An electric cell is made by placing two plates made of different materials that have different affinities for electrons in a conducting solution. The voltage of a cell depends on the materials used and the solutions they are placed in, not on the size of the plates. (A cell is often called a battery, but strictly speaking, a battery is a series of cells-for instance, six cells in a 12-V car battery.) You can make a simple 1.5-V cell by placing a strip of copper and a strip of zinc in a tumbler of saltwater.
An easy cell to construct is the citrus cell. Stick a straightened paper clip and a piece of copper wire into a lemon. Hold the ends of the wire close together, but not touching, and place the ends on your tongue. The slight tingle you feel and the metallic taste you experience result from a slight electric current from the citrus cell through the wires when your moist tongue closes the circuit.

Transcribed Image Text:

Paper clip Lemon Copper wire