Making a Battery with alternating Pennies and Nickels

Tia McKinney

The purpose of this experiment was to look at how an electrolyte liquid and
cent combinations give off mA and mV readings to see which combination is the
strongest. With the alternating pennies and nickels with the salter-vinegar solution
in between, electrons move through the metals with the ions that are negative or
positive in the salt-vinegar solution, which is an electrolyte. This makes an
electrochemical reaction, which produces electrons which makes electricity. The
voltage that we measure comes from the two metals reacting at different rates. I
expect to see both the mV and mA increase the more pennies and nickels I add.
First you will mix cup of vinegar and a tablespoon of salt in a small bowel.
Second cut up a paper towel in to small squares, about 1cm by 1 cm. Third Place
the small square to soak in the bowl of salt-vinegar solution and set it aside. Gather
8 pennies and 8 nickels and wash them with mild dish soap. Next start building a
stack on a dry paper towel on your plate, put down a penny first then place the wet
paper towel down, then put a nickel on top. After that attach the ends of the
MultiMeter to the bottom penny and the top nickel to find the mA and mV, keep
adding the pennies and nickels making sure you end with a nickel on top, until you
get 8 of each. Dont forget to record all the data you collect. Even though there are
not a lot of hazardous materials in this lab, you still need to be aware that using
these house hold materials in the wrong way can result in an accident. Examples
include; being careful not to cut yourself with the scissors, dont get the lemon juice
or soap in your eyes.
Results
Some of the trends in this data are that the millivolts increase until 4 pennies
and 4 nickels then decrease. The milliamps slowly increased until 3 then
dramatically decreased at 4 then started to re-level out where it was before. An

equation that I used was

I=

v
R , I is the electrical current, v is the potential

difference, R is the resistance of the conductor.

Table 1: Data recorded from the mA and mV readings

Pennies
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8

Nickels
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8

Milliamps
.57
.58
.59
.29
.63
.66
.55
.58

Millivolts
.75
.88
.95
1.05
.97
.86
.76
.21

Graph 1: Rates and patterns of mA and mV readings

The Measure of mA and mV in Varing Amounts of Pennies and Nickles

1.2
1
0.8
Measurment

Milliamps

0.6

Millivolts

0.4
0.2
0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Pennies and Nickles of Each

The purpose of this experiment was to look at how an electrolyte liquid and
cent combinations give off mA and mV readings to see which combination is the
strongest. I thought that the more pennies and nickels you add the more mA and
mV it lets out. As you can see from table 1 and graph 1 the milliamps (mA) slowly
increased until 3 then dramatically decreased at 4 then started to re-level out where
it was before and the millivolts increase until 4 of each then decrease. This data is
saying that at first the mA and mV increased together and once the 4 pennies and 4
nickels are stacked the millivolts are at its highest while the milliamps it at its
lowest. After 4 each, the millivolts continue to increase while the milliamps
decrease. This proves my first assumptions wrong.

These results are showing that to make an effective battery you need to find
the perfect combination of metals. This is pretty important because if you have a
battery that has high amps and low volts it will not be very productive. Battery
companies need to find the in between to make the most effective battery. This
relates to energy production because battery companies need to have a balanced
battery that is normally small and they can really do nothing about the dimensions
and making more batteries and increasing the pollution in the world.
I am not that comfortable in my results because the readings on the
MultiMeter were always different on how I held it and how much pressure I used,
since humans cannot always get it the same the answers it always changed making
my results a little wonky. This is more of a random than systematical error. This can
be improved next time by having a machine measure the millivolts and milliamps
presents and we will get a more accurate response. Possible further experiments
could include using different liquids or different metals to see if the results would be
the same.
I wanted to look at how an electrolyte liquid and different cent combinations,
give off mA and mV readings, and which combination is the strongest. By
alternating pennies and nickels, you can make a voltaic pile. When electrons move
through the metals, from the saltwater and vinegar solution, it creates energy. With
the two different metals, one reacts more strongly than the other which leaves
voltage (electrical potential energy). With one metal positive and one negative it
causes electrons to move making an electrical current. I proved this by starting with
a penny and put paper towel that was soaked in vinegar and saltwater, then a nickel
on top. I measured the mV and mA of the stack and recorded it. I repeated that step
until I got to 8 pennies and 8 nickels. I concluded that the millivolts increase until 4
of each then decrease. The milliamps increased until 3 then dramatically decreased
at 4 then started to re-level out. So in order to make the perfect battery you need to
find the right combinations of the 2 metals. Words that you may need to know are;
electrolytes a liquid that contains ions, mA is the milliamps which measure the
electrical current, mV is millivolts which measures the volts, electrochemical
reaction is a reaction caused by the passage of electrical currents.