Zinc and Copper Electrodes

Details

9B20 - Circuits/Components/Inst.

Demo use only

Instances

Instance #276
G2B20A - Demo West (Duane Physics)
Good - Normal Wear Demo use only

Used in these demonstrations

Potato with copper and zinc strip electrodes connected via alligator clips to a yellow Test Bench 388A digital multimeter reading 0.363 V DC, on white paper

Organic Batteries

Demonstrates electrochemical cells using everyday produce. Students see how zinc and copper electrodes in acidic fruit or vegetables generate a measurable EMF through redox reactions, connecting chemical potential energy to …
BK Test Bench 388A multimeter displaying .567 V, connected via alligator clips to zinc and copper electrodes draped over the rim of a beaker containing cloudy salt water

Salt Water Battery

A zinc-copper cell in plain water reads only 300-400 mV due to high internal resistance from poor ionic conductivity. Adding salt dramatically increases conductivity, and the measured voltage jumps to …
Person holding metal electrodes connected via alligator clips to a yellow-cased BK Test Bench 388A multimeter displaying .402 V

Voltage of a Human

Holding dissimilar metal electrodes (copper and zinc) creates a galvanic cell using the body's electrolytes, producing ~0.4 V. Volunteers can be wired in series to add voltages or in parallel …

Reserve This Equipment

Demo use only

This equipment supports lecture demonstrations and cannot be reserved directly — it is assigned automatically as part of a demonstration. To use it, request a demo that includes it.