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Partial Progress - Circles (browser only)
Electricity
Objectives
- To understand how electricity makes machines work.
- To understand that certain noise-making machines work using electricity.
Resources
D cells | Small motor | Card | Buzzer
Today's Lesson
Main Activity
Discuss some of the things that work using motors that spin round (washing machine, microwave, tumble drier). Then ask your child to walk around the house and to list as many things as they can find that require a motor.
Provide your child with the circuit materials and ask them to investigate how to connect up the motor within a circuit. Encourage your child to work independently. If the circuit does not work, ask your child to experiment with the components and to try another way until it does work. Attach a small circular piece of card to the motor and watch it spin round. Then give your child two more cells to add to the circuit and observe/discuss what happens to the motor now.
Look at the diagram below. Look at the different labels. This is a diagram for a circuit with a bulb in.
Try drawing your circuit, using the appropriate symbols, to include a motor.
These symbols will help.
NOTE:
There are two circuit symbols for a lamp, one for a lamp used to provide illumination and another for a lamp used as an indicator. Small lamps such as torch bulbs can be used for both purposes so either circuit symbol may used in simple educational circuits.
