The Simple Electric Circuit will help you learn the basic concepts of electricity and electrical circuits. You will experience and build a light circuit powered by a battery and controlled by a switch. You will also learn about electrical conductors and insulators. You will receive all the components and you must build the circuit by cutting the wire and connecting the parts according to the diagram in this page.
Connection of wires to the battery holder, switch and the lamp base are done using the screws or clips. You can use household tools such as a pair of scissors to cut the wire and remove the insulation from the contact points. You will also need a D size battery to power your circuit.
Electricity and Conductivity Science Kit includes several experiments in Electrical Circuits, conductivity and properties of electricity. Some of the project ideas you may have using this kit are:
- Construct a Simple Electric Circuit (Grades 2 to 5)
- Can electricity create heat? (Grades 4 to 6, You will need a thermometer to show that the light bulb is getting hot.)
- Construct a Continuity tester and test conductivity of objects around you.
The Simple Electric Circuit Kit includes:
- Wooden base to mount the circuit
- 2 Light Bulbs
- 1 lamp holder
- 1 Battery holders
- 1 Simple Switch (Known as knife switch)
- Screws used to mount the switch and the lamp holder
- Insulated solid copper wire (Gage 22)
Opportunities for Science Projects
You may use your kit in relation to many different science projects. Construction of a simple electric circuit by itself may be used as a science project for many different grades. You may also use some color paper to make a nice lamp shade for it and use it as your night light. Some other students may need to use their completed circuit to do further research for their science project. Two common project ideas that use this kit are:
Can electricity create heat? To do this project you will also need a thermometer to show that the light bulb is getting hot.
Identify conductors and insulators around you. It is important to know what materials are conductive and what materials are not. The test is simple. Open the switch and place the object between the poles of the switch. If the light comes on, then the object is conductive. You may try this with metals (coins, paper clips, nails, etc.) and non-metals (glass, plastic, stone, wood, etc.)