"Are rechargeable batteries more economical than alkaline batteries?"

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IB Extended Essay                                                 07-05-2003

Candidate Name: Willy Gunawan

Candidate Number: D0612-027

School: Wesley College, Melbourne

School Number: 0612

Subject: Chemistry

“Are rechargeable batteries more economical than alkaline batteries?”

                                                        

Words: 3711

Acknowledgements:

                                                                                07/04/2003

I acknowledge that the work of others has been appropriately referenced and that all unacknowledged work is genuinely mine. Along with this I want to thanks all the support given by my family, and Ms. Karen Hamilton which has been very patient in guiding me and was a tremendous mental support and me during this hectic time of doing the assignment itself. Thank you, for making it possible for me to finish the project.

As English is my second language, a lot of effort and time has been put into ensuring that my language is properly used, and make sense. Yet it is inevitable that I made linguistic mistakes along the way. I would like to use this opportunity, to apologise if that is the case.

                                                                        

                                                                        Willy Gunawan

Contents:

Title Page…………………………………………………………………………….…...1

Acknowledgements………………………………………………………………….…...2

Table of Contents………………………………………………………………………...3

1. Introduction……………………………………………………………………………4

1.1 History of Battery……….. ….……..………...……………………………...5

1.2 Background Theory of battery…..……………………………………….…7

  1. Demonstration of simple galvanic cell………………………………………9
  2. Modern Battery / Dry Cell………………………………………………....11
  3. Rechargeable Battery……………………………………………………....13

2. Comparison of batteries’ life …………………………………………………………..

        2.1 Alkalines Batteries………….………………………………………………15

        2.2 Rechargeable Batteries…………………………………………………..…17

3. Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………19

4. Appendix

        4.1 Operation of a simple battery……………………………………………...20

        4.2 Comparison of batteries’ life…………………………………………….....21

5. Bibliography……………………………………………………………………….…23

Research question:

“Are rechargeable batteries more economical than alkaline batteries?”

Introduction:

Batteries are a compact portable energy source, we use batteries in our life; it has played a very important role within our modern society such as to operate portables appliances. We use torches as a backup lighting system; we use batteries on our mobile phones, as well as batteries in our cars. Many of us, do not even have the realisation that it is a perfect example of application of chemistry in daily life.

        

        The battery industry has become a very profitable market. The market is saturated and we see more and more brands, each and every one of them claiming that they yield better value and effectiveness. Rechargeable batteries, allow the recharging of the batteries that allows the battery to be used for more than once. They are now available in the market, but they do not come at a cheap price, you will need to invest on a charger, a device you need to acquire to charge up the rechargeable battery.

        The topic was chosen as this matter has left many of us dazzled, the need of battery is unquestioned but they come at relatively expensive price that vary across different brands. So which one do we choose among the brands within the market? Is it justified to spend money on investing on a charger so we can use rechargeable batteries? Or is it better to keep using the traditional batteries? What kind of battery usage do we need until it is economical to get rechargeable batteries? This essay will help answer these questions.

Theoretical Background:

  1.  History of Battery:

        On 1660 Otto Von Guericke built the first static generator, which is a glass ball turned by hand which rubbed against cloth which create sparks of electricity. After Otto’s discovery, more scientists are involved and fascinated by electricity. But it is not until 20th of March 1800, came one of the greatest breakthroughs in the electricity experiments. A professional disagreement, over the results of an experiment, between Luigi Galvani and Alessandro Volta two leading scientists, led Volta to prove that when certain metals and chemicals come into contact with each other they can produce an electrical current. He placed together several pairs of silver and zinc discs separated by paper soaked in salt water and an electrical current was produced, Volta had produced the first battery. These are called Voltaic battery, or usually referred in Chemistry as Galvanic Cells. Refer to Figure 3 (P.5) for illustration.

1.2 What is a battery?

        So what exactly are batteries? This seems like an easy question, even someone as young as 5 year old will know it, as they are playing their game-boy or remote control they use batteries. Unfortunately there are more to it than just an apparatus that provide electricity, it is a complex matter that has been researched by scientists since ages ago.

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        Batteries come in different varieties and sizes. Some are small enough to fit in our watches, yet many are strong enough to power cars, and planes. Figure one shows the common household batteries we use on everyday life.

        

“Energy cannot be created nor destroyed, energy can only be changed from one form into another.”

Law of Conservation Energy.

        

        In theory energy cannot be created or destroyed, it can only be changed from one form into another. There are different forms of energy; electrical, chemical, kinetic, sound, heat, and potential energy. A battery is anything that has ...

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