Charging the World

With a
Little Change
How different acidities affect the voltage and
amperage of a homemade penny battery

Brittney Ketchum, Bryce Ward, and Hannah Langford

Animas High School

ABSTRACT
Through the conduction of this experiment the goal was to create a battery made of pennies that
was capable of lighting up an LED (Light Emitting Diode), and to determine which acidic
substance had the greatest impact on the amperage and voltage of the battery. This experiment
differed from the creation of a galvanic cell battery by substituting different electrolyte
substances as the variable, and testing the resulting voltage and amperage. Five different penny
batteries were used to test this, each one using a different acidic substance as the electrolyte.
Hydrochloric acid was predicted to have the highest voltage and amperage. Every battery was
expected to light up an LED. When the LEDs did not light up, the amperage was tested and it
was discovered that none of the batteries had a high enough amperage to light up the LED. All
remaining batteries were then combined, excluding the HCl battery, and amperage was retested.
When series batteries are combined, each cell adds to the terminal voltage. The combination of
series batteries creates a higher amperage. The combined amperage was high enough to light up
an LED. Bleach had the highest amperage and vinegar had the highest voltage. This explains
why the sample experiment that inspired this experiment used vinegar as the conductive
substance. This experiment brought enlightenment into the difficulties in creating a galvanic cell.

INTRODUCTION
The purpose of this experiment was to
determine which, of the given electrolyte
substances, produced the highest voltage and
amperage and is therefore most effective in
powering a penny battery. The goal of this
experiment was to find the most energy
efficient and effective version of a penny
battery and recognize the invention of the
original battery.
The battery created in this experiment was
based off of the first battery every created,
invented by physicist and chemist
Alessandro Volta in 1799. This invention is
known as a voltaic cell, in which a stack of
zinc and silver discs are layered between
vinegar or brine soaked cloth/cardboard in
order to generate electricity. Before the
invention of this battery, portable and
storable electricity was not an option.

The battery in the experiment was built in

the form of a galvanic/voltaic cell. This cell
consists of at least two half cells, a reduction
cell, and an oxidation cell. The reaction in
the two half cells provides energy for the
battery operations. A half-cell consists of an
electrode and an electrolyte solution. The
electrolyte solutions for this experiment
were bleach, vinegar, lemon juice, 0.1 molar
of hydrochloric acid, and Pepsi. The
electrical energy created from a galvanic cell
is formed by the two metals, in this case
copper and zinc, interacting with the acid on
the cardboard. The zinc washer at the base
of the cell represented a cathode, or the
negative side of the battery. The copper
penny at the top of the cell represented the
positive end, or the anode. This battery
format utilizes direct current (DC), meaning
the positive electrodes oxidize, and flow to
the negative side.

The batteries created were wet cells,

meaning effectiveness declines as the
electrolyte substance evaporates, so voltage
was recorded promptly after creation of each
battery. The effectiveness of the battery was
determined by measuring voltage and
amperage. Voltage is defined in how much
potential energy a charge contains during the
movement of the difference in a certain
electrical range. Amperage can be defined as
the strength of an electric current in
amperes.
Since the battery needs the acid in the
electrolyte solution to help with the creation
voltage and amperage, the prediction is that
the most acidic solution, which was
hydrochloric acid, would yield the highest
voltage and amperage.

there is a strong enough current that will not

fry the LED. The cardboard should be no
larger than the zinc washers. The cardboard
is then soaked in the desired substance until
fully saturated. The battery is then set on
aluminum foil. Since aluminum foil is a
good electrical conductor, the probes can be
placed on the foil instead of needing to
touch the zinc directly. The order is zinc,
cardboard, penny. The zinc is the anode
(negative) and the penny is the cathode
(positive). The voltage meter should be used
to test both the voltage and the amperage.
This should be repeated and recorded for
each of the substances. The HCl battery is to
be disposed. The remaining batteries are
then combined in any order. Measure the
voltage and the amperage, then attach the
LED to the final large battery.

HAZARDS
METHODS AND MATERIALS
30 Zinc washers
30 Pennies
Large piece of cardboard
30 ml of each liquid (vinegar, lemon juice,
soda, hydrochloric acid (0.1 mol
concentration) , and bleach [NaClO])
1 Voltmeter
2 LED lights
2 Alligator clips
Electrical tape
2 Tweezers
Beakers
Aluminum foil
Gloves (for handling hydrochloric acid)
5 pennies, 5 zinc washers, and 5 pieces are
cardboard are used for each battery to ensure

Hazards involved in this lab include the

chemicals bleach and hydrochloric acid. If
either come into contact with skin, wash the
affected area immediately for 15-20
minutes. Should hydrochloric acid come into
contact with any part of the body, the
equipment, or the tools, wash immediately
and take off piece of clothing (if applicable).
Take special precaution when diluting the 1
molar of HCl. Gloves should be worn at all
times while handling hydrochloric acid or
substances soaked in hydrochloric acid. If
hydrochloric acid is spilled on the
disposable gloves, take them off and throw
away. If bleach gets onto clothing, take off
the clothing if its an outer layer and attempt
to wash out the bleach stain. Refrain from
inhaling vinegar, hydrochloric acid, and

bleach. Safety goggles should be worn at all

times during the conduction of this

experiment.

