Using colorful light-emitting diodes to engage students in the study of electric circuits

Christopher Johnstone

February 2014

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hen learning about electricity, students are typically asked to complete a simple circuit involving a battery, wire, and lightbulb. This activity can be enhanced by adding discussion and discourse (Yang 2008) and can take on a unique final form in the case of The Friendship Detector (Cox 2012). In such electrical circuit activities, the completed circuit is usually confirmed by a glowing incandescent bulb. This article describes circuitry lessons using light-emitting diodes (LED) instead. These hands-on exercises help students better understand electricity by building multiple circuits, demonstrating their knowledge of how the electrical energy changes with each new circuit and configuration, and applying what they have learned by engineering an authentic and useful electrical device that performs a specific task.

F IG URE 2

Student illustrations of successful LED circuit congurations.

Teachers can connect these activities to aspects of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) (NGSS Lead States 2013) (Figure 1).

How do LEDs work?

Light-emitting diodes are used in many consumer electronics products such as televisions, computers, and smartphones, and for good reason: LED arrays are 7580% more efficient than traditional incandescent bulbs (U.S. Dept. of Energy 2012). While incandescent bulbs produce light with a glowing metal filament, and compact fluorescent bulbs (CFL) produce light when electrons interact with mercury and phosphorus in tubes, LEDs emit light when electrons pass between semiconductor materials inside the bulb. This is called electroluminescence. When electricity is applied, semiconductor materials containing different compounds

emit light at various wavelengths, producing a variety of colors (Edison Tech Center 2013). LEDs are now commonly available in red, green, blue, yellow, orange, purple, pink, and white. These small electrical devices are safer, less expensive, and more durable than incandescent bulbs and many other electrical elements used in science classrooms, and LEDs are easy to work with.

Lesson one: Building LED circuits

Students work with two 1.5V AA batteries, two wires, and an LED. I begin by asking them for ideas for how these materials might be arranged to create an electric circuit. Then they experiment with different configurations, working in pairs or small groups so there are enough hands to help

F I G U RE 1

Connections to the Next Generation Science Standards and A Framework for K12 Science Education.
HS-PS3 Energy Performance Expectation HS-PS3-3: Design, build, and rene a device that works within given constraints to convert one form of energy to another form of energy. Disciplinary Core Idea PS3.A: Denitions of Energy: At the macroscopic scale, energy manifests itself in multiple ways, such as in motion, sound, light, and thermal energy. Science & Engineering Practices: Planning and Carrying Out Investigations, Developing and Using Models, Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions. Crosscutting Concepts: Energy and Matter. Changes of energy in a system can be described in terms of energy ows into, out of, and within that system.

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