CONTENTS IN DETAIL
PART 1: PLAYING WITH ELECTRICITY
Step 1: Inspect the Light Bulb
Step 2: Connect the Light Bulb to the Battery
How Does Electricity Light a Bulb?
How Is a Circuit Like a Pipe System?
Step 4: Prepare a Trigger Wire
Step 5: Connect the Buzzer and Trigger Wire
Step 6: Mount the Buzzer and Trigger Wire
Step 8: Stage an Intruder Alert!
Step 9: What If the Intruder Alarm Doesn’t Work?
2
MAKING THINGS MOVE WITH ELECTRICITY AND MAGNETS
Try It Out: Find Some Magnetic Objects!
Project #3: Create Your Own Electromagnet
Step 2: Remove Insulation from One End of the Coil Wire
Step 4: Connect the Negative Battery Terminal to the Coil
Step 6: Test Your Super Electromagnet
Step 7: What If the Electromagnet Isn’t Working?
Step 2: Build the Motor’s Structure
Step 4: Reinsulate Part of the Coil
Step 6: What If the Motor Doesn’t Work?
Generating Electricity with Magnets
A Changing Magnetic Field Creates Electricity
Creating Electricity from Water or Wind
Project #5: Make a Shake Generator
Step 3: Connect the Multimeter
Step 5: What If There’s No Voltage?
Try It Out: Using a Motor as a Generator
The Chemistry Behind Batteries
What Determines a Battery’s Voltage?
Project #6: Turn On a Light with Lemon Power
Step 2: Insert Electrodes into a Lemon
Step 3: Create Four Lemon Batteries
Step 4: Connect the Lemons in Series
Step 5: Test Your Lemon Battery
Try It Out: More Food Batteries!
Step 6: What If Your Lemon Light Doesn’t Work?
Resistors Control Current and Voltage
Project #7: Let’s Destroy an LED!
Step 1: Identify Which LED Leg Is Which
Step 3: What If Nothing Happens to the LED?
Protecting Your LED with a Resistor
Calculating the Resistance You Need
Step 1: Twist the Resistor and LED
Step 4: What If the LED Doesn’t Work?
Building Circuits on a Breadboard
How to Connect Components and Wires
Project #9: Your First Breadboard Circuit
Step 3: Place the Battery Clip
Step 4: What If the LED Doesn’t Work?
5
BLINKING A LIGHT FOR THE FIRST TIME
Polarized and Nonpolarized Capacitors
Step 1: Start with the LED Circuit
Step 4: Use the Capacitor to Light the LED
Step 5: What If the Circuit Doesn’t Work?
Describing Circuits with Symbols
Using the Relay to Blink a Light
Step 1: Identify the Relay Pins
Step 2: Make the Relay Switch Fast
Step 3: Make the Relay Stay On Longer
Step 4: Make the Relay Stay Off Longer
Step 5: Add the LED and Resistor
Step 6: What If the LED Won’t Blink?
Try It Out: Make Your Intruder Alarm More Effective
Watch Out for Bad Solder Joints!
Project #12: Solder Your First LED Circuit
Step 2: Bend the Component Legs
How to Read the Circuit Board Illustrations
Step 3: Heat and Clean the Soldering Iron
Step 4: Solder the Resistor and LED
Step 6: Solder the Battery Clip
Step 8: What If the Soldered LED Circuit Doesn’t Work?
Oops! How Do I Remove a Soldered Component?
Project #13: Desolder the Battery Clip
Step 1: Heat the Soldering Iron
Step 2: Place the Solder Wick on the Solder Joint
Step 3: Heat the Solder Joint and the Solder Wick
Step 4: Trim the Used Solder Wick
Step 5: Remove the Other Battery Clip Wire
Try It Out: Solder More Stuff!
7
CONTROLLING THINGS WITH ELECTRICITY
Controlling an LED with a Transistor
Project #14: Build a Circuit that Senses Touch
Step 1: Place Components on the Prototyping Board
Step 2: Check Your Component Placement
Step 3: Solder the Components and Trim Excess Legs
Step 7: What If the Touch Sensor Doesn’t Work?
