The Shocking Truth About Circuits - An Engineering Design Challenge

Lesson Content

• Lesson Plan Template:

  Guided or Open Inquiry

• Learning Objectives: What will students know and be able to do as a result of this lesson?

  
  

  Students will:

  • explain what electricity is.
  • explain that, in order to function, a circuit must be a closed loop.
  • differentiate between electrical conductors and insulators.
  • construct and test a variety of circuit configurations.
  • collect and organize data as they test their prototypes.
  • conduct data analysis in order to analyze and modify their design to construct a circuit that lights a light bulb.
  • explain how electrical energy can be transformed into other types of energy.
  • present their designs to the class in teams, explaining the methods that they used in creating the design and providing evidence that supports their final design.

• Prior Knowledge: What prior knowledge should students have for this lesson?

  
  
  • Students should have already received some initial instruction on what electricity is and what electrical energy is. Students should also have a basic understanding of how energy can transform from one form to another.
  • Big Idea 10 in the Next Generation Sunshine State Standards does address forms of energy in grade 4 and also in grade 3, including electrical energy. In 5th grade they are introducing the concept of how electrical energy can be transformed into other forms.
  • Big Idea 11 in the Next Generation Sunshine State Standards does address insulators and conductors in grade 4. However, the insulators and conductors discussed are limited to heat and do not address electricity at this point. In grade 5, conductors and insulators for electricity are introduced for the first time. This is also the first time the concept of circuits is introduced.

• Guiding Questions: What are the guiding questions for this lesson?

  
  
  1. What is electricity and what do we use it for? (Electricity is the movement of negative charges. Electrical energy is a form of energy that involves the movement of electrical (negative) charges. Accept reasonable answers.)
  2. How did you have to have everything laid out in order for your light bulb to light up? (A circuit needs to be closed (in other words everything needs to be connected with no open gaps) in order for the bulb to light up.)
  3. Are there some materials that worked better than others? (Metal items will work well, however the rubber, plastic, cloth, wood, and paper items will not conduct an electrical charge.)
  4. What could we have used instead of the light bulb in the circuit? (Electrical energy can be transformed into a variety of forms of energy including sound, heat, light, and mechanical energy. A speaker and a motor are definitely acceptable answers. Some students may also brainstorm some sort of heat generating device. Since electrical energy can be transformed into heat energy this is also acceptable.)

• Introduction: How will the teacher inform students of the intent of the lesson? How will students understand or develop an investigable question?

  
  
  1. Introduce the concept of electrical energy to the students by asking students to share their thoughts about what they feel electrical energy and electricity might be.
  2. After students share their opinions on what they feel electrical energy and electricity are, show them a picture of a lamp. Ask them, "What do electricity and electrical energy have to do with this picture?" Students will provide a variety of answers. When we hit the switch on a lamp we turn it on and the electrical energy coming through the wall outlet is transformed into heat and light energy.
  3. Explain to the students that they will be investigating electricity and electrical energy by having a contest on which team can build the most complex circuit that will still allow a light bulb to light up. Their goal is not only to get the light bulb to light up, but also to determine what circuits need in order to function, and how the materials used in constructing a circuit can affect its success.

• Investigate: What will the teacher do to give students an opportunity to develop, try, revise, and implement their own methods to gather data?

  
  
  1. Tell the students that in order to do this they will utilize the Engineer Design Process. Ask students about what they know about engineers and the work they do. Engineers use science and math to solve problems by using materials and energy to design structures or machines to serve a practical purpose. The word "engine" and "ingenious" are derived from the same Latin root, "ingenerare," which means "to create." Engineers create new, or better, structures.
  2. Explain the Engineer Design Process that they will be following. (attached refer to chart of graphic)
  3. Let them know that they will start with Phase 1, during which engineers identify the problem and what things they will need to consider when designing their solution.
  4. Ask the students to identify the problem for this project. Most will be pretty quick to indicate that the problem is to build a circuit that includes a lit bulb, and to have the most complex functional design of any group. The group with the most complex design has their light bulb lit and uses as many materials as possible.
  5. Divide students into small groups of 2-3 students. Explain that this will be their design team. One student should be designated as the "recorder" (will record data and observations), another as the "materials-getter", and the third as the "architect" (will sketch out the designs being tested). Every person in the group should still participate in the design, building and testing of the circuit.
  6. Tell them that they will begin by planning and drawing the prototype to test. Explain that a prototype is a model of a design to test. Let them know that they will have the opportunity to experiment with multiple designs before the final evaluation. Students should have sketches with all of the materials that they use clearly labeled. Display the materials that they may use on a table in the room so that students can see their options.
  7. As the students discuss, design and sketch ask them:
     • Why do you think that this design will be effective? (Formative Assessment: Listen to see if students can explain that the circuit needs to be closed in order for electricity to flow through the circuit and for the circuits to be functional).
     • How do you think the materials you choose will affect your circuit? (Feedback to Students: Students should be able to explain that some items are conductors (metals) while others are insulators (most others). Electricity will not be able to flow through the insulators and so the circuit will be open instead of closed and the circuit will not be functional).
     • Note: For this project, a "functional" circuit is a circuit where the light bulb lights up!

