[Phys-L] Re: The bulb-with-one-wire task: too tricky?

[Joseph Bellina <jbellina@SAINTMARYS.EDU>]

Nicely done.  You might get them to build a circuit that has one contact
on the outside of the bulb and another on the inside, since it is
available on the broken bulb.  That might reinforce their understanding
of the path into and out of the bulb.

cheers,

joe

Anthony Lapinski wrote:

> I do this activity each year, as a introduction to electric current. It's
> a discovery lab and ungraded. Once they see all four configurations, I ask
> them what's on the inside of a bulb and a battery. Students have little
> idea of the inner workings of everyday items. I pass around broken bulbs
> and show that the electrical contacts on a bulb are separated by an
> insulator. Batteries are more difficult to show, but you can show a lemon
> battery (with a penny and nickel), etc. Students begin to appreciate and
> understand these things. Unfortunately, few textbooks explain how things
> are made or how they work.

--
Joseph J. Bellina, Jr. Ph.D.
574-284-4662, 4968
Saint Mary's College
Dept. of Chemistry and Physics
Notre Dame, IN, 46556