ENERGY FROM A DRY CELL

Hypothesis: Energy is the ability to do work and work is done whenever energy is
changed from one form to another. This link between energy and work
can be used to determine the electrical energy stored in a cell by using
the cell to do some measurable amount of work. Applying the principle of
conservation of energy, the amount of work which the cell facilitates
would be equal to the amount of energy it had stored. In this case the cell
can be used to lift masses and power an electrical circuit therefore using
both gravitational potential (mgh) and electrical energy (VIt).

Aim: Design an experiment to measure the total amount of electrical energy

that can be liberated from a new 1.5V dry cell.

Materials & 1.5V dry cell mounted in a cell holder

Apparatus: 1.5V (nominal) filament lamp
Rheostat
Electric motor
Pulleys and belt
Ten 50g masses
Ammeter
Voltmeter
Connecting wires
Stopwatch
Metre rule

Diagram
Method: Attach the cell to the electric motor which should be attached to the
pulleys and belt. Allow the motor to lift all of the masses to a specific
height as measured by the metre rule. Repeat this as many times as the
cell can manage without straining. Reduce the amount of mass at this
point and continue the lifting process. Reduce and repeat until the motor
can no longer lift any of the masses without strain.

Place the cell into the above circuit and record values of voltage (V) and
current (I) at regular time intervals until the lamp is no longer lit.

Expected Number Potential Electrical

Mass/kg Height/m Current/A Voltage/V Time/s
of times Energy/J Energy/J
Results:

Total: Total:

Treatment of The potential energy can be calculated using the following equation:
Results: 𝐸𝑃 = 𝑚𝑔ℎ
The electrical energy can be calculated using the following equation:
𝐸 = 𝑉𝐼𝑡
The total energy would be the sum of the total potential and electrical
energies.

Precautions: • Ensure there are is no wind interference

• Turn off the motor while resetting the masses
• Ensure the pully is in a 1:1 ratio
• Ensure the belt used is inextensible

Sources of • Inertia of the pulley system and masses

Error: • Internal resistance of the cell and circuit
• Gravitational forces

Conclusion: Taking the total sum of the energies provides the amount of the work that
the cell was able to do. This would provide a value that is close to the true
amount of energy stored in the dry cell but might not be the actual value
due to the fact that neither set up is ideal. The motor and pulley system
would lose energy to overcome the natural inertia of the masses.
Additionally friction and drag would produce resistive forces meaning
that energy is lost in moving the masses. This energy would not be
factored into the final sum. With the electric circuit, there would be
electrical energy lost due to the internal resistance of the circuit. Heat and
light energy from the lamp would also not have been accounted for. To
improve the results of the experiment consideration could be given to
executing it in a vacuum.