Try It Out: Can the Touch Sensor Detect Different Touches?
Resistors That Can Change Value
Dividing a Voltage with Resistors
What Does a Voltage Divider Look Like?
Calculating the Voltage from a Voltage Divider
How a Voltage Divider Can Help Measure Light
Project #15: Build a Sunrise Wake-Up Alarm
Step 1: Place Components on the Prototyping Board
Step 2: Solder the Components and Trim the Legs
Step 3: Add the Buzzer to the Board
Step 4: Make the Remaining Connections with Wires
Step 5: Add the Battery Clip to the Board
Step 7: What If There’s No Sound?
Try It Out: Temperature-Controlled Fan
8
BUILDING A MUSICAL INSTRUMENT
How to Make Sound with Electricity
How to Set the Output Speed of the 555 Timer
Project #16: Make Your Own Sound with the 555 Timer
Step 1: Place the 555 Timer on the Breadboard
Step 3: Connect the Speaker and Coupling Capacitor
Step 4: Connect the Power and Reset Pins
Step 6: What If There’s No Sound?
Checking Connections as a Team
Turning an Annoying Beep into Music
Project #17: An Instrument That Beeps and Boops
Step 1: Connect the 555 Timer and the Capacitors
Step 3: Connect the Note Controller and Resistor
Step 7: What If the Instrument Doesn’t Work?
Try It Out: Make a Motion-Controlled Instrument
9
HOW CIRCUITS UNDERSTAND ONES AND ZEROS
Project #18: Convert from Binary to Decimal
Step 1: Write It Down on Paper
Step 2: Write the Position Values
Step 3: Find the Value of Each Digit
Try It Out: Transform More Binary Numbers
Project #19: Color Guessing Game
Step 1: Place the Color Chooser’s Push Buttons
Step 3: Connect the Color Revealer Button
Step 5: What If the Game Doesn’t Work?
Try It Out: Solder the Color Guessing Game
How Binary Numbers Can Create Words
Project #20: The Secret Message Machine
Step 1: Connect the Push Button
Step 2: Connect the DIP Switch
Step 4: Send a Secret Message!
Step 5: What If the Secret Message Machine Doesn’t Work?
Why Computers Use Ones and Zeros
AND Gates Check for Two True Inputs
OR Gates Check for One True Input
How to Draw Logic Circuit Diagrams
A Logic Equation for a Secret Code
Converting a Logic Equation into a Circuit Diagram
Try It Out: Draw More Logical Statements as Circuits
Using Logic Gates in Real Life
More About Current, Components, and Transistors
Project #21: A Secret Code Checker
How to Use Other Voltages with a Breadboard
Step 1: Place the Switches and Resistors
Step 3: Place the Transistor and LED
Step 4: Build the Logic Circuit
Step 5: Finish Wiring the Transistor
Step 6: Power and Test the Secret Code Checker
Step 7: What If the LED Doesn’t Light Up?
Try It Out: Disarm Your Intruder Alarm
NAND Looks for One False Input
NOR Looks for Two False Inputs
11
CIRCUITS THAT REMEMBER INFORMATION
Memory That Changes Only at a Certain Time
Project #22: An Electronic Coin Tosser
Step 1: Build the Oscillator Circuit
Step 3: Build the Toggle Circuit
Step 4: Add the Heads and Tails LEDs
Step 6: What If the Coin Tosser Doesn’t Work?
Meet the Reaction Game Circuits
A 555 Timer to Set the Light Speed
A Latch to Start and Stop the Light
Project #23: An LED Reaction Game
Step 1: Build the 555 Timer Circuit
Step 2: Build the LED-Controlling Circuit
Step 3: Build the Start and Stop Circuit
Step 4: Practice Your Reaction Time!
Step 5: What If the Game Isn’t Working?
Try It Out: Change the Light’s Speed
What’s Next? Go Make Cool Stuff!
Component and Unit Value Cheat Sheets