Ohm Depot
This project taught me how to safely use a multimeter, snap circuits, measure current and voltage, and calculate resistance and power. Additionally, I explored the specific uses of snap circuit components and how to use components most efficiently.
Materials List
All of the components used in this project are from Elenco Electronic's Snap Circuits kit.
Base 11" x 7.7" Grid
1-9 Piece Snap Conductors
Battery Holder 3V
0.1μf Capacitor
Red LED
Green LED
3V Lamp with a Built in Bulb
6V Lamp with a Built in Bulb
Motor
100Ω Resistor
Adjustable Resistor
Slide Switch
Press Switch
Fan
Multimeter
Pictured to the right is a multimeter which can be used to measure circuit voltage and current. By inserting the red, positive lead in the 10A positive terminal and the black, negative lead in the COM negative terminal and moving the dial to the AHz slot you can measure current. To measure voltage, move the red, positive lead to the VΩHz positive terminal and switch the dial to the HzV slot.
Additionally, using current and voltage measurements from the multimeter, I was able to calculate resistance in ohms by dividing the voltage by the current and calculate power in watts by multiplying voltage by current.
Batteries in Series
To make this circuit, I used a green LED (labeled with number D2), slide switch (S1), red LED (D1), 100Ω resistor (R1), and two 3V battery holders (B1) with two AA batteries in each on an 11" x 7.7" base grid.
The batteries in this circuit are in parallel, meaning that the batteries are connected and have a very high circuit voltage and current. Batteries in series are great for circuits requiring higher voltages.
Adding an additional battery to this circuit would increase the circuit's voltage and current values.
Batteries in Parallel
To make this circuit, I used a slide switch (S1), a 3V lamp with a built-in bulb (L1), two 7-piece snap conductors, and two 3V battery holders (B1) with two AA batteries in each on an 11" x 7.7" base grid.
Batteries in parallel implies that the batteries are placed parallel from one another. Batteries in parallel last a longer duration than those in series because it uses less voltage and current power.
Lamps in Series and Parallel
Lamps in Series Circuit
To make this circuit, I used a slide switch (S1), a 3V lamp with a built-in bulb (L1), one 3-piece snap conductor, a 6V lamp with a built-in bulb (L2), and two 3V battery holders (B1) with two AA batteries in each on an 11" x 7.7" base grid.
Lamps in Parallel Circuit
To make this circuit, I used a slide switch (S1), a 3V lamp with a built-in bulb (L1), a 6V lamp with a built-in bulb (L2), three 3-piece snap conductors, and one 3V battery holder (B1) with two AA batteries on an 11" x 7.7" base grid.
The brightness of the bulbs in parallel shone brighter than those in series because the parallel series had more power and thus current and voltage, creating two brighter lights.
Sharing Energy
Circuit with Blade
To make this circuit, I used a slide switch (S1), q 3V lamp with a built-in bulb (L1), four 2-piece snap conductors, one fan, a motor (M1), and one 3V battery holder (B1) with two AA batteries on an 11" x 7.7" base grid.
Bladeless Circuit
To make this circuit, I used a slide switch (S1), one 3V lamp with a built-in bulb (L1), a motor (M1), four 2-piece snap conductors, one 3V battery holder (B1) with two AA batteries on an 11" x 7.7" base grid.
When you remove the blades from the motor, the motor spins faster and uses more power, causing the lamp to not light shine. This happens because the power is consumed by the bladless motor and the circuit does not have enough power to also light the lamp.
Snap Circuits
Circuit A
To make this circuit, I used a slide switch (S1), one motor (M1), a fan, four 2-piece snap conductors, one 3-piece snap conductor, and a 3V battery holder (B1) with two AA batteries on an 11" x 7.7" base grid.
Circuit B
To make this circuit, I used a slide switch (S1), a 3V lamp with a built-in bulb (L1), one motor (M1), a fan, a press switch (S2), six 2-piece snap conductors, and one 3V battery holder (B1) with two AA batteries on an 11" x 7.7" base grid.
In circuit B, the added lamp causes the speed of the motor turning the fan blades to decrease as there is more divided energy use and thus less power than the motor. Additionally, when the bypass lamp is pressed, the speed of the motor increases because the power of the battery is not being consumed by the other components.
Problems Encountered
While measuring current and voltage with the multimeter, I often had to switch the positive and negative leads because I had originally put them in backwards order and caused the multimeter to read the voltage or current readings as negative instead of positive.