Practically every piece of electrical equipment we use has an electronics component to it. We use electronics many times a day. Understanding the basics of electronics helps us to understand the more complex circuits that make up microprocessors and computers.
Activity Build a buzzer game
Apparatus Construction wire, block of wood or polystyrene, 9 V battery, buzzer, leads, crocodile clips
Method 1. Twist a length of wire into the required shape. No two parts of the wire should touch each other.
Construction wire
Loop
Leads Block of wood
+ - 9 V
Buzzer Fig. 1 A circuit for a buzzer game.
2. Insert the ends of the wire into the polystyrene block or piece of wood. Hold in place with glue if necessary.
3. Build a simple circuit as in Fig. 1. Use crocodile clips to connect the components. The circuit ends in a loop of wire. The buzzer and battery case can be mounted on the block.
4. Play the game. The challenge is to move the loop along the wire mounted on the block without setting off the buzzer. The buzzer should ring if the loop touches the wire.
The activity above uses an electrical circuit. If the loop of wire and the construction wire are touching, the circuit is on; if they are not touching, the circuit remains off. In electronic circuits there is an input, a process and an output.
Input PROCESS Output
In the build a buzzer game above there are two possible inputs that give two possible outputs: INPUT
OUTPUT 346 1. The loop touches the wire. 2. The loop does not touch the wire. 1. Buzzer rings. 2. Buzzer does not ring.
