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Nail (electrode)Penny (electrode)Lemon juice (electrolyte)
4 lemons 4 zinc galvanized nails4 pennies5 alligator clips Several LEDs
Lemon Battery
How many lemons do you need to light up an LED?
We can build a battery with three things:
When we connect these things correctly, we can create an electric current just like a normal battery. The only difference is that the lemon battery won’t last very long.
Materials
Instructions
ROLL
Roll each lemon gently on a table to loosen up the juice inside, making sure you don’t break the skin. This helps the lemon juice act as a better electrolyte.
INSERT
Cut a small slit in a lemon. Insert a penny in the slit. Insert a nail into the lemon. Leave half of the nail and half of the penny exposed.
CLIP
Use one alligator clip to connect the zinc nail to one end of your LED light. Use the second alligator clip to connect the copper coin or wire to the other side of the light.
- The zinc nail is your negative terminal.
+ The copper coin or wire is your positive terminal.
Did the LED light up?
Try lighting each LED with one lemon. Then make a chain of two lemons. Continue with three and four lemons. Can you make multiple LEDs light up?
TIP: If you can’t light up any LEDs, try switch the leads around.
Record your data in a table
Number of lemons
Number/color of LED
Success?
There are no rows in this table
What’s Happening Here?
The lemon juice contains acid, which helps move tiny particles called ions between the zinc and the copper. This movement generates an electric current. The lemons themselves aren’t producing the electricity—they’re acting as a bridge that allows a chemical reaction to happen between the two metals.
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