Education Technology


Voltage from Dry Cells

Activity Overview

In this activity, students' will use a Voltage sensor to measure the voltage produced by new dry cells of each size. They will also determine whether there is a relationship between dry cell size and voltage.

Before the Activity

  • Connect the TI-73 to the CBL™ unit
  • Connect the voltage sensor to Channel 1 in the CBL unit
  • Download the DataMate App if needed

During the Activity

Distribute the pages to your class.

  • Complete the Hypothesis section on the Data Collection and Analysis page and predict the effect of dry cell size on voltage

    Follow the Activity procedures:
    • Collect new dry cells of different sizes and put them into battery holders
    • Attach the black and red leads to the positive and negative terminals on the battery holder will the help of alligator clips
    • Measure the voltage across each cell type
    • Record data for each dry cell type
    • Create a bar graph to display the voltage reading for each dry cell size
    • Understand the correlation between dry cell size and voltage

After the Activity

Students' will complete Student Data Collection and Analysis Sheet.

Review student results

  • As a class, discuss questions that appeared to be more challenging
  • Re-teach concepts as necessary