Task 5

Materials and tools for a working group:

1.5V or 4.5V battery, 1.5V bulb, 2 wires (electric cables)

The task is to investigate that the electricity stored in the battery can cause the lamp to turn on if the battery is properly connected to the bulb. The goal of this task is for pupils to realize that electricity can be moved from source to appliance (acting remotely), with only a certain material being able to deliver electricity.

In task 5a, the teacher provides the students with a battery (4.5V or 1.5V), two wires (preferably with crocodile clips at the ends, for better grip) and a bulb. First, it is the task of the pupils to carefully examine the four suggestions on how these components could be stacked together to light up the bulb (see table in task 5a). Pupils, by mutual agreement, make predictions about whether or not the lamp can be turned on in this way. After the predictions are made, the pupils are guided to verify them. Based on predictions, the teacher can determine to what extent pupils have an idea of a closed electrical circuit. If their prediction was in line with the real functioning of the electrical circuit, it could immediately devote itself to the sixth task, in which the task of the pupils, through the electrical circuit constructed in task 5a, is to test which materials conduct electric current and which are not. If a teacher finds out that pupils are not yet settled on the functioning of a closed circuit during the preparation of predictions in task 5a, he / she devotes to developing this idea by solving task 5b.

In Task 5b, there are a number of possible ways to combine wires, battery, and bulb so that the bulb lights up. Of course, only the ones that make a closed electrical circuit work. The task of the pupils in the group is to think about the outlined situations and to create predictions about whether to turn on the bulb. The teacher emphasizes to the teacher that the battery is a source of energy that can light up the bulb, but we must make sure that the energy gets into the bulb properly. After making the predictions, the pupils verify the functionality of the individual constructs. When examining it, it is important to alert pupils to differences in individual situations, as they may vary in very small detail, which, if not observed, will cause the bulb not to light up.