More Experiments with Electricity...Switches and Short Circuits

Remember last week we made simple circuits?
If you add a place where a wire can swing to open and close the circuit... and you have a switch...

which works on the same principle as the light and other switches throughout your house.

Another interesting thing to look at is how electricity always seeks the shortest route to take...
and sometimes it takes it when we don't want it to.

That is when you will most often hear the term "short circuit."

Additional Resources:

GEMS: Electric Circuits: Inventive Physical Science Activities

Grade Level: 3-6

Sessions: 11 Sessions

Written by John Erickson and Kevin Beals with Florence Stone

This guide provides a safe, active, and engaging introduction to electricity and electric circuits. The activities spark creativity as students invent their own electrical gadgets, using inexpensive and readily available materials, such as plastic film canisters and holiday lights. The unit opens as students investigate an array of clever electrical devices, first exploring their functions, then learning how their circuits work. The contributions of famous inventors, as well as child inventors, are highlighted. Students keep an “Inventor’s Journal,” recording the development of their electrical knowledge, schematic diagrams, and design ideas. Electrical safety is emphasized throughout the unit. Students explore simple and series circuits; learn about short circuits, and investigate the role of batteries, resistance, conductors and insulators. They invent their own switch design and learn how to draw schematic diagrams. In Part II, for older or more advanced students, they build and compare series and parallel circuits, and pair up to create their own electrical inventions. The unit culminates in an Electric Inventions Festival.