Electricity from lemons?

When Year 1 Alex, started asking lots of questions about electricity, his parents bought a book so he could learn how electricity flows in basic circuits. Alex has been excited about the experiments in the book, one of which was making a battery out of lemons! Alex learnt how the acid in the lemon reacts with zinc to create an excess of electrons which, when connected to the circuit, are attracted to copper. This flow of electrons could then be used to power an LED. He used galvanised brackets (zinc) and shiny 2 pence pieces (copper). Alex measured the voltage of the lemons using a multimeter.

“I have tried out most of the experiments in my book,” Alex tells me, “but this one was my favourite! It was funny to watch the blub light up from lemons! The lemons gave out about two and a half volts which is enough to light a big bulb as well as a small bulb. I really do like science stuff!”

Dr Cane-Honeysett is incredibly impressed. “This is an experiment that I do with Year 6 boys. It is fantastic that a Year 1 boy is so excited about science that he wants to carry out advanced experiments at home. Well done Alex, keep up the good work!”