Data Sheet

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forth. Be careful not to pull on the component itself. You may find it useful
to use the tip of a pencil to get the circuits off.
Students can get started by exploring conductivity and insulation with a
sample set of materials - paper clips, pipe cleaners, alligator clips, etc...
Next ask them to go around the room and see if they can find other conduc-
tors. Ask students to document their findings on the worksheet.
Students should start with one LED and the battery holder to create a
simple circuit using what they learned about conductivity. If students have
trouble, it may be due to one of these reasons.
Is it wired up correctly - red to red and white to white?
Is the connector conductive?
Is the circuit a complete loop?
Once they figure out how to light up the LED, ask them what they might be
able to do enhance the circuit. If they keep it as is, what will happen?
Students can create more complex circuits by adding a switch or more LEDs.
Circuits with multiple components can be wired up in a couple of ways, each
with a different outcome. Ask students to add another LED. They will proba-
bly add the component so that they are connected in a single path. This is a
called a series circuit.
Students will quickly realize that the LEDs don’t light up when connected in
series. In order to get the LEDs to work, students must wire them in parallel.
Each component is wired back to the battery in its own loop.
Ask students to complete different challenges:
• What happens when they wire up both LEDs?
• Does it work?
• What does the circuit look like when it works?
• Add a switch to their circuit
• How many LEDs can they get to light up?
4-PS3-2
Make observations to
provide evidence that
energy can be trans-
ferred from place to
place by sound, light,
heat, and electric cur-
rents.
4-PS3-4
Apply scientific ideas
to design, test, and
refine a device that
converts energy from
one form to another.
3-5-ETS1-2
Generate and com-
pare multiple possible
solutions to a problem
based on how well
each is likely to meet
the
criteria and constraints
of the problem.
3-5-ETS1-3
Plan and carry out fair
tests in which vari-
ables are controlled
and failure points are
considered to identify
aspects of a model or
prototype that can be
improved.