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Researched by Zach M.
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The purpose of this experiment was to determine which brand of battery would last the longest and also to determine how temperature affected the discharge time of the battery.
I chose this project because it always seemed interesting to me how batteries worked and what battery was the best of all. I remember from when I was young I asked my grandma why she kept her batteries in the refrigerator and she said that it well save the power in the battery, and I wanted to see if that was a true statement.
The information gained from this experiment well help consumers buy
the best batteries. All the people in the world need reliable batteries
because if they are buying really expensive batteries and the battery can’t
even hold a charge for thirty minutes then they are losing money that they
could use on reliable batteries.
My first hypothesis was that normal disposable batteries would last
longer than rechargeable batteries. My second hypothesis was that batteries
that are very cold in the process of discharging would last longer then
in room temperature.
I base my first hypothesis on the fact that normal disposable batteries will last longer because they only hold their charge once. I base my second hypothesis on the fact of some people put their batteries in the freezer to lengthen the life of the batteries.
The constants in this study were.
All double A batteries.The manipulated variable is the temperature of the batteries and the type of batteries.
Same temperature in all the experiments done.
Size of light bulbs.
The same amount of watts on each light bulb.
Same amount of batteries in each test (one battery).
All the tests being done in one room.
All batteries bought at the same time and at the same place.
All batteries expire at the same time such as good till year 2006 or 2007.
The refrigerator stays at the same temperature the whole time the test is being ran.
All batteries fully charged before the testing begins (no batteries used before the experiment starts.
The responding variables were the length of time the batteries produced
power.
To measure the responding variable I timed the discharge of the batteries in minutes.
| QUANTITY | ITEM DESCRIPTION |
| 8 | Non rechargeable batteries used for the test. |
| 8 | Rechargeable down the electrical charge in the batteries |
| 1 | Light bulb holder to connect the battery to the light bulb. |
| 2 | 2 foot long wires to hook up the battery to the light bulb. |
| 4 | 4-5 inch wires to connect the light bulb to the alarm clock. |
| 17 | One refrigerator to do the second experiment in. |
| 1 | A thermometer to measure the temperature of the room. |
| 1 | One battery holder to hold the battery when the test is taking place. |
| 1 | One alarm clock. |
| 2 | Alligator clips |
Buying your supplies
1.First buy 4 batteries of brand that you would like (preferred AA batteries).
Also make sure that all the batteries that you buy have the same expiration
date.
2.Then buy another 4 batteries of any brand you would like.
3.Now buy 4 batteries of a rechargeable battery that you would like
to buy.
4.Now buy another brand of rechargeable batteries of your choice.
5.After you buy all of the batteries buy a switch to turn the battery
on and off.
6 .Now you can buy a light bulb holder to place the light bulb in (two
holders are optional.
7. Now buy two 2 foot long wires.
8. Also buy at least two 4-5 inch wires.
9. Now buy some light bulbs that well fit into the light bulb holder
that you bought and make sure that they are not so big that they would
burn down the battery in ten seconds so make sure the light bulb is about
as big as your pinkie.
10. In the second experiment you well need to use a refrigerator to
put the battery in and run the experiment again.
Putting together your experiment
11. Now take two 2 foot wires and connect one to the one side of the
battery holder and the other to the other side of the battery holder.
12. Connect one of these wires to the light bulb.
13. Now place the battery in the battery holder.
14. Then take one of 4-5 inch wires and connect it to the other side
of the switch.
15. Take the other end and connect it to one side of the light bulb
holders.
16. Take another one of 4-5 inch wires and connect it to the other
side of your holder and connect it to another holder.
17. Now screw your light bulb into the holder(s).
18. Put the battery into the holder.
Checking your equipment
19. First make sure the room temperature is 21-22 degrees Celsius.
20. Make sure that all equipment is hooked up.
21. When you are ready to start the test grab your stopwatch and start
it at the exact time that
22. Make sure that you are there when your first battery runs out of
power.
23. Now you should repeat the experiment over and over again.
24. You can repeat it again on the next hypothesis but you well have
to use the refrigerator .
25. Make sure that you have a new light bulb for the next tests.
26. Again make sure all of the equipment is hooked up.
The original purpose of this experiment was to determine which brand of battery lasts the longest and also to determine how temperature affected the discharge time of the battery.
The results of the experiment were that the Energizer battery lasted longer than the Radio Shack battery and also that the non rechargeable batteries lasted longer than the rechargeable batteries.
My first hypothesis was that normal disposable batteries would last longer than rechargeable batteries. My second hypothesis that batteries that are very cold in the process of discharging will last longer then in room temperature.
The results indicate that my second hypotheses should be rejected. My first hypothesis was accepted.
Because of the results of this experiment, I wonder if much colder or much warmer temperatures would have even greater effects.
If I were to conduct this project again I would probably conduct more trials and increase my sample size to four batteries of each type.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to thank the fllowing people for there help with my science
project.
-I would like to thank the following people who made my science project better and or possible. I would like to thank my mom and dad for purchasing the supplies I needed for my project and for driving me everywhere.
-I would like to thank Mr. Newkirk for always staying after school all those times that really helped me finish my project in time. Also, I would like to thank him for helping me all the way through my project.
-I would like to thank Mrs. Pasckvale for always being there to help me when I needed it.
-I would like to thank my grandpa for helping me buy some of my supplies.
-I would like to thank my sister for giving me a lot of suggestions
for my project.
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