Sample Junior Fair Project

Battery Power
 

Question

Which battery lasts the longest and does the cost have anything to do with how good the battery is?

Hypothesis
I think that Duracell batteries will last the longest because it is the most expensive battery being tested.

Materials
Wires, battery holders, metal connectors, light bulbs, batteries - Duracell, Eveready, Energizer, and Radio Shack batteries.

Research
While researching how batteries produce electricity I found out that a battery is a dry cell. A chemical reaction between the electrolyte and the zinc electrode helps produce electricity.

Procedure
I experimented by testing the power of four different brands of batteries. I did this by hooking up the batteries to a light bulb. I then turned all of the bulbs on at the same time and let them run until the batteries were used up. I timed how long it took for each battery to die. Two separate tests were done to see if the same results were obtained each time.

Results
After the testing was completed the following results were recorded. The Duracell battery lasted the longest, 101 hours and 20 minutes; Energizer battery lasted 99 hours and 17 minutes; Eveready battery lasted 28 hours and 30 minutes and Radio Shack lasted 27 hours and 10 minutes.

Conclusions
I thought the Duracell would last the longest and it did. It lasted two hours and three minutes longer than the Energizer. I also determined that the cost of the battery does relate to the amount of battery power. The more expensive the battery the longer it lasts.