2. Things you will need:
1. A Copper strip
(3x 5 centimeter)
2. A Zinc strip
(3x 5 centimeter)
3. A Plastic cup (Glass or Chinaware will do.)
5 cm
4. A Porous pot (Earthenware is equally good.)
5. Some wires
6. A soldering iron
7. A small LED or a voltmeter
8. Copper sulphate and Zinc sulphate
You can buy the chemicals and strips from a chemical dealer or borrow them
from your school laboratory.
5.5 cm
3. The size porous pot should be such that it fits into the plastic pot
leaving enough space for Zinc strip.
Further it should be a little longer than the plastic pot, so that the
two liquids may not mix with each other.
Porous pot
Plastic pot
4. Now Let’s get started :1. Join wires to the two strips with the help of a soldering iron.
( Do this in front of an elder as the soldering iron is very hot,)
Red wire on Copper plate as it is Positive.
Green wire on Zinc plate as it is Negative.
2. Mix ½ tea spoons each of Copper Sulphate and Zinc Sulphate separately in
200 ml of tap water. These are your electrolytes.
5. 3. Fill the porous pot with Copper Sulphate solution and half fill the plastic pot with
Zinc Sulphate solution, as the level will rise when you will insert the porous pot in it.
6. 4. Place the Copper strip in Copper Sulphate solution and the Zinc strip in Zinc Sulphate
solution . Join the two electrodes with a voltmeter and watch the reading.
0.8 Volts
7. If you want to light an LED you need more voltage. For this you have
to join two such cells in series.
You can even run a wall clock with this combination !!!
