Electricity Part 1
What is Electricity?
Simple Circuit
Now you will make a simple circuit with a partner and you will get an LED to light up.
To make an LED light up you’ll need to complete a circuit. A complete circuit is a closed loop. The positive (+) pole of the battery is connected to the positive (+) leg of the LED. The negative (-) pole of the battery is connected to the negative (-) leg of the LED. The closed loop allows electrons to flow, like water through the LED and back to the battery.
Open the circuit by disconnecting any of the connections.
A Closer Look
Materials
- 1 LED
- 1 Button cell battery
- 1 Binder clip
- Conductive tape
Directions
- Place conductive foil tape along the gray line on the paper. When you get to the corners, fold the tape rather than cutting it and placing down separate strips of the tape. One continuous strip will give a better connection.
- Place LED legs under the foil ends. Make sure the (-) leg of the LED is under the tape that touches the negative side of the battery and the (+) leg of the LED is under the tape that is connected to the positive side of the battery.
- Place the button cell battery down on. Be sure the negative side is facing down.
- Fold the paper along the dotted lines. This will complete the circuit and light up your LED!
