Is the Science Behind Breaking Bad Solid?

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Is the Science Behind Breaking Bad Solid?

ObjectivesIntroductionPre Lab AssignmentExperimental ProcedureReferences

Objectives

  • Conduct laboratory work in compliance with guidelines for personal lab safety and responsible management of chemical waste; this includes appropriate use of personal protective equipment and interpretation of Globally Harmonized System for Hazard Communication (GHS) labels.
  • Measure quantities such as mass, volume, temperature, and absorbance with proper technique, and record the results of measurements with the appropriate number of significant figures and units.
  • Record observations of chemical processes (such as precipitate formation, gas evolution, etc.) and write chemical reactions consistent with their observations.
  • Demonstrate proper techniques for laboratory procedures, such as titration, filtration, solution preparation, spectrophotometric measurements, etc.
  • Demonstrate proper use of glassware and equipment, including beakers, Erlenmeyer flasks, volumetric pipets, burets, volumetric flasks, watch glasses, graduated cylinders, filtration apparatus, single-beam spectrophotometer, pH meter, balances.
  • Communicate lab procedures, observations, and results in a laboratory notebook, written reports, and verbal presentations effectively.
  • Interpret and analyze qualitative observations and quantitative results, incorporating graphs and tables as appropriate.
  • Define the following terms: voltage, current, anode, cathode, salt bridge, electrolyte, galvanized, parallel circuit, series circuit, cold-cranking amps, and electrochemical cells.
  • Form and test a hypothesis.
  • Explain how an electrochemical cell works.
  • Describe how a battery functions in an automobile.
  • Evaluate a scene portrayed on television and utilize critical thinking to determine if what is demonstrated is reality or Hollywood fiction.

Introduction

Before coming to lab this week, please read chapter 17 of the textbook for background information on redox chemistry, electrochemistry, and how batteries work.

For example, in the opening scenes of Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull (2008), Indiana survives a nuclear blast inside of a 1957 refrigerator. Not only that, but the fridge is thrown clear of the blast zone, bouncing and tumbling across the ground before coming to a stop. Indian rolls out of the refrigerator mostly unscathed. After an impact like that, you would at least expect boken bones, but he gets up, dusts himself off, and walks away from the ordeal. He is completely unaffected by any radiation from the blast or nuclear fallout. You can view this scene by watching the video to the right.

In reality, the fridge would have offered minimal shielding from the blast. The thin metal casing would not have protected from the intense nuclear radiation produced by the blast. Additionally, the force of the blast would have likely crushed and destroyed the fridge, killing Indiana. EPA recommendations clearly indicate that Indiana’s actions would have been insufficient to survive the blast. However, it’s bad for plot direction and ticket sales when the hero of a movie dynasty dies at the beginning of the fourth film, so Indiana lives on to fight Soviet KGB Agents.

Video 1.0 – Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull movie clip.

Scientific literacy lets us understand that what we see is Hollywood Science and not real.

In this experiment, we will examine a scene from Breaking Bad. In Season 2, Episode 9, Walter and his business associate and former student, Jessie Pinkman, have decided to drive their mobile RV meth lab into the New Mexico desert and cook meth for four days. At the end of their cook, they discover that the RV battery is dead and their RV won’t start. They are out of food and water, have no cell phone service, and are too far to walk for help without dying. Since no one knows where they are, and it will be days before anyone realizes that they are missing, no one will be looking for them or come to their rescue anytime soon.

Pinkman and Walter discuss their options. Pinkman starts throwing out all kinds of ideas: building a dune buggy, mixing up some rocket fuel to send up a signal flare, or creating a robot or a battery with the materials in the RV. This catches Walter’s attention – they have everything they need to build a battery. He and Pinkman gather everything they need:  galvanized nuts and bolts (galvanized means covered in zinc coating), brake pads, potassium hydroxide, copper wire, and other materials to build their battery. They build 6 electrochemical cells from these materials, connect them to the RV battery, and charge the battery just enough to start the RV.

How Does an Electrochemical Cell Work?

A battery is an electrochemical cell that produces electricity through a spontaneous chemical reaction. You must have an understanding of how a lead-acid battery works before conducting this experiment. Please review the information provided in the textbook and the videos provided below before coming to lab this week. These resources will help you complete the pre-lab assignment due at the start of lab.

