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Project Summary
| Difficulty | 5 |
| Time required | Short (several days) |
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Sponsor
| Sponsored by generous support from AMD |
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| * Note: This is an abbreviated project idea, without notes to start your background research or a procedure for how to do the experiment. You can identify abbreviated project ideas by the asterisk at the end of the title. If you want a project idea with full instructions, please pick one without an asterisk. |
Abstract
Maybe somewhere in your home there's a long hallway or a stairway with a light that you can turn on from either end. It's a nice convenience, but did you ever wonder how it's wired up to work that way? The goal of this project is to build a similar circuit with switches, flashlight batteries and a flashlight bulb (obviously, household circuits are not safe to experiment with). You'll need to understand the difference between connections made in series and connections made in parallel in an electric circuit. For materials, you'll need 2 SPST (single-pole, single throw) switches, a flashlight bulb, a bulb holder, 3 or 4 D-cell batteries and some insulated connecting wires with alligator clips. You can connect multiple D-cells together by laying them sideways and taping them end-to-end (with the + pole of one battery touching the − pole of the next, just like in a flashlight). Tape paper clips to the + pole of the top battery and the − pole of the bottom battery so you can connect them to your circuit. (Rosner, 2000)Bibliography
Rosner, M.A., 2000. Scientific American Great Science Fair Projects. New York, NY: John Wiley and Sons.Variations
- For more science project ideas in this area of science, see Electricity & Electronics Project Ideas.
Last edit date: 2006-12-26 13:18:00
Career Focus
If you like this project, you might want to think about career opportunities in
Electricity & Electronics.
Electricians are the people who bring electricity to our homes, schools, businesses, public spaces, and streets—lighting up our world, keeping the indoor temperature comfortable, and powering TVs, computers, and all sorts of machines that make life better. Electricians install and maintain the wiring and equipment that carries electricity, and they also fix electrical machines. Learn more about this career: Electrician.
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