• Analyze: How will the teacher help students determine a way to represent, analyze, and interpret the data they collect?

  
  
  1. Tell students that they will now be entering Phase 2 of the Engineering and Design Process. Phase 2 is testing, so this is where they will build and test their circuits.
  2. Discuss the importance of safety during this science activity with your students. This lab does not utilize any chemicals or projectiles so safety goggles might not be necessary. However, this lab does involve electricity, and though the amounts of electricity being used are harmless, this is also a great opportunity to discuss safety while working with electricity. The battery should not be connected to the circuit until the group is ready to test. Demonstrate to students how to load their battery into the holder and how to connect it into their circuit.
  3. Allow the students to test their designs, ensuring that they are recording observations.
  4. Explain that they are going to continue to move forward in Phase 2 of the Engineering Design Process and that their next step will be to review and analyze their data. They will need to determine what worked well in their design and what may need some tweaking. Naturally there will be some groups that will want to leave everything the same and tweak nothing, and there will be other groups that want to start all over. Help students find the pros and cons of their designs to prompt them to modify their designs.
  5. The students should sketch and label their new plans.
  6. Students will construct, test and analyze their modified design.
  7. This part may be repeated multiple times at your discretion and may be modified for time constraints. Students should have the opportunity to test 2-3 designs with the third design being their final product.

• Closure: What will the teacher do to bring the lesson to a close? How will the students make sense of the investigation?

  
  
  1. Explain to students that they will now be entering Phase 3. Phase 3 is the presentation portion of the Engineering Design Process. In this step, each team needs to share what they learned with the class. This includes design plans, modifications, results and analysis. Allow for other students in the class to be able to ask each team questions.
  2. After the students have completed their presentations, lead a class discussion utilizing the following questions:
     • How did you have to have everything designed/sequenced in order for your light bulb to light up?
     • Were there some materials that worked better than others?
  3. Ask students if they can explain why some materials worked better than others.
  4. Explain to students that insulators are materials that slow or stop the flow of electricity and conductors are materials that allow electricity to move easily. Some of the materials that they may have chosen to use may have been insulators instead of conductors. The electrical current would not have passed through these materials and the light would not have lit up.
  5. Point out to students that in this case, they transformed electrical energy into light energy. Ask them what else they could include in a circuit that would allow the electrical energy to convert into a different form. (Note: If you are choosing to do the Snap Circuit extension activity you may want to hold this question until the end of that investigation.)
  6. Remind students that in fourth grade they learned about thermal insulators and conductors. Ask them to compare and contrast thermal insulators and conductors to electrical insulators and conductors. They will be very similar and in most cases the same! Teachers may opt to have students complete this component as a Double Bubble Map or a Venn Diagram in their science notebooks.
  7. Have the students write summary paragraphs that answer the following questions:
     • Explain your circuit design and what materials you chose to use and why you selected them.
     • How did you modify your designs and why?
     • What was the final design that you used and why did you use it?
     • What were the results of testing? How did your circuit diagram ensure that your bulb would light up?
     • Classify the materials you used as insulators or conductors.
  8. Review the Engineer Design Challenge Process through class discussion. Do students understand each phase and how the process helps engineers solve challenges and create the best designs they can?

• Summative Assessment

  
  
  • Use the attached Engineering Design Process Evaluation Rubric to evaluate student's performance during the Design Challenge portion of this lesson.
  • Have the students write summary paragraphs that answer the following questions:
    • Explain your circuit design and what materials you chose to use and why you selected them.
    • How did you modify your designs and why?
    • What was the final design that you used and why did you use it?
    • What were the results of testing?
    • How did your circuit diagram ensure that your bulb would light up?
    • Classify the materials you used as insulators or conductors.

• Formative Assessment

  
  

  During the Introduction, ask students:

  1. What is electricity? (Electricity is the movement of negative charges.)
  2. What are some things that we rely on electricity for? (There are a number of reasonable answers including: air conditioning, lighting, cooking, heating, powering computers, powering TVs and stereos, etc.)

• Feedback to Students

  
  
  • The teacher should monitor students during the building phase.
  • Students will use this discussion feedback to improve their designs.
  • Possible discussion questions can include:
    • As students are designing their circuits, ask:
      • Why did you select the materials that you selected?
    • As students are testing and modifying (during the Engineering Challenge portion), ask:
      • Why do you think that you received the results that you did?
      • What can you do to improve the performance of your circuit?
      • Why do you think these improvements will work?
    • As students are testing their final circuit design, ask:
      • Why do you think that certain materials worked in the circuit design while others did not?