Lesson 3 – ScienceWiz

Lesson 3

Can you build a switch with one paper clip?
Open and close your own circuits. Take control!
Send coded messages with sound. Decode secret messages.

What did you do last time?

buzzer

load

LED

PRINT one of these words next to
the matching image on the next slide.

loop

battery

wire

bulb

motor

When the loop is OPEN the bulb is out.

Electrical current flows through the closed loop.

OPEN

When the loop is CLOSED the light shines.

CLOSED

Let's build a switch
to open and close a circuit loop.

When you are ready, go to the next slide.

Find these items in your kit:

battery
band

motor

1.5 Volt
battery

alligator
leads

buzzer

switch
card

paper
fastener

paper clip

Push the paper fasteners through the two holes
in the switch card.

Turn over the switch card and push one fastener through the paper clip.

1

2

Bend open the
paper fastener.

3

4

Connect an alligator clip to each paper fastener.

Connect the switch to the motor.

5

Push the paper clip against the brass paper fastener to close the loop and turn on the motor.

6

Now you can send coded messages to a friend.

Try one beep for YES
and two beeps for NO.

Insert the buzzer in place of the motor.

Samuel Morse made a simple code for the alphabet to send messages over long distances
before there were telephones.

Morse Code

DI - a short beep, written as a short dot (.)

DA - a long beep, written as a long line (_)

SOS

{DI DI DI} {DA DA DA} {DI DI DI}
(short short short) (long long long) (short short short)

S . . .
O _ _ _
S . . .

SAVE OUR SHIP

This message is
in Morse code.
Decode it,
letter by letter.

Morse Code

Introduction

Lesson 1

Lesson 2

Lesson 3

Resources

Lesson 4

Lesson 5

Lesson 6

Lesson 7

Lesson 8

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