Resistance Experiment for Different Ages

This is a basic lesson plan that I am doing with the local beaver group and thought I’d share, enjoy

Works for ages 7-17

You will need:
-Battery’s in several different sizes
-A set of metal keys
-A stretched out spring
-Foam blocks, use scraps as these pieces will be ruined later

Safety:
-Children must be supervised at all times and should not be allowed too close to the set up as it will give off heat
-This is for demonstration purposes only
-Make sure to keep a bucket of water and a fire extinguisher near by incase if fire
-conduct this on a heat proof mat

Theory of this demo:
This demo uses the battery keys and spring to create a basic circuit, and the stretched wire acts as a resistor, showing how the energy is lost into the surroundings as heat and in some cases light. This is the same as light bulbs, fuses and foam cutters

Demo steps:
1) first clear your area and call students round the table, ensuring that they are not too close to the table
2) put down a heat proof mat of some kind
3) wrap the wire around the keys as shown In the image
4)then hold the ends of the keys against the ends of the battery, keeping your fingers away from the wire, now you can cut through the foam with ease
5)experiment a bit with different battery sizes to see any differences
6)now that you’re done make sure to take it apart with care

What can the students do?:
After getting them to watch the demo you can get them to go through and write what they thought was happening and then have a group discussion to see their ideas,
You can then show them a filament bulb to show that it’s the same.