soils, clay, sandy soils, acid forest soils, salty soils on roadsides after a season of winter salting.)
    • Go hunting for iron bacteria and use these iron-rich muds as the battery source material.
    What You Need
    • aluminum rod (plate)
    • copper rod (plate)
    • insulated wire (stranded, 20 gauge)
    • electrical tape
    • multimeter
    • wire strippers
    Creating Earth Electrodes
    1. Use wire strippers to remove approximately 1.5 inches of insulation from two 2-foot pieces of wire; strip approximately 0.5-inch from the other end.
    2. Carefully wrap the longer stripped stranded wire around the rod(s).
    Making an Earth Battery
    1. Identify a location.
    2. Insert metal electrodes and attach multimeter leads [copper (+), aluminum (-)]
    3. For measuring direct current voltage: set multimeter function switch to “DCV: 20” and take a reading in volts DC.
    4. For measuring direct current: set multimeter function switch to “DCA: 20m” and take a reading in milliamps (mA) DC.
    5. Calculate Your Earth Battery Power (W = I * V) Example: a lawn battery in late summer (little rain) produces a 0.65V (voltage) and 0.2mA of current. A battery power calculation results in 0.00013W (0.13mW).

    Find all the supplies you need for this activity or all of your science experiments at www.FreyScientific.com

    Tagged With: At-Home Learning, P21 Skills for Today

    Recommended

    Esports in Education: Career Opportunities and Cognitive Development from Gaming

    STEAM & STEM

    Esports in Education: Career Opportunities and Cognitive Development from Gaming

    Esports in School: College Football Playoff Foundation Teams Up With School Specialty to Build Esports Arena at Morningside High School

    News

    Esports in School: College Football Playoff Foundation Teams Up With School Specialty to Build Esports Arena at Morningside High School

    Simple Everyday Ways to Help Kids Practice Math: Winter Edition

    Math

    Simple Everyday Ways to Help Kids Practice Math: Winter Edition

    Designing Effective Specialty Spaces in Schools

    Learning Spaces

    Designing Effective Specialty Spaces in Schools

    Explore The Schoolyard

    Education Essentials

    Inspiration & Planning

    Learning Spaces

     

    TopicsShop Subscribe

    Copyright © 2023 School Specialty, LLC. All rights reserved. Privacy Statement · Social Media Statement · Do Not Sell My Personal Information - CA Resident Only

  • CATEGORIES

    • Education Essentials
    • Inspiration & Planning
    • Learning Spaces
  • TOPICS

    • Arts & Crafts
    • Early Childhood
    • Special Needs
    • Physical Education
    • Educational Technology
    • Student Resources
    • Organization & Storage
    • Classroom Management
    • STEAM & STEM
    • 21st Century Learning
    • Reading & Literacy
    • Healthy Students
    • Teacher Life
    • Back to School
    • Celebrations & Seasons
    • Out of School
    • News
    • Math
    • Science
    • Topics
    • Shop
    • Subscribe
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • LinkedIn
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube