Task 9

Materials and tools for a working group:

wooden block, ruler, table lamp (or flashlight), solar cell with propeller

Task 9 is aimed at examining whether the amount of electricity produced by a solar cell depends on how the solar cell is tilted at that distance from the light source.

The teacher first leads the pupils to make predictions about the three basic positions of the solar cells against the light source (torch or table lamp). Pupils then do verification. When verifying predictions, the teacher makes sure that the pupils observe the displayed conditions (ie the solar cell laying angle). This step can be ensured by the fact that pupils will rely on solar cells for example. always the same item (such as a building block). However, it is important that the pupils place the cube directly under the lamp and do not move it during the further verification of the predictions – they only handle the solar cell. The position and distance of the lamp from the solar cell does not change (eg approx. 20cm from the table). After the verification, the pupils formulate a conclusion. The conclusions obtained in the different groups are compared. If there are differences in what the pupils have found, the teacher is dedicated to identifying why differences may have arisen in what the individual groups have found (for example, a different high light source, different light source distance from a solar cell, and so on.