Today in Science, we put our knowledge of electricity to the test and built simple circuits. It was a very energising (see what I did there?) lesson! Each group started out with their own simple circuit kit (or as I like to call it, a ‘cir-kit‘ ha!), including 3 insulated wires with alligator clips, a 1.5V size D battery (with battery holder), a switch, and a 1.5V bulb (with bulb holder). From here we constructed our components into circuits and switched them on (literally!). It was a real light bulb moment for most groups (sorry, not sorry), however, darker forces were at work with one group. There was an imposter (dun dun duuuuuun) in their cir-kit and they had to troubleshoot in order to figure out which component was the culprit. After switching the wires, bulb, and battery, the boys narrowed it down to the bulb holder. Lucky, as they were about to blow a fuse! As soon as we replaced it with a different one, the circuit was complete!
Then we replaced the bulb in our circuits with a motor and attached a small piece of paper to act as a type of propeller. When we turned the switch on, the propeller span. Next, we traded in our bulbs and 1.5V batteries for LED bulbs and a 9V battery. This was a little trickier as we had to ensure that the black wire of the LED was connected to the negative terminal of the battery and that the red wire was connected to the positive terminal. Then we had fun with connecting a buzzer to the circuit (producing a really annoying sound). One group worked out that the 9V battery had enough voltage to power an LED bulb and the buzzer in the same circuit. I dubbed this group the Bright Sparks.
I think it’s safe to say this was an illuminating activity! I hope you get a buzz out of our photos (metaphorically speaking, of course).