Download Project
Before we generate a hypothesis that addresses this question, let’s know about the two most common types of energy. Alkaline batteries are made with potassium hydroxide, which is a basic solution (meaning it can neutralize a strong acid). A non-alkaline battery is made by using ammonium chloride and zinc. The ammonium chloride is definitely acidic. Alkaline batteries tend to be higher in price than their non-alkaline counterparts, just like brand-name batteries are usually more expensive than generics. But in each instance, what are people really paying for?
Challenge
Which batteries last longer: brand-name or commonly used, alkaline or non-alkaline?
Materials
Several different companies of AA batteries. Try to purchase batteries that each one have roughly the same expiration date (at least around the same year), and note the price you actually paid per battery. Here are some guidelines:
Brand-name batteries:
Rayovac
Energizer
Duracell
Eveready
Panasonic
Commonly used brands:
CVS
Walgreens
Rite Aid
Kirkland (Costco)
Several identical flashlights that take two AA batteries (get one flashlight each type of battery you plan to test)
Journal
Clock or watch
Masking tape to are labels
Procedure
Choose a day where you’ll be capable of monitoring your experiment all day. Make sure to start your experiment in the am!
Label each flashlight with the model of battery you are going to use that flashlight to test.
Load each flashlight with two of your appropriate model of battery.
Turn all of your flashlights on at once. Note the time frame, and record it in your notebook.
Watch each flashlight until it dies. When one goes out, note and record the time in a person's notebook. Record your data in a chart like that:
Battery Brand Name or Generic? Cost Expiration Date Alkaline and also Non-Alkaline? Time before Dying
Results
You may have found that name brand batteries don’t surpass the hype! In addition, there isn’t necessarily a correlation between what amount a battery costs and how it runs. However, you may have found that alkaline batteries last longer than non-alkaline batteries.
Why?
A battery generates the current through the chemical reaction, where new chemicals are formed on both sides of your battery. In general, the more chemicals a battery has which will change into other chemicals, the longer they last, and this is partly what explains why alkaline batteries have got a slight chemical advantage over their non-alkaline counterparts.
Likely Further
A great way to expand this experiment is testing how a battery’s expiration date affects the span of time it lasts. Do older batteries perform extra poorly? Test the same brand and method of battery, but test individual batteries with various expiration dates. You could even investigate which kind of battery technology—alkaline or non-alkaline—will give a battery a longer shelf life!
