Electricity: Designing Circuitsfor 6th Grade

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Activity Guide

• Challenge: Discuss (5-10 minutes)• Generate Ideas and Multiple Perspectives

(instructor choice)• Research and Revise (and Test Your Mettle)– Activity 1: Review Simple Circuits (5 minutes)– Activity 2: Introduce Schematics (5-10 minutes)– Activity 3: Build and Test Series and Parallel Circuits (15-

20 minutes)– Activity 4: Test your mettle (10 minutes)

• Go Public – Revisit Challenge (5-10 minutes)

Teacher Tips• This activity has many components/options. – You may not get to all of them during the allotted time. – Feel free to do the activities that you wish to do.

• Please return the materials to the drawers as you found them. It is VERY helpful to bundle the jumper cables in groups of 7.

• The most common reasons that buzzers and lights bulbs not working:– The clips on the jumper cables are not connected fully.– The red and black wires on the buzzer are connected

opposite the way they need to be.– The bulb is not screwed in all the way.

Teacher Prep• Assemble materials from following page.• Set up 6 bins of materials at each of the tables for

3-4 students per table/station. Each bin will contain:– 2 D-cell batteries– 2 D-cell battery holders– 2 light bulb holders– 2 light bulbs– 1 buzzer– 3 knife switches– 7 jumper cables– 4 Pens or pencils– 4 copies of “Electric Schematic Symbols” – stored in the

lower left filing drawer in the mechanical room

Materials for CircuitsMaterials :• 12 D-cell batteries• 12 D-cell battery holders• 12 light bulbs• 12 light bulb holders• 18 knife switches• 6 buzzers• 42 jumper cables (wires with

alligator clips on each end)• Pens/pencils or marker• 6 copies “Schematics for

Electric Circuits”

Location of all materialsDrawer 3a1:• 10 buzzers• 28 mechanical pencils• 30 light bulb holders• 40 light bulbs

Drawer 3a3:• 36 D cell batteries• 20 D cell battery holders• 42 jumper cables• 20 knife switches

Worksheet

Challenge• Design and build a “doorbell” with two switches. The

doorbell will buzz if one switch is closed. It will make a bulb light up when the other switch is closed. – This is for a family with a hearing impaired grandparent and a

sight-impaired daughter.• You can use ONLY the following materials to design your

doorbell.– 7 jumper cables– 2 D-cell batteries– 2 D-cell battery holders– 1 light bulb – 1 light bulb holder– 1 buzzer

• Draw your schematic first, then build the circuit. Label this schematic “Doorbell.”

Guiding Question

• How can we design electric circuits and draw them with schematics?– What is a parallel circuit?– What is a series circuit?– What is a schematic?

• What is electricity?– What is a closed circuit?– What is an open circuit?

Activity 1 – Review Simple Circuits (5 minutes)

Simple Circuit 1 – step 1

• Insert 1 battery into 1 battery holder• Make sure – ends are together and + ends are

together.

Simple Circuit 1 – step 2• Insert 1 light bulb into 1 light bulb holder• Make sure that metal base plate of light bulb

holder touches the end of the light bulb.• Do not force the light bulb in-it is fragile!

Simple Circuit 1 – step 3a• Clip one jumper cable onto one end of

battery holder on the metal tab.

Simple Circuit 1 – step 3b

• Clip other end of same jumper cable onto light bulb holder at the round clip.

• Clip second jumper cable onto other end of battery holder on the metal tab.

Simple Circuit 1 – step 4

Simple Circuit 1 – step 5• Create a closed

circuit by clipping remaining end of 2nd jumper cable onto light bulb holder

• Does your light bulb light?

• If it does, disconnect everything.

Trouble shoot (if light bulb does not light)• Is battery charged?• Is light bulb in place (touching base plate of

light bulb holder)?• Is light bulb burnt out?• Are jumper cables attached to metal parts of

light bulb holder and battery holder?• Are jumper cables working correctly?• Is your circuit closed?

Activity 2: Electrical Schematic Symbols(5-10 minutes)

Symbol for a light bulb

Symbol for battery

Symbol for switch - closed

Symbol for switch - open

Symbol for a buzzer• The red wire gets connected to

positive battery terminal; black wire to negative battery terminal.

red black

Symbol for wire

Activity 3 – Series and Parallel Circuits(15-20 minutes)

• Series and parallel circuits– Series circuit – open and closed– Parallel circuit – open and closed

• Series circuit with a switch• Series circuit with a buzzer• Series circuit with a buzzer and light bulb

Following this schematic, create a series circuit

This is the circuit – 1 switch open

This is the circuit – closed

Following this schematic, create a parallel circuit

What happens when you open one switch?

Use the schematic below to create a series circuit with a switch

This is what it looks like when the circuit is closed

This is what it looks like when the circuit is open

Build this circuit with a buzzer• Make sure the red wire is connected to

positive and the black wire is connected to the negative battery terminal.

This is what it should look like

Draw a schematic for this circuit with a buzzer and lightbulb.

Label it Schematic 1 on your worksheet

This is the schematic:

Activity 4 – Test your mettle(10 minutes)

• Schematics – Will the bulb light or not?• Schematic of a parallel circuit – Three switches in this circuit– Trace circuits to determine if light bulb is lit with

alternate switches open

Will the light bulb light? Why or why not?

1 2

3 4

Look at this schematic-trace the circuits

Predict what would happen when you open switch 1 - which light(s) are lit?

Predict what would happen when you open switch 2 - which light(s) are lit?

Predict what would happen when you open switch 3 - which light(s) are lit?

Build the circuit and test your predictions.• If time permits.

Go Public – Revisit Challenge (5-10 minutes)

• Design and build a “doorbell” with two switches. The doorbell will buzz if one switch is closed. It will make a bulb light up when the other switch is closed. – This is for a family with a hearing impaired grandparent and a

sight-impaired daughter.• You can use ONLY the following materials to design your

doorbell.– 7 jumper cables– 2 D-cell batteries– 2 D-cell battery holders– 1 light bulb – 1 light bulb holder– 1 buzzer

• Draw your schematic first, then build the circuit. Label this schematic “Doorbell.”

Possible Schematic for Solution

One possible solution for challenge

+_

Vocabulary • Electricity – the flow of electrons • Electron – negatively charged particles in an atom. • Circuit – a path along which electricity can pass. Usually

includes a battery or some source of power and wire to transmit the electricity.

• Closed circuit – a circuit that allows the flow of electricity• Open circuit – a circuit that does NOT allow the flow of

electricity• Schematic – a drawing of an electric circuit or circuits that uses

symbols to represent components of the circuit.• Symbol – simple drawing of an electrical component.• Battery – a device that produces electricity from a chemical

reaction