Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College
Serc: Current Electricity Lights On
An exploratory lesson that provides the learners with a chance to discover the possible connections in an electrical circuit in a controlled setting.
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College
Serc: Comparing Current Intensities of Series, Parallel, and Complex Circuits
Students will investigate the differences of current in series, parallel, and complex circuits through the construction of a small house containing the different types of circuits.
BBC
Bbc Schools: Ks2 Bitesize: Science: Physical Processes: Electrical Conductors
Find out which material will save Steve from getting shocked by the electric eels. Following the activity, read more about electrical conductors, and then take a quick quiz to check for understanding.
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College
Serc: Magnets and Electricity: Creating Magnetism With Electricity
Young scholars will work in small groups to design at least one complete circuit using multiple materials. They will record their observations of how they created an electrical circuit using diagrams and notes in their journals. Using a...
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College
Serc: Investigating Electricity
In this interactive activity, students will explore electricity and be able to design and create a complete electrical circuit. Students will also learn what is necessary to light a light bulb. Creative thought, ideas, and, brainstorming...
Texas Instruments
Texas Instruments: Ac Circuit Analysis
This electrical engineering activity uses a TI graphing calculator to analyze AC circuits including sine waves, capacitance and inductive reactance, solving series AC circuits, and RMS calculations.
Utah Education Network
Uen: Flowing Electrons
For this fifth grade activity, students explore electric circuits by acting out different types, then construct circuits themselves.
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Introduction to Circuits and Ohm's Law
Students will explore the basics of dc circuits analyzing the light from light bulbs when connected in series and parallel circuits. Ohm's Law and the equation for power dissipated by a circuit will be the primary equations used. Using...
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Mit: Open Course Ware: Courses: Physics Ii: Electricity and Magnetism
College-level physics course highlighting electricity and magnetism. This course is divided into several modules including electric fields, magnetic fields, electromagnetic forces, conductors and dielectrics, electromagnetic waves, and...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Keep It Moving! From Electrons to Electric Motors
Students act as engineers to apply what they know about how circuits work in electrical/motorized devices to design their own battery-operated model motor vehicles with specific paramaters. They calculate the work done by the vehicles...
Concord Consortium
Concord Consortium: Stem Resources: Heat and Light From Electricity
Understand the energy transformations that happens when you light a bulb with a battery. Activity requires students to build a simple circuit and take temperature and time measurements. Lab includes procedure with questions that can be...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Completing the Circuit
In the everyday electrical devices we use - calculators, remote controls and cell phones - a voltage source such as a battery is required to close the circuit and operate the device. In this hands-on activity, students use a battery,...
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College
Serc: Investigating Electricity: Building Circuits in Elementary Science Class
In this exploration activity, students compare the difference between series circuits and parallel circuits using wire, light bulbs, and D batteries.
Exploratorium
Exploratorium: The Tinkering Studio: Circuit Boards
Some history behind the function of the circuit board, with a guided activity guide for students to download.
Georgia Department of Education
Ga Virtual Learning: Electric Current and Circuits
Students have the opportunity to explore the basics of current and circuits in this online module. Some of the activities include interactive animations, informational text, practice problems, and lab experiments.
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Put a Spark in It! Electricity
Uncountable times every day "with the merest flick of a finger"each one of us calls on electricity to do our bidding. What would your life be like without electricity? Students begin learning about electricity with an introduction to the...
Science and Mathematics Initiative for Learning Enhancement (SMILE)
Smile: Electric Currents and Circuits
This cooperative learning activity for intermediate to junior high pupils has them create various electrical circuits in order to understand electricity.
Science and Mathematics Initiative for Learning Enhancement (SMILE)
Smile: Series and Parallel Circuits
A teacher lesson plan which could be easily converted into an idea for a student project or presentation. Ideal for pre-high school students. This page describes an activity in which the history of electric circuits, the nature of...
PBS
Pbs Teachers:electrical Messages
Explore circuits and the flow of electricity by creating a communication device with a cell battery and electrical buzzer.
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Designing a Thermostat
Students investigate circuits and their components by building a basic thermostat. They learn why key parts are necessary for the circuit to function, and alter the circuit to optimize the thermostat temperature range. They also gain an...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Switcheroo
In this hands-on activity, students construct a simple switch and determine what objects and what types of materials can be used to close a switch in a circuit and light a light bulb.
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Nxt Ball Shooter
This activity helps students understand how a motor in a LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT robot uses electricity produced by the battery to move a robot to do useful work in the form of throwing a ball. Students relate the concepts of electricity and...
Hunkins Experiments
Hunkin's Experiments: Electric Shocks!!
Hunkin's Experiments is a group of simple cartoon illustrations of scientific principles. Some would work well in the classroom, but others have little value beyond entertaining students. All of the projects are easy to do. These...
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College
Serc: Introduction to Electricity by Creating a Light Up Quiz Board
In this activity, students will learn how to create a simple circuit. They will create a matching quiz board that will light up when the correct pair is selected using electricity vocabulary from the text.