Video 2.0 – How Lead Acid Batteries Work

Video 3.0 – What is Electricity? Voltage, Current, and Resistance Explained.

Testing Walter and Pinkman’s Electrochemical Cell

We can test the electrochemical cell Walter and Pinkman constructed in Breaking Bad; however, we don’t know some of the specifics behind their design. We will need to make a few assumptions in our experimental design.

  • We don’t know the concentration of potassium hydroxide Walter used, so we will use a 1.0M solution for this experiment. You will need to prepare 500mL of this solution at the start of the lab.
  • Since the electrochemical cell is not attached to the battery long enough to charge it, we will assume that the issue with the RV battery was the absence of flow of current (amperage) and not the lack of charge (voltage). Based on this, we will measure the current (amps) produced by the cell and not the voltage.
  • We will assume Walter and Pinkman wired their cells together in a parallel circuit since that would have produced the most current to jump the battery.

Walter and Pinkman used 6 of these cells to jump-start the RV. Each group will not create six different cells and link them together. Instead, each group will make 1 cell, measure the maximum amperage produced, and record their value on the board. We will average the class values together to determine the average current produced by 1 cell and then calculate how much would have been produced by 6 cells wired in parallel.

Internet research indicates the minimum current needed to jump-start an RV battery is 800-1000 cold-cranking amps. This is the amount of current we will need to generate in our electrochemical cells to prove the battery Walter and Pinkman built would have jumped their RV.

This week, we will build and test the electrochemical cell Walter and Pinkman constructed in this episode of Breaking Bad. Based on our experimental findings, we will determine if the electrochemical cell Walter and Pinkman produced enough current to jump their RV.

Pre Lab Assignment

This prelab assignment is due at the start of the lab period. You cannot earn credit for this experiment unless you have completed the prelab assignment. This assignment is worth 25 points.

  1. What do you think the term “Hollywood Science” means? (1 point)
  2. Lead acid batteries are used in automobiles, including the RV Pinkman and Walter used as their mobile meth lab. What materials make the anode, cathode, and electrolyte solution in a lead-acid battery? (3 points)
  3. What is the purpose of the electrolyte solution in a lead-acid battery? (2 points)
  4. In a lead-acid battery, solid lead reacts with solid lead (IV) oxide and aqueous sulfuric acid to create solid lead sulfate and water as outlined in the reaction below:

Pb(s) + PbO2(s) + H2SO4(aq) → PbSO4(s) + H2O(l)

In one-half reaction, solid lead becomes lead +2 ion. In the second half-reaction, lead (IV) oxide reacts with acid (represented as H+)to become lead 2+ ion and water. Since the sulfate is a spectator ion, it is not necessary to write it in the half-reactions, but know it is present. Using this information, write the balanced half-reactions for this reaction. Label the redox and oxidation reactions. Indicate if each reaction occurs at the cathode or anode. What is the complete balanced redox reaction for this reaction?

  1. Calculate the Ecell for this reaction using Appendix L: Standard Electrode Half Cell Potentials in your textbook. Based on this value, is a lead-acid battery a galvanic or electrolytic cell?
  2. Based on the information provided in this introduction, develop a hypothesis for this experiment that addresses the following questions: Do you think the electrochemical cell will produce an electrical current? There is no need to predict how much current it will produce but to hypothesize if it will produce an electrical current. Do you think it will be enough to jump-start an RV battery? You can either write one hypothesis that addresses both of these questions or two different hypotheses, each addressing one of the questions. (2 points)
  3. Define the following terms: cold-cranking amps, voltage, current, series circuit, and parallel circuit. Be sure to define the unit of measurement used with each term where applicable. (6 points)

Experimental Procedure

Experimental Materials

Sponge

Copper wire

Solid potassium hydroxide or sodium hydroxide

Plastic container

500mL volumetric flask

Digital Multimeter

25 zinc nuts

File or sandpaper

Plastic container

Alligator clips

Brake pad

Nitrile Gloves

NOTE:  Wear the nitrile gloves provided by your instructor throughout this experiment to prevent the KOH or NaOH from coming into contact with your skin. KOH and NaOH are highly corrosive and should not contact skin or clothing. Wear goggles throughout this experiment.

