![alligator clip electrodes alligator clip electrodes](https://www.medsurgequip.com/resize/Shared/Images/Product/EKG-Alligator-Clips-for-Tab-Snap-Electrodes/universal-gator-clip-electrode-clips-3.jpg)
When this is done, you should see a change in how quickly the bubbles form. Water doesn’t conduct electricity that well by itself, but any electrolysis of water experiment could be accelerated by adding table salt to the water.
![alligator clip electrodes alligator clip electrodes](https://ae01.alicdn.com/kf/Haae395820e234837b3c67267b8776471m/20-Channels-EEG-CAP-Use-with-Alligator-Clip-Electrodes-Wire-for-Bridge-Mushroom-Electrodes.jpg)
Try adding an electrolyte to the water in the beaker.(Hint: Water’s chemical name is H 2O because it has two hydrogen atoms to every one oxygen atom.) Does one pencil collect more bubbles than the other? Which one? Why do you think this is? The pencil attached to the negative terminal of the battery collects hydrogen gas while the one connected to the positive terminal collects oxygen. Those bubbles are the components of water-hydrogen and oxygen gas-that have been split apart by the electricity as it travels through the water from one pencil to the other. You may need to use tape to hold the wires in place.Īs soon as you connect the wires to the battery, you will see bubbles appearing around each of the pencil tips in the water and floating upward. Wrap the wire around the graphite of each pencil and connect the wires to the battery. If you don’t have alligator clip leads, use two lengths of wire and strip an inch of insulation off each end.
![alligator clip electrodes alligator clip electrodes](https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/education/outreach/celebrating-chemistry-editions/2024-ccew/build-a-battery-workshop-from-nature-to-battery/jcr:content/mainContent/image.scale.small.jpg)
Connect each pencil to the battery with an alligator clip lead attached to the exposed graphite (pencil lead). They should extend into the water, but not touch the bottom of the glass. Push the pencils through the holes and set them in the glass. Cut a piece of the cardboard to fit over the beaker, then punch two holes in the center of the cardboard about an inch apart. The graphite in them will conduct electricity, but won’t dissolve into the water.ģ. Carefully remove the erasers and metal sleeves so you can sharpen both ends of each pencil. Fill the beaker or glass with warm water.Ģ.