Build up the energy to take on this experiment

Ican hardly believe this is the last weekend of November. Where does the time go? Well, I cannot be too sad, because this means Christmas is just around the corner and you know this is my favourite time of the year! I have not wanted to seem to anxious, but I may have already been putting decorations together. Perhaps it is the year we are having, but I just cannot wait to decorate both inside and out. One of my favourite things to do is decorate my yard. I do not want to brag, but I am getting quite a nice collection of holiday lights out there. One frustrating thing though is when the lights do not work, and trying to figure out where the break is in the circuit.

I do not know about you, but electricity can be difficult to figure out sometimes. That is why I thought this week, we should start investigating electricity with some simple circuits. You never know when this information can come in handy! Let’s get started.

*Remember to ask an adult before doing this activity.

Materials

– 9 volt battery

– Graphite pencils

– Paper

– LED light

– Roll of clear office tape

Procedure

Start by drawing a circle about the size of your hand on paper, BUT make sure the lines on the circle are not connected in two parts. It should look like this ( ). It is important to have TWO gaps in the line about one centimetre apart. Fill in the rest of the line you drew REALLY well with your graphite pencil. It is important that the line is VERY thick and you do not want any white from the paper showing through whatsoever.

– Take the LED light and bend the end of EACH of the wires into an “L” shape. Place this between one of the gaps in the circle. Make sure that the ends of the wires are touching each of the graphite lines. You may need to draw it in so it is connected.

– Using the clear office tape, secure the LED light in place.

– Hold the battery over the other gap in the circle. Again, you may have to adjust the lines. – Observe what happens. – Be patient, as I mentioned electricity can be a bit tricky! Troubleshoot to make sure you have everything done correctly. Does the battery have a full charge? Trust me, even new batteries can be dead! Is the lightbulb working – LED lights are finicky and often times does not work as well when new! Now, do not get me wrong, this experiment works, I am just helping you trouble shoot so you do not give up, I have been there too.

– When you get really god at this, try drawing different shapes and lighting them up! What is going on?

If all went well, the light bulb should have lit up! The pencil you are using is not as ordinary as you thought it may be. This plain old pencil should contain graphite, an electrical conductor. This is important because you are creating an electrical circuit with the graphite, LED light and the battery. Essentially, the graphite allows for a path for the electrical energy to flow.

Patty Rooks, Senior Scientific Consultant PRAXIS, “Connecting Science To The Community”.