Lesson 2: "Building an Electric Generator- Construction"
 
Overview

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Lesson 1

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 Lesson 2

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Lesson 3

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Lesson 4
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Lesson 5
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Standards
 






WV State Standards:

Math: M.O.8.2.6, M.O.8.2.7, M.O.A1.2.3, M.O.A1.2.5, M.O.CM.2.2, M.O.CM.2.4, M.O.CM.5.2, M.O.CM.5.5

Science: SC.8.4.18, SC.8.4.20, SC.9.4.22, SC.9.4.18, SC.10.4.23

Technology: TEC9-12.1.1, TEC9-12.1.2, TEC9-12.2.1, TEC9-12.2.2, TEC9-12.3.1, TEC9-12.3.4, TEC9-12.5.1, TEC9-12.6.1 
National Standards: 

Math: 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9

Science: 8, 9, 10, 12, 13

Technology: 1, 2, 3, 6
Blooms Taxonomy: Knowledge, Comprehension, Application, Synthesis, Evaluation
21st Century Skills:
Critical Thinking and Problem Solving Skills
Critical Thinking and Systems Thinking
Creativity and intellectual curiosity
Communication skills
Information and Media Literacy Skills
Interpersonal and Collaborative Skills
Accountability and Adaptability Skills

Description:

With the help of some educational links, students will review the principles of series, parallel, and combination circuits.  Then they will take an online quiz.  The lab has them construct and make schematic drawings of each circuit analyzing the current at key locations in the circuit to see how the current changes. Based on information gained in this lab students will design a schematic diagram of the circuits they intend to use to distribute electricity from the generator in the power plant to the residents and businesses on EdVenture Island.

Objective(s)

  • Students will design and build series, parallel, and combination circuits, creating schematic diagrams for each. 
  • They will also experiment with these circuits and analyze data to see how resistance changes at different locations in each of the circuits.

Time Required

Three 45 minute class periods

Pre-Requisite Skills

Students should have a basic knowledge of what electricity (static and non static) is and how a generator produces electricity.  They should know the difference between insulators and conductors and what resistance is. Knowledge of Excel is recommended, but not required.

21st Century Tools (Technology Tools)

  • Internet access
  • Microsoft Draw program in Word (optional - if you would like them to make computerized schematic drawings)
  • printer (optional- for schematic diagrams)  
Instructional Materials:
Introduction Motivation/Context:

In the last unit students decided as a class which renewable resource they would use for EdVenture Island. They have decided where to locate the new power plant on the island and figured out from the minerals and ores present on the island which metal to make their wire from.  This lesson has them decide how to design a wiring system to get power to homes and businesses.  They are to consider the pros and cons of each type of circuitry when making their informed decision.

Procedure

  1. Have students visit the map of the island and firm up where they will place their power plant.  Discuss what they learned yesterday about resistance and types of wire.  Each group may decide something different.
  2. Have them access the Lesson 2: Circuits Lab
  3. Go over the safety caution about putting a switch in the circuit and make sure they use it.
  4. Conduct lab
  5. Assist student with schematic diagrams and using the proper symbols.  If you would like them to do this in Microsoft Word have them copy the symbols from the lab sheet, crop the symbols they need, and then copy and paste them as needed.  They can then print out all schematics on one page.
  6. Assist them with lab conclusion questions.
    1. Write the answers to the quiz at BBC.com from the introduction here. (answers from online quiz)
    2. What happened to the light bulb in the series circuit when you unscrewed the first light bulb?  What happened in the parallel circuit? (series went out but parallel stayed lit)
    3. Which way would you wire lights in a room in your house, in parallel or series?  Why? (answers may vary, but most should see that they want their lights in their homes wired in parallel otherwise if one light bulb blew all lights would go out)
    4. How were the ammeter readings different between parallel and series circuits? (answers will vary)
    5. Why did the ammeter and switch need to be wired in series and not parallel? (it is only in series that we will see the loss of power, if they were in parallel current could still be getting to them)
    6. If you were to put a fuse or circuit breaker in your circuit would you wire them in series or parallel?  Why? (series - so that when they blew (because of an overload) the circuit would be open and no electricity would go through, could prevent fire)
  7. Have students copy the map into Word and locate where they would put the power plant and draw the system of wires leading from the power plant to homes and businesses.
  8. Tell them next class they will get to work on this map more and finish their diagrams.  They will be presenting their map on the projector to the class in a few days and they must be able to justify the location of the power plant, type of wire used, and circuitry.  Have them begin to think about what types of engineers might be helping make these decisions.

21st Century Assessment/Evaluation

  • schematic drawings of circuits in the lab
  • data collection
  • answers to lab questions in the lab write up
  • map of island with location of power plant and wiring schematic
 
Copyright 2006 the EdVenture group
The EdVenture Group