Student’s perspective about electrical voltage of fruit cells through STEM

Abstract

The use of batteries in electronic tools can cause environmental pollution. This problem can be solved by using natural ingredients that can replace conventional batteries as a source of electrical voltage. This topic is suitable for students to learn in class by reviewing aspects in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). For STEM’s activities, we used Yuenyong’s Science-Technology-Society (STS) approach, and for data analysis, we used mixed methods, where quantitative methods to classify the data and qualitative methods to analyze student perspective. In this study, students are given lemons, limes, potatoes, apples, tomatoes, and cucumbers as fruit cells. Then all fruits are connected by coins, nails, cables, multimeters, and LED lamps. The results obtained by students is conventional batteries cells can be replaced by fruit cells. All fruit cells that we used like cucumber, apples, tomatoes, limes, lemons, and potatoes are capable of producing electrical voltage. Cucumbers and tomatoes produce the higher electrical voltage (5,0 volts & 3.0 volts) but have a dim LED’s light, while potatoes, lemons, limes, and apples produce the lower electrical voltage (1.35 volts, 2.0 volts, 2.2 volts, and 3.4 volts) but have bright LED lights.