Music Generated by a Zn/Cu Electrochemical Cell, a Lemon Cell, and a Solar Cell: A Demonstration for General Chemistry

Abstract

The circuit board found in a commercial musical greeting card is used to supply music for electrochemical cell demonstrations. Similar to a voltmeter, the “modified” musical device is connected to a chemical reaction that produces electricity. The commercial 1 V battery inside the greeting card circuit board can be replaced with an external power source such as a zinc and copper(II) electrochemical cell, a lemon battery or other zinc/proton cell variations, or a commercial solar cell. Directions are given to modify the musical circuit board, to make two types of homemade batteries, and to connect the “modified” musical device to an external power source to create a musical electrical circuit. Unlike a buzzer or flashing light, noticeable variations in music can warn the user of a gradual impending power failure. Students, including the visually impaired and blind, can relate the low volume and the slow tempo of a familiar song with weak or dying batteries and the lack of sufficient power.

Teaching the Nernst Equation and Faradaic Current through the Use of a Designette: An Opportunity to Strengthen Key Electrochemical Concepts and Clarify Misconceptions

“…Zn E cell (6) We note that as soon as the Zn electrode was placed in solution, Zn metal dissolved and the Zn surface was polarized. Similarly, we note that the although the initial concentration of Cu 2+ was 100 mM, Cu 2+ had a strong affinity to chemisorb to the electron-rich Zn surface, indicating its concentration decreased rapidly.…”

“…Due to its usefulness, a series of classroom activities, demonstrations and laboratories have been previously introduced for the purpose of demonstrating electrochemical applications in real life situations using easily accessible materials. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11] Although pivotal, grasping electrochemical concepts correctly has been traditionally difficult for students in high school and introductory courses at the university level. Several reports have demonstrated that there are well-established electrochemical misconceptions among students.…”

Visualization without Vision – How Blind and Visually Impaired Students and Researchers Engage with Molecular Structures

“…Teke and Sozbilir recently addressed problems of symbolic representation that blind students experience when learning chemistry (Teke & Sozbilir, 2019). There is substantial literature aimed at enabling BVI individuals to participate in other aspects of chemistry not explicitly related to chemical (molecular) structure and other science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields; curious readers are directed to the following recent references for examples: (a) exploring chemistry topics in the formal classroom (Smith, 1981;Stender et al, 2016;Tombaugh, 1981) and laboratory settings (Andersen, 1982;Bromfield-Lee & Oliver-Hoyo, 2007;Flair & Setzer, 1990;JCE staff, 2000;Neppel, Oliver-Hoyo, Queen, & Reed, 2005;Supalo, Mallouk, Rankel, Amorosi, & Graybill, 2008; J. T. Wood & Eddy, 1996), (b) exploring chemistry topics in informal teaching settings (Kumar et al, 2018), (c) solving puzzles (Cady, 2012) and using interlocking toy building blocks, like Legos, to learn chemistry (Campbell, Miller, Bannon, & Obermaier, 2011;Cloonan, Nichol, & Hutchinson, 2011;Geyer, 2017;Melaku, Schreck, Griffin, & Dabke, 2016;Ruddick & Parrill, 2012;Witzel, 2002), (d) threedimensionally printed puzzle pieces for representing elements, ions, compounds, or chemical equations (Singhal & Balaji, 2019), (e) a musical electrochemical cell (Cady, 2014), (f) development of a BVI-accessible thermometer (Vitoriano et al, 2016), (g) science enrichment activities at National Federation of the Blind Youth Slams and science camps Wedler et al, 2014), (h) approaches aimed at secondary school education (Supalo et al, 2016). For an excellent case study of a student with blindness successfully completing a chemistry laboratory course, see the recent report in this very Journal (Michael & Wohlers, 2019).…”

The Building Blocks of Battery Technology: Using Modified Tower Block Game Sets to Explain and Aid the Understanding of Rechargeable Li-Ion Batteries

“…To support learning and to be engaging, hands-on demonstrations are often used. The most commonly used activity employs lemon-/potato-electrolyte batteries, 8 which are useful for introducing the concept of electrode potentials, electrical circuits, and a non-rechargeable battery. The basics of this demonstration involve piercing a zinc-containing nail and a copper coin into either a lemon or a potato.…”

“… 11 Hence, these activities in general are suited for a wide range of students, including those who are either visually impaired or deaf. 8 …”