Objectives
The students should be able to
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apply the terms insulators, conductors, open and closed in describing electrical circuits;
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differentiate between an open and closed electric circuit;
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use the dry cell symbols (–) and (+);
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create and diagram a functioning series circuit, using dry cells, wires, switches, bulbs, and bulb holders;
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create and diagram a functioning parallel circuit, using dry cells, wires, switches, bulbs, and bulb holders.
Materials needed Instructional activity Content/Teacher Notes
This activity requires a lot of student inquiry. Students are asked to design various parts of a circuit and explore what happens in each case. It is essential that the teacher follow up each activity with a discussion of what students discovered in the activity. Any misconceptions need to be addressed early. Explicit terms such as dry cell, insulators, conductors, parallel circuit, and series circuit may be introduced in a variety of ways. One suggestion is to use segments two and three from the NASA SciFiles program “The Case of the Electrical Mystery” (see Resource on the next page). The corresponding teacher’s guide can be downloaded for additional background information for students.
Twenty-one different activities are included here. It is not intended that every student should complete every activity. Choose appropriately, depending on the students’ levels. The activities can generally be broken down into three different levels: Basic: Activities #1–5, 8; Moderate: Activities #9, 12, 17–21; Advanced: Activities #6, 7, 10, 11, 13–16.
Introduction
1. After using the NASA SciFiles program to introduce students to some basic concepts of electricity, have them work in groups to complete the following activities.
Procedure
1. Provide students with a set of appropriate materials to complete the activities. It will take several classes to complete all of the activities. You may want to split the activities among the groups and then have them share their discoveries with the class.
2. Have students use the worksheet to record their investigations and findings. If your students use a science journal, they can simply write the activity at the top of the page and go from there.
Observations and Conclusions
1. After students complete the activity and answer the accompanying conclusion questions, review each activity with the class. It is very important to make sure that students use the correct terminology and understand the processes involved.
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Use the worksheets as an assessment for student understanding.
Follow-up/extension -
Have students do a search of their houses and inventory how many electrical switches they find. Have them determine if any lights, appliances, or other electrical devices are controlled by more than one switch. If so, have them draw a sketch of what kind of circuit this may be.
Resources -
“The Case of the Electrical Mystery.” NASA SciFiles. http://scifiles.larc.nasa.gov/educators/index.html. Click “Episodes” and “2001–2002 Season.”
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Connections: Connecting Books to the Virginia SOLs. Fairfax County Public Schools and The College of William and Mary. http://www.fcps.edu/cpsapps/connections. Presents a database of more than 1,000 works of children’s literature and their connection to the Virginia Standards of Learning.
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Outstanding Science Trade Books for Students K–12. National Science Teachers Association (NSTA). http://www.nsta.org/ostbc.
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Search for Literature: Literature for Science and Mathematics. California Department of Education. http://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/sc/ll/ap/searchlist.asp. Offers a searchable database.
Circuits, Batteries, and Bulbs Activities
Activity 1: Design an investigation to determine if a bulb can be lit using one battery (“D” cell) and one piece of wire.
MATERIALS: (What are you going to use?)
PROCEDURE: (What are you going to do?)
PREDICTIONS: (What may happen?)
RESULTS: (What happened?)
DIAGRAM: (Draw a picture of what you did.)
Activity 2: Design an investigation to find out how many different ways a light bulb can be made to light using one battery and one piece of wire.
MATERIALS: (What are you going to use?)
PROCEDURE: (What are you going to do?)
PREDICTIONS: (What may happen?)
RESULTS: (What happened?)
DIAGRAM: (Draw a picture of what you did.)
Activity 3: Design an investigation to find out if one bulb can be lit using two batteries.
MATERIALS: (What are you going to use?)
PROCEDURE: (What are you going to do?)
PREDICTIONS: (What may happen?)
RESULTS: (What happened?)
DIAGRAM: (Draw a picture of what you did.)
Activity 4: Design an investigation to find out how many similar bulbs can be lit at the same time using one battery.
MATERIALS: (What are you going to use?)
PROCEDURE: (What are you going to do?)
PREDICTIONS: (What may happen?)
RESULTS: (What happened?)
DIAGRAM: (Draw a picture of what you did.)
Activity 5: Design an investigation to find out how many batteries it takes to “burn out” a bulb.
MATERIALS: (What are you going to use?)
PROCEDURE: (What are you going to do?)
PREDICTIONS: (What may happen?)
RESULTS: (What happened?)
DIAGRAM: (Draw a picture of what you did.)
Activity 6: Design an investigation to find out whether a battery or a bulb will last longer when continuously in use.
MATERIALS: (What are you going to use?)
PROCEDURE: (What are you going to do?)
PREDICTIONS: (What may happen?)
RESULTS: (What happened?)
DIAGRAM: (Draw a picture of what you did.)
