Curated OER
How Electric Current Produces Energy
Fifth graders are introduced to the concept of electric currents. In groups, they develop their own game board to test different circuits to determine if they are complete. They record their observations of the energy transfer between...
Curated OER
Electricity
Middle schoolers watch instructor present demonstrations of the basic principles of static electricity, and then conduct some of their own experiments. In small groups, students build simple circuits, using batteries, to try to light up...
Curated OER
Let it Shine
Fifth graders investigate concepts of electricity by watching a video about Ben Franklin, participating in a web activity about simple circuits and experimenting with creating simple circuits. They examine conductors and insulators.
Curated OER
Changing circuits
Students identify that there are conventional symbols to represent the components in circuits. Students use these symbols to draw diagrams of circuits. They are reminded that electric circuits can be drawn in diagrams using symbols. ...
Curated OER
Simple Circuits
Students investigate how series and parallel circuits work. In this physics lesson, students build their own simple circuits and compare their characteristics. They explain the importance of circuit breakers in household circuits.
Curated OER
DC Branch Current Analysis
Engage your class in physics with this series of questions. The first question is the most hands-on and asks learners to build their own circuit. The rest of the questions are related to current analysis. Class members solve 7 problems...
Curated OER
Build a Simple Circuit
Learners construct an extremely simple series circuit that powers a lamp on and off with a switch. They are in groups of 4 and are given a set of components and have to build the circuit working together as a group. Finally, they have to...
Curated OER
The Path of Electrons
Students engage in an interactive "hot potato" demonstration to gain an appreciation for the flow of electrons through a circuit. They role play the different parts of a simple circuit and send small items representing electrons (paper...
Curated OER
Potato Power
Students light a LED clock or light bulb using potatoes. They examine how a battery works in a simple circuit. They determine how chemical energy changes to electrical energy while experimenting with potato powered circuits.
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Flashlights and Batteries
Young scholars examine how batteries work, how they provide power to the simple circuit within the battery, and how the switch controls the flow of electrons; students then disassemble a flashlight, and draw a schematic of a flashlight's...
Curated OER
Series-Parallel DC Circuits Series and Parallel DC Circuits
In this electrical worksheet, students draw a schematic design and build a circuit board to grasp the understanding of series and parallel DC circuits before answering a series of 41 open-ended questions. Students interpret various...
Curated OER
DC Bridge Circuits
In this circuits activity, students answer 19 questions about DC bridge circuits, they mathematically analyze a circuit they design, they calculate output voltages in given circuits and they analyze schematics of strain gauge circuits to...
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Voltage Divider Circuits
In this physics activity, students construct the circuit shown in the problem and calculate either voltage, current and resistance. They solve 37 circuit related questions.
Curated OER
Brown Bag Science
Students discover, through the discovery method, how electricity works. They construct a simple circuit and a parallel circuit, make an electrical motor work and add a switch to turn it on and off.
Curated OER
Energy
Wow! Colorful and simple, these 160 slides introduce the various forms of energy, along with a relevant image. Some of the images are animations, which help beginning physical scientists to visualize the flow of electrons or energy! This...
Curated OER
Green Team
Student explore the relationship of static electricity to current electricity, circuits, electromagnets, electro generators, and public electric utilities. In this Green Team lesson plan, 4th graders participate in hands-on science...
PBS
Keep Out!
Sound the alarm about a great resource. Scholars first build a simple circuit to learn the basics about electric currents. They then design an alarm system in which a buzzer activates when pressure is applied to a doormat.
Exploratorium
Circles of Magnetism IV
Hang a strip of foil on a stand and form a loop out of it. Then attach the clips of a battery-operated circuit to the loop to see its sides repel each other. This simple demonstration is applicable and easy to add to your lecture on...
Science Matters
Conductors and Insulators
Get that energy flowing while classes study conductors and insulators. Using a simple circuit, learners test different materials to determine the strength of conductivity. They use their results to classify materials as conductors or...
Curated OER
Passive Filter Circuits
In this circuits activity, students answer 44 questions about audio tone control circuits, twin-tee filter circuits, and other types of passive filter circuits, their impedance and their design.
Curated OER
Parallel DC Circuits
In this circuits learning exercise, students answer 24 questions about parallel DC circuits including finding the current drawn by resistors, the total resistance, and the voltage impressed across each resistor in the circuit. Students...
Curated OER
Electrical Generators
Students study what an electric generator does and its history. In this energy lesson students complete several experiments including building their own electric generator.
Curated OER
Hila Research Centre - Electronics 1
Basically walk your early electronics techs through the vocabulary relating to an electronic circuit. Give them an LED light, a resistor, a battery, and some clips, then have them construct a simple circuit. Specific electronic equipment...
Curated OER
Physics: Electricity and Magnetism
Young scholars draw series and parallel electrical circuits. In this electromagnet lesson, students describe how current changes depend on circuit components. Young scholars use an OHT of a series and parallel circuit to predict the path...