Use your understanding of simple circuits from Electricity Experiment E01 to make your own game and test your friends!

What you will need:

• 1 D size battery
• Electrical tape
• 1 piece of thin plain wire
• A flashlight bulb
• 3 pieces of insulated wire – your teacher will have prepared them for you

 What you will do:

The aim of the game is to move the loop of wire over and along the plain wire without touching it.  If you do touch it, the light will shine and your turn will be over.  Here’s how to make it:

1. One end of one of the insulated wires has been stripped back a long way.  Make this end of the wire into a loop.
2. Tape the other end of this wire to the negative end of the battery.
3. Tape a different piece of wire to the positive end of the battery.
4. Tape the other end to the metal at the bottom of the bulb.
5. Tape the next piece of wire to the contact on the bottom of the bulb.
6. Join the other end of that wire to the plain, non-insulated wire.  Tape up the connection.
7. Now bend plain wire around a bit so it sits up off the table.
8. Test the connections by touching the hoop onto the plain wire.  If it doesn’t light up, check all the connections until you find the problem.  Remember that we are making a circuit, like a circle, so there mustn’t be any breaks
9. Have fun!  Have a competition with your friends!

 What is going on?

You  have made a simple electrical circuit that has a break in it on purpose.  When the hoop is not touching the plain wire, the circuit is not complete, so the electricity from the battery cannot get to the light.  When the wires touch, the circuit is complete and the light comes on!

 Monster Challenge: 

• Swap the light for a buzzer you can get at most electronics stores.

 Teaching Notes:  

 Topic: 

Chemistry

 Key Concepts:

Acid, base, neutral

 Resources:

•  Investigation Record IR01– one copy per student
• Experiment Description Chemistry CH02 – one copy per student
• A jar, vinegar, detergent, pop sticks, indicator strips (see experiment Chemistry CH01)

 Lesson Notes:

Ask your students to bring in liquids from home to test.  You can use The Wonderers’ Supply Request form: www.wonderers.net/supply-request.doc

Remind students not to add too much of either liquid at a time or your solution will keep swapping from acid to base.

Remember, the indicator strips will be blue to start, they will turn red when the liquid is acid, greeny blue when it is basic, and won’t change colour when the liquid is neutral.

As a class discuss the experiment prior to undertaking it, and students should complete the sections of their Investigation Report IR01 from ”Title to “Hypothesis”.

 What should happen in this experiment, and why?

As the vinegar and detergent are mixed, they will neutralise each other – the basic detergent will make the vinegar less acidic.  By carefully adding, mixing and testing it should be possible for students to make a liquid that is neutral – neither acidic nor basic.

 Follow up discussion questions:

Could you do this with any acidic and basic liquids?