6th Grade AG Science

After electricity is generated in the power plant it is distributed to our homes. In order, for the current that travels through the transmission lines to enter our homes it must be stepped down. This happens at substations. Then the current must also go through a smaller transformers so the current is dropped down again.

Current comes into our home through the electric meter and into our electrical Panel box. From the box, current moves through the wires in our home, back to the box and into the ground.

The electric charge which flows into your house through your electric circuits carries with it useful energy which you can use for a variety of tasks. The US standard household circuit has an effective voltage of about 120 volts, and voltage represents energy per unit charge. Most appliances will run using 120 volts.

The high voltage is supplied to the smaller prong of the standard polarized U.S. receptacle. It is commonly called the "hot wire". If an appliance is plugged into the receptacle, then electric current will flow through the appliance and then back to the wider prong, the neutral. The neutral wire carries the current back to the electrical panel and from there to the earth (ground). The ground wire is not a part of the electrical circuit, but is desirable for prevention of electric shock.

Use 3 batteries, the battery holder and the light bulb. Make a circuit that lights up the bulb. Draw all of your tests below.

When electric charge moves, this flow is called electric current. The rate at which charge passes through any given point in an electric circuit is called current (I). In order for current to flow, it must be in a closed path called a circuit. Also, in order to keep the charge flowing, there must be a potential difference between two points in the circuit. Potential difference (voltage) can be supplied by an electric cell or a battery (two or more cells connected).

The first step to begin building the circuit board is pull out the box inset, Inventory key and the Inventory Check-Off list out of the blue folder. Place the box inset under the kit

The inset underneath will help you identify the parts. IE hex nuts are located here.

Use the Inventory Check-Off and Inventory Key to pull all of the parts that you will need out of your kit and put them into your black tray with the batteries. Read the Check-Off sheet carefully. You will not use all of the parts in the kit. Check off the materials as you place them into your tray.

Put away the Inventory Check-Off sheet and the box inset. Pull out the Assembly Procedure for Board #1 and the board template. Place the Plexiglas board on top of the template for circuit board #1. This will help you place the parts on your board correctly.

You must read the directions carefully and complete each step exactly as written before moving onto the next step. As you complete each step, I would cross it off.

Electric Circuit Board #1

One of the components in the circuit is a diode. The diode in this circuit is a silicone diode and has a positive and negative end. The diode has a band on it.

A diode controls the direction in which the current in the circuit can flow. The band indicates the direction of the flow. The band is located on the side of the diode in which the current exits the diode. Therefore, on Test Board #1, the diode band is located in the direction of the LED indicating that the charges are flowing from the battery pack through the red wire which is the hot wire to the aluminum jumper strip, through the diode module and then through the LED to the other aluminum jumper strip. The current then moves to the key switch if it is closed back to the battery through the black wire back to the battery OR the current can move into gray jumper wire into the capacitor. COMMON MYTH: Most people think that current flows from the positive end of the terminal back to the negative end, but charges actually move from the negative terminal back to the positive.

The LED has a positive and negative side similar to the diode and battery pack. Therefore the LED which is actual shortened for a light emitting diode works like a diode controlling the direction of flow in a circuit because the current can only flow in one way.

However, with the contact key not pushed down, the current cannot flow and the circuit is considered open. Have the students push down the contact switch and light the LED.

Remove the LED from Test Board #1 They are now going to use the voltage meter to test the voltage in the circuit. The voltage meter directions should be included in case of questions. To use the voltage meter, the students need to have the meter turned off and insert the black probe into the COM Jack and the red probe plugged into the VmA Jack.

Due to the fact that we are testing DC voltage, the meter needs to be switched to 20 V because we know the voltage is under 20. Once that is complete the meter can be turned on and should read 0. Then have the students plug the black test probe into negative terminal where the LED was located. The red probe can be inserted into the positive terminal where the LED was located. Then have the students push the contact switch to complete the circuit. What is the reading on the meter?

They should get a read on their meter somewhere around 4 up to 4.5. Due to resistance in the circuit, some of the voltage could be lost as well as the age of the batteries coming into factor. The amount of voltage used by the LED could also be tested in this situation. With the probes left in the terminals, have the students reinstall the LED and press the contact switch. What does the meter read now?

They should see that they will get a reading on the meter somewhere around 3.5V.

To test how the diode and LED function to control the direction in which current can flow, the following tests can be done. When the diode is flipped and the switch is pushed down what do you see?

The LED does not light because the flow is not allowed to go through the diode because it is now in the wrong direction. The diode, in this direction, will have some leakage but it will not be enough voltage to light the LED. Remove the test probes from the terminals and then have them remove, flip and put the diode onto the test board in the wrong direction. A meter test can be ran by taking the LED off and placing the black test probe on the black end of diode and red on the red end of the diode. The students will need to drop the switch on the meter down to 200 m and then push the contact switch. What does the meter read?

They should see there is a very small amount of leakage through the diode. If the diode is flipped back again the meter test can be conducted again so students can see almost all 4.5 volts make it through the diode with only a minimal loss.

To further see the way a diode works, the students can run similar tests on the LED. First the students need to return the diode to the correct position. If the students then flip the LED so it is in the wrong direction, the LED wont light either. This is different than a light bulb because a light bulb will light no matter the direction. This can be demonstrated with a Christmas tree light bulb. Have the students remove the LED and replace it with a Christmas tree bulb. Put the bulb in one direction and press the contact switch. What do you see?

They will see that the bulb lights. Then have the students remove the bulb and flip it in the other direction. They will see that the bulb will light this way as well.

A capacitor works sort of like a rechargeable battery. A capacitor on the inside is foil wrapped in an insulator and the foil is charged with energy that the capacitor can store for some period of time.

We are using an electrolyte capacitor which cannot exceed 25 volts. The ferrets on the outside of the capacitor indicate how much energy it can hold and for how long it can hold it. Our capacitor has 4700 ferrets on it so it can hold quite a bit of energy for a while. The lower number of ferrets stores energy fast and spits it out fast. A capacitor stores energy because it takes so much energy to start a motor that there needs to be a burst of energy to get it started. When the motor gets up and running it takes less energy so the capacitor can recharge and store energy for the next time a burst is needed. Then the capacitor shuts off. A capacitor is also used to stabilize the pulse DC current. With the capacitor connected to a circuit powered by pulse DC current, the light will stay on steadily with the energy from the capacitor.

Have the students then press the contact switch. The LED lights with the switch on and gets energy from the battery, but the capacitor is charging, so when the switch is off the LED stays lit until all of the energy flows out of the capacitor. Students can test the voltage with the meter by hooking up the test probes by the LEDs positive and negative ends and watch the voltage drop off with the capacitor attached. This can also be done with the Christmas tree bulb but it will drop much faster.

Capacitors are used in most circuit boards including cell phones and computers.