Lemon Battery / Pickle Experiment Activity (HS)
The lesson will begin with the pickle demonstration as the “sponge activity.” We will then
start the portion of the presentation that deals with the electrochemical pickle. After the portion
of the presentation has concluded, we will provide the lemon battery materials to the students
and instruct them to light up the LED with the materials in front of them. Before they begin, we
will instruct the students to write down a plan of action. After the activity has concluded, we will
instruct them to write down the results of their experiment. We will then resume the presentation
and explain basic circuit theory to the students.
objectives
● Students will be able to define electrical engineering.
● Students will be able to visualize the atomic nature of electricity.
● Students will be able to differentiate between series and parallel circuit setups.
● Students will be able to define voltage, current, and resistance.
● Students will experience the live effects of energy conversion.
○ Lighting LED with Lemon battery: CE-EE-LE (chemical energy to electrical
energy to light energy)
○ Lights pickle up: EE-LE (electrical energy to light energy)
○ Power up motor with Lemon battery: CE-EE-ME (chemical energy to electrical
energy to mechanical energy)
Topic(s)
Circuits
type
High school activity from Sunday Academy
9-12
Grade(s):
time needed
6 hours
author
Sunday Academy
national next gen standards
north dakota standards