Zinc Reacts with Vinegar

Zinc Reacts with Vinegar’s Acetic Acid To Produce Electricity

March 7, 2014

Abstract
This research is about the chemical reaction of zinc with acetic acid to produce a short amount of electricity. Even though it only conducts a small amount of voltage, we investigated and experimented on how it can produce more than usual without adding any other components on the project except zinc, copper, vinegar, or a unique container that can increase the voltage of our product.
The zinc can produce electricity because of the chemical reaction it occurs when it is soaked in vinegar’s acetic acid, the zinc is dissolved to produce hydrogen gas; while the copper’s use is only to move the electrons throughout the entire circuit and connect it to the battery powered object. The main idea we took on our research and personal experiences is that when more batteries are connected, more voltage are produced. Our design is to connect one container of vinegar, zinc, and copper to another container with the same materials to produce our needed voltage. If ever we had reached it, the starting copper wire and the last copper wire will be the wire connected to our LED bulb to light it up and hopefully to let other battery-powered objects to run with this kind of battery.
In our results, we were able to light up our LED bulb with an amount of approximately 4.25 volts while using a 12 slot ice cube tray. We found out that the way to increase the voltage of our product was to have more containers to be connected to each other. i Acknowledgements The researchers extend their gratitude to our Parents for the overall support and help, especially finding the materials needed for our research. To Ms. Michelle Baldevarona for giving us the chance to work on this project and made corrections on our mistakes And most importantly, to God, our Father, for the knowledge, strength, time, and life He gave to us to make this research a success.

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Table of Contents Title Page
A. Abstract i
B. Acknowledgments ii
C. Chapter 1
a. Background of the study 1
b. Statement of the Problem 2
c. Formulation of the Hypothesis 2
d. Significance of the Study 3
e. Definition of Terms 4
D. Chapter 2 7
E. Chapter 3
a. Research Design 12
b. Materials 12
c. Procedure 13
F. Chapter 4
a. Presentation of Data,
Analysis, Interpretation of Data 14
b. Findings 15
c. Results 15

G. Chapter 5
a. Summary 16
b. Conclusion 16
c. Recommendations 17
H. Appendices 18

Chapter 1
Introduction
Background of the Study The researchers first aimed to find a good project that can conduct even a short amount of electricity through their own simple chemical reaction. We then came upon with zinc’s reaction with acetic acid. In our research it produces a very short amount of voltage. We want to find a way to strengthen the production of electricity without using other components to help us with our task except zinc, copper, vinegar and either a glass or plastic container. If we indeed improve it, would it light an LED bulb, and how much voltage it produces? After agreeing with the said product, we then studied on battery cells. The electric current involved in this research is called electrochemical cells; these cells are used to store chemical energy to eventually move electrons. The more the cells, the stronger the voltage it produces. The electrons can move through the whole circuit by using the copper wire as a connecting wire and be able to light up our LED bulb. Lastly, in our early research, more than one cell is then called a battery.

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Statement of the Problem This study aims to determine if the chemical reaction of zinc with acetic acid can produce electricity and if ever, how can it produce more. We aim to answer the following questions:
1. How can zinc and acetic acid produce more electric voltage?
2. Is it enough to light an LED bulb?
3. How many containers that it takes to light the LED bulb?
Formulation of the Hypothesis The researchers hypothesized that we wouldn’t fully lit the LED bulb but only to light it up due to the low voltage it produces.

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Significance of the Study We opt to understand the chemical reaction of zinc on acetic acid and learn its balanced equation. And on further testing, we want to use this to take advantage on saving batteries for other uses. Through this study, the researchers hoped to help and teach the following people.
a. House owners – House owners always want to save electricity, this can be a substitute on objects that only need small amount of voltage to run. And with simple materials, they can understand and learn how electric current move and work.
b. Students on Chemistry Class – The chemical reaction can help them with their studies even though it’s just simple. It can let them understand how chemical reaction important on our daily life because it is everywhere.
c. Scientists – Zinc’s reaction on acetic acid produces hydrogen gas in a form of a bubble; scientists can study on producing this gas to enhance our knowledge on the most abundant element on the universe.
d. Electric Engineer – They might want to expound the idea of this study and try to reduce it to the size of an AA battery.

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Scope and Limitations The research took awhile because we are trying to understand how the electrons from one cell move and adds up the voltage, and while we tried it out, we had a hard time fixing up the wires and finding the right container. We then found valuable information from the Internet through tons of searching and reading. Most of the information went from people’s opinion on how the battery works. And we read that the zinc slowly dissolves on vinegar, so the battery might not last long unless you change the zinc afterwards. While the purpose of our study was to understand the chemical reaction of zinc with acetic acid on producing our needed voltage to light the LED bulb.
Definition of Terms
Vinegar - is a liquid consisting mainly of acetic acid (CH3COOH) and water. The acetic acid is produced by the fermentation of ethanol by acetic acid bacteria.
Zinc - is a metallic chemical element; it has the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. It is the first element of group 12 of the periodic table. Zinc is, in some respects, chemically similar to magnesium, because its ion is of similar size and its only common oxidation state is +2.
Copper - is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity.

