Materials Switcheroo: Construct Simple Electrical Switches
In this hands-on activity, students practice the crosscutting concept that engineers improve existing technologies or develop new ones that benefit society. Using the science and engineering practices of making observations and generating multiple solutions, students make sense of the phenomenon of electricity as they construct a simple switch using objects of various types of materials. Students utilize the disciplinary core concepts of testing and communicating ideas to determine what objects and what types of materials can be used to close a switch in a circuit and light a light bulb.
Students construct a simple switchCopyright Brookhaven National Lab http://www.bnl.gov/earthday/images/slideshow/home-720px.jpg
Engineers have a fundamental understanding of electrical circuits and the function of insulators and conductors. The first true plastic material used for the housing of electrical switches and electrical outlets was an insulator called Bakelite, invented in 1909 by engineer and chemist Leo Hendrik Baekeland. Today, material and chemical engineers continue to design and develop specialty materials that can be used for many different types of electrical device parts, both for conducting and insulating.
After this activity, students should be able to:
- Explain the function of a switch in an electrical circuit.
- Understand that an object's material properties determine whether it will make a good switch.
- Explain why engineers must have a fundamental understanding of electrical circuits and the function of insulators and conductors.