Curated OER
Let's Light up a Light Bulb
Third graders investigate electricity. In this electricity activity, 3rd graders observe a familiar battery-operated toy and brainstorm reasons why and how the battery works. Students work in pairs to explore batteries,...
Curated OER
WHAT MAKES A LIGHT BULB LIGHT?
Young scholars are able to use inquiry to answer the essential questions. They are able to predict and test configurations of a battery, bulb, and wire that make the complete circuit. Students craft a group and individual theory of a...
Curated OER
Incandescent Light Bulb
Students study the history of the light bulb and how an incandescent light bulb works. In this electricity lesson students complete several experiments on the light bulb.
Cornell University
Making a Battery
Don't be shocked when your class has a blast making their own batteries! Science scholars examine a dry cell battery, then design and construct a wet cell battery. The activity guides them through the parts of a battery, the variables...
Curated OER
Let There Be Light
Fifth graders explore electricity. In this electricity instructional activity, 5th graders experiment with open and closed circuits. Students determine how to properly connect a battery and bulb to illuminate the bulb.
Curated OER
Ohm's Law I
Students work to increase the intensity of a light bulb by testing batteries in series and parallel circuits. They analyze Ohm's Law, power, parallel and series circuits, and ways to measure voltage and current.
Pennsylvania Department of Education
Light the Bulb!
Third graders investigate electrical circuits and how light bulbs are powered. In this electricity and power lesson, 3rd graders study the vocabulary necessary which includes the different types of circuits, electrical currents, and...
Curated OER
Let's Light Up a Light Bulb!
Third graders investigate the concept of how electricity works in the lighting of a light bulb. They construct a circuit in order to follow the path of electricity and test how it can travel in a wire system. Then the light bulb is lit...
Purdue University
Design of a Door Alarm
How does electricity work? Budding scientists explore the concepts of electrical currents and open and closed circuits with class discussion and a hands-on activity using a battery to turn on a light bulb. Learners also make predictions...
Curated OER
Completing the Circuit
Students use a battery, wires, small light bulb and a light bulb holder to learn the difference between an open circuit and a closed circuit, and understand that electric current only occurs in a closed circuit. They describe the...
Curated OER
Solar Kit Lesson #1 - Solar Cell Inquiry
Give youngsters the components of a solar-powered electric circuit and turn them loose to figure out how to connect them in order for a light to shine or motor to turn. They compare energy output of a solar panel to that of a battery. On...
Curated OER
Lemon Batteries Revised
Fifth graders investigate how chemical energy in food and batteries is potential or stored energy. They discuss how batteries function, and create a class list of different forms of energy. Students then create a lemon battery that...
Curated OER
Lemon Battery
Students construct their own battery made of lemons. In this electrochemistry lesson, students explain why lemons conduct electricity. They perform a series of experiments to investigate its conductivity.
Curated OER
Making a Battery and Energy Transformation
Seventh graders determine what makes a battery work. In this battery lesson, 7th graders brainstorm ideas about how they think batteries provide energy. They perform an experiment in which they work as a team to assemble a battery. They...
Curated OER
Bulbs & Batteries Side by Side
Students build parallel circuits, exploring how they function and looking at their unique features. They describe how current changes when batteries are added in parallel or removed from a parallel arrangement, demonstrate the process of...
Curated OER
Solar Kit Lesson #3 Parts of a Solar Panel - Part I
A solar cell is similar to a rechargeable battery in many ways. Science lab groups connect each in a series circuit to run a mini motor and then compare and contrast them by answering questions and completing a Venn diagram. This is an...
Curated OER
Potato Power
Students light a LED clock or light bulb using potatoes. They examine how a battery works in a simple circuit. They determine how chemical energy changes to electrical energy while experimenting with potato powered circuits.
Curated OER
Batteries and Bulbs
Students examine the uses of batteries and bulbs and explain the differences between series and parallel circuits. In this circuits lesson students complete a lab activity.
Curated OER
What Configurations Work to Light a Bulb?
Students explore simple electrical circuits. Students experiment, using different configurations, to determine what is necessary to compeete a circuit. Students observe similarities between arrangements that work and differences in...
Curated OER
Applied Science - Physics Lab
Students investigate electricity. In this Physics lesson, students experiment with insulators and conductors of electricity. Students use batteries as the energy source for the experiment.
Curated OER
Many Paths
Students explore the composition and practical application of parallel circuitry, compared to series circuitry. They design and build parallel circuits and investigate their characteristics, and apply Ohm's law. They recognize that...
Curated OER
TE Activity: Ohm's Law 2
Students study Ohm's Law 2 after completing an activity about Ohm's Law 1. They determine how long it takes to charge a battery. They examine if it is better to use batteries in series or parallel circuits.
Curated OER
Simple Circuits
Fifth graders investigate simple circuits and identify when a circuit is considered opened or closed. In small groups, they experiment with wires, batteries, and light bulbs to identify how to light the bulb. Students also experiment...
Curated OER
Electricity
Fourth graders experiment to find out how to light a bulb with simple materials. They make predictions if a light bulb set-up could work and gain knowledge to tell the difference between an open and closed circuit. They also figure out...