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Acetic Acid - is an organic compound with the chemical formula CH3COOH. It is a colorless liquid that when undiluted is also called glacial acetic acid. Vinegar is roughly 4%-8% of [acetic acid] by volume, making it the main component of vinegar, apart from water.
H3O+ (Hydronium Cation) - is the positively charged polyatomic ion with the chemical formula H3O+. Hydronium, a type of oxonium ion, is formed by the protonation of water (H2O).
OH- (Hydroxide) - consists of oxygen and a hydrogen atom held together by a covalent bond, and carries a negative electric charge. It is an important but usually minor constituent of water. It functions as a base, a ligand, a nucleophile and a catalyst.
Weak Acid - is an acid that dissociates incompletely, releasing only some of its hydrogen atoms into the solution. Thus, it is less capable than a strong acid of donating protons.
Cation - an ion with fewer electrons than protons, giving it a positive charge.
Anion - is an ion with more electrons than protons, giving it a net negative charge.
Battery – is a device that produces electricity by a chemical reaction between two substances.
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Electrochemistry - a branch of chemistry that studies chemical reactions which take place in a solution at the interface of an electron conductor and an ionic conductor. These reactions involve electron transfer between the electrode and the electrolyte or species in solution.
Electrochemical cell - a device capable of either deriving electrical energy from chemical reactions or facilitating chemical reactions through the introduction of electrical energy.

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Chapter 2
Review of Related Literature and Studies
Zinc’s Reaction with Acetic Acid The composition of U.S. pennies was changed in 1982. For the preceding 20 years, pennies were an alloy of about 94 % copper and 6 % zinc. The increasing cost of copper made this impractical. Therefore, some 1982 pennies, and all pennies produced after that time, have a pure copper shell with a zinc interior. The new pennies contain only about 2.4 % copper, and weigh about 2.5 grams, as opposed to the approximate 3.1 gram weight of the older type.
Zinc is a more reactive metal than copper. In this experiment, you will show that zinc will react with vinegar (an acetic acid solution) to produce hydrogen gas, while copper will not react.
Vinegar is a 5 % solution of acetic acid. It is not a very strong acid, nor is it very concentrated. For this reason, the reaction proceeds fairly slowly. The hydrogen gas generated by the reaction bubbles up, because it is less dense than the Penny and the acid solution.

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However, toward the end of the reaction, some bubbles of hydrogen may adhere to the copper or be trapped inside the shell. If this occurs, the combination of copper and hydrogen gas may be less dense than the acid solution, and what’s left of the penny may actually float.
Source: http://www.ectschool.com/webquiz/ects_quizzes/labs/Chemistry%20Experiment/Chemical%20Reactions/The%20Behavior%20of%20Copper%20and%20Zinc%20with%20Acid.pdf
Electrochemical Cells
An extremely important class of oxidation and reduction reactions are used to provide useful electrical energy in batteries. A simple electrochemical cell can be made from copper and zinc metals with solutions of their sulfates. In the process of the reaction, electrons can be transferred from the zinc to the copper through an electrically conducting path as a useful electric current. An electrochemical cell can be created by placing metallic electrodes into an electrolyte where a chemical reaction either uses or generates an electric current. Electrochemical cells which generate an electric current are called voltaic cells or galvanic cells, and common batteries consist of one or more such cells. In other electrochemical cells an externally supplied electric current is used to drive a chemical reaction which would not occur spontaneously. Such cells are called electrolytic cells.
Source: http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/chemical/electrochem.html
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Chemical Reaction of Zinc on Acetic Acid:
Zn(s) + 2CH3COOH(aq) --> (CH3COO)2Zn(aq) + H2(g)
Zn(s) + 2CH3COOH(aq) --> Zn(OOCCH3)2(aq) + H2(g)
Source: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090218161857AAsrFEw
Battery
a device consisting of one or more electrochemical cells that convert stored chemical energy into electrical energy. Each cell contains a positive terminal, or cathode, and a negative terminal, or anode. Electrolytes allow ions to move between the electrodes and terminals, which allows current to flow out of the battery to perform work.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battery_(electricity)
Acetic Acid Electrical Conductivity
Source: http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/ja01328a026

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Electric Current and Copper Copper is a good conductor because, like other metals, it contains free electrons. Free electrons are also known as conduction electrons. Each copper atom provides a single free electron, so there are as many free electrons as atoms. Free electron concentration in copper n = 8.5 × 1028 per m3 When a voltage is connected across a piece of copper, it pushes the free electrons so that they flow through the metal – that's an electric current. Notice that the electrons start to flow as soon as the switch is closed. The message to get them moving is instantaneous (in fact it travels close to the speed of light). However, the electrons themselves travel much more slowly. So how does the current come on everywhere as soon as the switch is closed? It is because the free electrons are already spread through the wire. As soon as the switch is closed, there is a force on all the electrons, which gets them moving. It's a bit like a bicycle chain. As soon as you start pedalling, the back wheel starts to turn. The force on the back wheel is instantaneous even though the individual links are travelling at a visible speed. But because the links are already spread around the chain 'circuit' they all start to move at the same time. Source: http://resources.schoolscience.co.uk/CDA/16plus/copelech2pg2.html

