8th+Grade

Welcome to the 8th Grade STEM design Challange page.

Battery Life
8Sa: The student will demonstrate an understanding of technological design and scientific inquiry, including process skills, mathematical thinking, controlled investigative design and analysis, and problem solving.

Batteries (Various Kinds)

Battery Life

Select four brands of batteries: Duracell, Energizer, Eveready and a store brand. Then use four of the exact same size, type and brand of flashlights.

Label each flashlight with a piece of tape with the battery brand inside. Use brand new, directly from the package batteries in each flashlight.

In the morning, have four students turn on each flashlight at the same time. Be sure to write down the time the flashlights were turned on. Check on the flashlights every hour, and have students write down any noticeable changes in the brightness of the lights. Then, have four different students turn off the flashlights at the same time.

The battery life experiment will probably only last a few days as continuous use will drain the batteries quickly. At the end of the experiment, create a "battery life" graph with your students.