Activity 7: Design an investigation to determine what happens when various lengths of wire connect both ends of a battery (dry cell).
MATERIALS: (What are you going to use?)
PROCEDURE: (What are you going to do?)
PREDICTIONS: (What may happen?)
RESULTS: (What happened?)
DIAGRAM: (Draw a picture of what you did.)
Activity 8: Design an investigation to determine what parts of a bulb need to be connected to the battery in order to light.
MATERIALS: (What are you going to use?)
PROCEDURE: (What are you going to do?)
PREDICTIONS: (What may happen?)
RESULTS: (What happened?)
DIAGRAM: (Draw a picture of what you did.)
Activity 9: Construct a functioning circuit, using a battery holder.
MATERIALS: (What are you going to use?)
PROCEDURE: (What are you going to do?)
PREDICTIONS: (What may happen?)
RESULTS: (What happened?)
DIAGRAM: (Draw a picture of what you did.)
Activity 10: Design an investigation to determine what happens when a battery holder is left on a battery overnight.
MATERIALS: (What are you going to use?)
PROCEDURE: (What are you going to do?)
PREDICTIONS: (What may happen?)
RESULTS: (What happened?)
DIAGRAM: (Draw a picture of what you did.)
Activity 11: Design and construct a functioning battery holder from commonplace materials.
MATERIALS: (What are you going to use?)
PROCEDURE: (What are you going to do?)
PREDICTIONS: (What may happen?)
RESULTS: (What happened?)
DIAGRAM: (Draw a picture of what you did.)
Activity 12: Construct a functioning circuit, using a bulb holder.
MATERIALS: (What are you going to use?)
PROCEDURE: (What are you going to do?)
PREDICTIONS: (What may happen?)
RESULTS: (What happened?)
DIAGRAM: (Draw a picture of what you did.)
Activity 13: Design an investigation to determine the uses of all parts of a bulb.
MATERIALS: (What are you going to use?)
PROCEDURE: (What are you going to do?)
PREDICTIONS: (What may happen?)
RESULTS: (What happened?)
DIAGRAM: (Draw a picture of what you did.)
Activity 14: Design an investigation to determine the interactions between the “inside things in a bulb” and the contact points on the outside of a bulb.
MATERIALS: (What are you going to use?)
PROCEDURE: (What are you going to do?)
PREDICTIONS: (What may happen?)
RESULTS: (What happened?)
DIAGRAM: (Draw a picture of what you did.)
Activity 15: Design an investigation to determine the similarities and differences between regular light bulbs and flashlight bulbs.
MATERIALS: (What are you going to use?)
PROCEDURE: (What are you going to do?)
PREDICTIONS: (What may happen?)
RESULTS: (What happened?)
DIAGRAM: (Draw a picture of what you did.)
Activity 16: Diagram and describe the internal structure of a “D” cell battery.
MATERIALS: (What are you going to use?)
PROCEDURE: (What are you going to do?)
PREDICTIONS: (What may happen?)
RESULTS: (What happened?)
DIAGRAM: (Draw a picture of what you did.)
Activity 17: Design an investigation to determine how two or more batteries can be arranged into a functioning circuit.
MATERIALS: (What are you going to use?)
PROCEDURE: (What are you going to do?)
PREDICTIONS: (What may happen?)
RESULTS: (What happened?)
DIAGRAM: (Draw a picture of what you did.)
Activity 18: Construct a functioning circuit that has two or more bulbs (in bulb holders).
MATERIALS: (What are you going to use?)
PROCEDURE: (What are you going to do?)
PREDICTIONS: (What may happen?)
RESULTS: (What happened?)
DIAGRAM: (Draw a picture of what you did.)
Activity 19: Design, construct, and test a way of measuring the brightness of a functioning bulb.
MATERIALS: (What are you going to use?)
PROCEDURE: (What are you going to do?)
PREDICTIONS: (What may happen?)
RESULTS: (What happened?)
DIAGRAM: (Draw a picture of what you did.)
Activity 20: Design an investigation to determine what effect changing a circuit’s design (using all the same components) will have on the brightness of bulbs in the circuit. (Use more than one bulb).
MATERIALS: (What are you going to use?)
PROCEDURE: (What are you going to do?)
PREDICTIONS: (What may happen?)
RESULTS: (What happened?)
DIAGRAM: (Draw a picture of what you did.)
Activity 21: a) Diagram a multi-component circuit, using the correct symbols, and then construct it. b) Determine what effect reversing the direction of the battery will have on the circuit (bulb brightness, etc.).
MATERIALS: (What are you going to use?)
PROCEDURE: (What are you going to do?)
PREDICTIONS: (What may happen?)
RESULTS: (What happened?)
DIAGRAM: (Draw a picture of what you did.)
Electromagnets
Organizing Topic Investigating Electricity
Overview Students investigate properties of electromagnetism.
Related Standards of Learning 4.3e
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