LAB: What factors affect a battery's performance?

[wheelybob]

Homework Statement

Okay, so in my Physics 2(high school) class the instructor gave us a lab without any instructions whatsoever even though we have only been covering electricity for 2 days. The question he posed to us was "What factors affect a battery's performance?" and we have to write up a complete set of procedures, materials we'll need and our hypotheses.

The Attempt at a Solution

So far I have been stuck on what procedure could be used for this lab along with what factors I am going to test for. I plan to test performance based on the temperature of the battery, and if the performance changes if batteries are connected in parrallel. I am having issues coming up with other factors to test for.

For my procedure I plan on taking the baseline output of the battery at room temperature and then test it against the battery's output when it is the other factors have an effect. But anymore specific than that and I get lost.

Any help that you guys can offer me would be much appreciated. Thanks

 

[JaWiB]

Have you been introduced to a model for a non-ideal battery?

How do you plan to measure the output of the battery? What quantities are you going to measure? How exactly do you define "performance"?

Something worth thinking about is that batteries are sometimes marketed as being ideal for certain applications--but what would make one battery-operated device different than another, in terms of battery usage?

 

[wheelybob]

Have you been introduced to a model for a non-ideal battery?

How do you plan to measure the output of the battery? What quantities are you going to measure? How exactly do you define "performance"?

Something worth thinking about is that batteries are sometimes marketed as being ideal for certain applications--but what would make one battery-operated device different than another, in terms of battery usage?

We have not been introduced to the model of the non ideal battery yet.

I am measuring the output of the battery with Voltmeters and ammeters. I don't really know how I would define performance as. The idea about specific applications for some batteries is an interesting thing to look at.