  1. Make a 1.0M solution of sodium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide.
  2. Obtain a sponge and dampen it with DI water. Place it in the center of your plastic container. This will prevent the brake pad and zinc nuts from touching.
  3. Connect the copper wire to the zinc nuts. Place the zinc nuts in the plastic container to one side of the sponge.
  4. Obtain a brake pad. Using the file or sandpaper, clean away the brake pad’s surface and create a groove for the copper wire to sit.
  5. Wrap the copper wire around the brake pad and secure it to sit in the grooves created in Step #3. Place the brake pad in the plastic container on the side of the sponge opposite the zinc nuts.
  6. Connect alligator clips to the end of each of the copper wires attached to the zinc nuts and brake pad.
  7. Pour 1.0M NaOH or 1.0M KOH solution in the container, making sure the solution covers the entire bottom and the zinc nuts and brake pad are mostly submerged.
  8. Connect the alligator clip attached to the zinc nuts to the black terminal on the multimeter.
  9. Connect the alligator clip attached to the brake pad to the red terminal on the multimeter.
  10. Turn the dial on the multimeter to measure amps. A digital reading should appear on the screen of the multimeter. Record the highest number that appears on the multimeter. It sometimes helps to gently shake the container the electrochemical cell is in to increase the cell’s output. Record the highest current produced by the cell in Table 1.0.
  11. Once you have recorded the data, turn it off and disconnect the multimeter. Carefully remove the contents of the electrochemical cell, rinsing all of them well with DI water. Pat the brake pad and nuts dry with a paper towel.
  12. Pour the 1.0M NaOH or 1.0M KOH solution can be poured down the sink, flushing with lots of water. Let the faucet run for at least 3 minutes after pouring the basic solution down the drain.
  13. Rinse the plastic container with DI water and pat dry with a paper towel.
  14. Return all of the materials for constructing the electrochemical cell to your instructor.
Table 1.0 Current Produced From Electrochemical Cell
Item MeasuredCurrent Produced
Maximum Current Produced
Current Produced – Class Average
Minimum Current Needed to Jump an RV Battery

Class Discussion Questions

  1. Does the electrochemical cell produce electricity?
  2. Why is it essential that all of the metal Pinkman gathered from the RV be galvanized?
  3. Is the electricity produced by 6 of these cells enough to jump-start an RV battery? Justify your response. Is the science represented in this scene accurate to real life? Explain your answer.
  4. Based on the results of this experiment, do you accept or reject your hypothesis/hypotheses? Be sure to address both of the questions in your original hypothesis/hypotheses.

References

AutoGuide.com (2024). How Many Amps Do I Need For a Portable Jump Starter? CR-V Owners Club. https://www.crvownersclub.com/threads/how-many-amps-do-i-need-for-a-portable-jump-starter.246570/

Environmental Protection Agency. (2024, June 6). Protecting Yourself from Radiation. Environmental Protection Agency. https://www.epa.gov/radiation/protecting-yourself-radiation

Jeremy. (2023). What Size Battery Jump Starter Do I Need? 8 Things to Look For. Roadway Ready. https://roadwayready.com/what-size-battery-jump-starter-do-i-need-8-things-to-look-for/

Movieclips. (2016, May 27). Saved by the Fridge. [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/jn4Vhkmb4Lw?si=DAWskqiES9im7C7Q

Prof MAD. (2023, Aug). What is Electricity? Voltage, Current, and Resistance Explained! [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/AkWyNFPpRE0?si=SIAOPZRwIRPQYegj

S. Catlin (Writer), & M. MacLaren (Director). (2009, May 3). Four Days Out (Season 2, Episode 9) [TV series episode]. In M. Bernstein, S. Catlin, S.A. Lyons, M. Johnson, & K. Moore(Producers), Breaking Bad. AMC.

S. Speilberg (Director). (2008). Indian Jones and the Crystal Skull [Film]. Paramount.

The Engineering Mindset. (2022, Dec 15). How Lead Acid Batteries Work: A Simple Guide. [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/hObLxlXJPPM?si=64jn6vg8cZz6Kj22

This page was published on February 13, 2025, and last updated on February 13, 2025.

©Catherine Haslag 2025. All Rights Reserved.