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Voltage
Voltage is electric potential energy per unit charge, measured in joules per coulomb ( = volts). It is often referred to as "electric potential", which then must be distinguished from electric potential energy by noting that the "potential" is a "per-unit-charge" quantity. Like mechanical potential energy, the zero of potential can be chosen at any point, so the difference in voltage is the quantity which is physically meaningful. The difference in voltage measured when moving from point A to point B is equal to the work which would have to be done, per unit charge, against the electric field to move the charge from A to B. Source: http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/electric/elevol.html

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Chapter 3
Methodology
Research Design The research design consists of the following set-up. Fill up any number of containers with vinegar. A copper wire on the start of one container, will be either the positive or negative side of the battery, then zinc connected with a connecting wire connects the two containers, the zinc is on the first container then connects the second container with the connecting wire. Repeat on to connect more cells and to produce higher voltage. Then end with zinc connected with a copper wire while the zinc is soaked on the vinegar and the copper wire is dry outside.
Materials Needed
Vinegar -LED bulb
Containers -Battery Tester
Zinc Strips/Nails
Copper Strips
Connecting Wires

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Procedure
Setting Up:
1. Took some containers and fill them up with vinegar.
2. Took one copper wire and placed hanging on the very first container on any side of the platform.
3. Connected a zinc metal with a connecting wire and soaked the zinc on the first container and the connecting wire on the second container.
4. Continued placing zinc and connecting wire on the second to third container
5. Repeated on until all the containers are connected
6. Placed the last zinc connected with a copper wire on the container (Zinc soaked, Copper wire left hanging outside)
Testing the Battery
1. Took out our battery tester and checked the voltage of the battery by touching both copper wires with the respective testing wires.
2. Connected the LED light bulb on the two respective copper wires.

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Chapter 4
Presentation, Analysis and Interpretation of Data
Presentation of Data, Analysis and Interpretation of Data Table 1: The researchers want to obtain enough voltage to light up an LED bulb; we started from a trial test with glasses and try to work it with a number of containers to obtain our needed, stronger voltage.
Trial with
Number of Containers Connected
Voltage Produced
What Happened?
LED Bulb?
Trial 1 - Glass
Connected 2
~0.90
The researchers’ first attempt to produce electricity, Voltage was too low.
No
Trial 2 - Glass
Connected 4
~1.55
With 4 Glasses connected to each other, voltage went a little bit higher.
No
Trial 3 - Glass
Connected 5
~2.20
Same happened with 5 Glasses.
No
Trial 4 – Ice Cube Tray (small)
Connected 12
~4.25
We changed our container to an ice cube tray having 12 small slots. Voltage was astonishing and it lit up our LED bulb.
Yes

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Findings
The researchers found out that to obtain the needed voltage, we need to have more containers connected to each other because the electrons has to move around, and when it moves, it is reaching more vinegar, more acetic acid therefore producing higher voltage.
Results
In the results, when more containers are being connected to one another, the higher voltage it produces. But until we had the light bulb to light up we connected 12 small container of an ice cube tray to each other. It didn’t take that much space compared the trial where we used glasses as our container. So on our opinion, the volume of vinegar doesn’t matter as long as we connect more containers to one another, and it produces higher voltage.

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Chapter 5
Summary, Conclusions, and Recommendations
Summary
The research claims that indeed the zinc can produce electricity when reacted with acetic acid. The way to light up the LED bulb is to connect more containers to one other because the electrons move on each container until it reached the object to be powered. The LED bulb was lit due to a correct amount of containers that will produce enough voltage to light it up.
Conclusion
So we concluded that acetic acid and zinc can conduct electricity but to produce more means to add more cells just like a simple battery, the more that there are connected the more electricity it produces. We were able to light up an LED bulb with 12 small containers of an ice cube tray, each slot with zinc and copper wire soaked on the vinegar. But the battery wouldn’t last long because of the dissolving of zinc to the acid, but replacing it is easy and won’t take a lot of time.

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Recommendations
We recommend using a container that can supply already more than 5 slots for setting up your battery, just like an ice cube tray that we used. Because if continued with a lot of glasses or large containers, it will take more space than usual. And also, we recommend fixing your wire properly because ours’ look messy. And lastly, if you want to run some things that takes a higher voltage to run, you may want to spend your time on connecting a lot of ice cube tray to one another with the same procedure.

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Appendices
A. Trial 1 on 2 Glasses, not able to light up the LED bulb B. Trial 2 on 4 glasses, not able to light up the LED bulb

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C. Trial 3 on 5 Glasses, not able to light up the LED

D. First Setup on 2 glasses

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E. Trial 4 on Ice Cube Tray, Lit up the LED bulb

F. Lit up our first ever LED bulb with vinegar battery

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