RESULTS
Table 1- Experimental Values for Varied Substances
Substance

Voltage (V)

Current (mA)

Lemon Juice

1.73

0.03

Pepsi

2.25

0.01

Bleach

2.27

0.12

Hydrochloric Acid

3.51

0.05

Vinegar

3.66

0.04

Table 2: Experimental Values for Combined Battery

Everything Except
HCl Combined

Combined
Voltage (V)

Combined Current (mA)

4.58

0.24

Table 3: Wattage Given by Each Substance

Substance

Watts (W)

Lemon Juice

0.05

Pepsi

0.02

Bleach

0.27

Hydrochloric Acid

0.18

Vinegar

0.15

Everything Except HCl

1.10

Figure 1: Comparison of Battery Current Level per Substance

a
l
s
o
g
i
v
e
s
b
e
t
t
e
r

Figure 2: Comparison of Battery Voltage Level per Substance

Table 1 shows both voltage and amperage
for each of the simple batteries. Table 2
shows the voltage and amperage for the
combined battery. Figure 1 shows the
amount of amperage in each of the different
solutions, and Figure 2 shows the voltage of
each of the solutions. The combined battery
had the highest amperage (0.24 mA) and the

i
highest voltage (4.58
n V). The lemon juice
had the lowest voltage
s (1.73 V) and the
second lowest amperage
(0.03mA). The
i
Pepsi had the lowest
g amperage (0.01 mA)
and the second lowest
h voltage (2.25 V). The
vinegar had the highest
voltage (3.66 V).
t
Bleach had the highest amperage (1.2mA).
Table 3 shows the wattage
created by the
o
f
h
o

battery. This is calculated by multiplying the

voltage and the amperage. The bleach had
the highest wattage (0.27 W). The Pepsi had
the lowest wattage (0.02 W). The combined
battery had a wattage of 1.10 W.
The penny battery has a reduction potential.
This is due to it being made of zinc and
copper. The chart used to determine the
reduction potential conducted all
measurements at 25 C and the one of the
substances was in an aqueous solution.
Theoretically the zinc and copper battery
would have a reduction potential of -0.42
volts. However, since the penny battery ran
in a series circuit with a total of five cells,
the reduction potential of the battery was 2.1 volts. The giant penny battery had a
reduction potential of -8.4 volts.

DISCUSSION
The purpose of this experiment was to see
how different acidic electrolyte solutions
affected the amperage and voltage of a
penny battery. The expected results were
that the hydrochloric acid would have the
highest voltage and amperage. It was also
expected that every battery would cause an
LED to light up. This experiment brought
light upon the first batteries that were
designed, and the difficulty in finding a
solution that was able to conduct a
significant current.
The data shows that bleach had the most
amperage but vinegar had the highest
voltage. This is excluding the combined
battery. Seeing as it has almost all the
solutions within it, it was not an entirely
reliable data point. After doing the
experiment it was determined that the LEDs

did not light up when attached to any of the

singular batteries as expected. The average
experimental voltage for the batteries was
2.68V, the standard deviation was 0.76V.
All the substances were within the 2nd
deviation and the 68 percentile. Four of the
five substances had a higher voltage than
expected from the reduction potential. The
giant battery had a lower voltage than the
reduction potential.
The reason the LEDs did not work as
expected is because by the time the LEDs
were attached, the cardboard was starting to
dry out, thus losing some of the charge. The
same may also be true with the amperage.
The amperage was not measured at the same
time that the voltage was measured. The
amperage was measured after it was
discovered that the LED lights were not
working. Another reason the results might
not be entirely accurate is because not every
piece of cardboard was evenly saturated
when first attached to the battery. Next, the
zinc washers were quite larger than the
pennies, making it hard for the battery to
stay together with enough contact to produce
a strong current. The final reason our results
may not be accurate is because not all of the
pennies were produced in the same year.
Different years have different copper and
zinc compositions thus altering the amount
of electrical charge that can be conducted. In
order for the LEDs to light up, an amperage
of at least 0.1 mA is required. With the
materials used, this could only be
accomplished by combining all the small
batteries into one. There is a reason most
penny batteries are made using vinegar.

If this experiment were to be done over

again, the measurements for voltage and
amperage, along with the attachment the
LEDs, would be conducted at the same time.
Also, zinc washers that were a closer size to
the pennies would be used. This would give
more accurate results than the ones
collected.

This information is important because it

gives an insight to the evolution of the
battery and how the size, electrolyte, and
materials have changed since the first
battery was made. This also gives better
insight of how batteries actually work and
how they can be improved.

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