31
Experiment #2 - Electrolysis Using a Battery
Purpose:
This first experiment in electrolysis uses the 3 volt battery as the power source and the fuel cell
as the load in order to quickly split water into hydrogen and oxygen and to store the hydrogen for
our first load experiment (Experiment #3).
Equipment:
1
3 volt battery holder and 2 AA batteries
1
Fuel cell assembly
1 Data
Acquisition
Card
1 USB
cable
1
Red test leads
1
Black test leads
1
PC computer with graphic software
Setup:
Setup the equipment as shown below:
Figure 2.1 – Experiment #1 Setup
1. Set the battery ON-OFF switch to OFF.
2. Make sure that the fuel cell is fully hydrated and that no hydrogen is left in the hydrogen
balloon.
3. Connect the USB cable between the circuit board and the computer and verify that the
green and blue LEDs on the circuit board are flashing.
4. Make sure the graphic software is running on the computer.
5. On the computer display, click on the Connect button at the lower-left on the screen and
verify that a red plot line is slowly moving across the bottom of the grid display.
6. Adjust the vertical scale to 7.5 volts.
Voltage
Current
Input
Output
3 volt battery
Fuel Cell
Oxygen
Tube
Hydrogen
Baloon
