Push button on Breadboard

Activity 3

Purpose

In this lesson, students practice algorithmic thinking by thinking about sequences of events that lead to a desired outcome. This will be put in practice by creating circuits with push buttons, which allow students to control when a light turns on and off. They will also practice conditions in the identity activity, which asks students to identify with different groups they are a part of.

Materials

For each participant:

1 battery 9 V
1 resistor (10K Ohm)
1 LED
3 wires
1 pushbutton
1 breadboard
1 9V battery snap

Vocabulary

pushbutton
switch
breadboard
LED
battery
breadboard

Identity Activity

GET OFF THE FENCE

This activity is designed to help participants to get to know one another, to highlight decision making and differences in interpretations, and to discover the ways their group is diverse.

Estimated Time: 20-25 minutes

Materials: Instruction sheet

Introduction

In this activity, you will have the opportunity to make choices between opposites, and you must “get off of the fence” and choose.

How to Play

Begin by designating two separate sides of the room. Have all participants stand in the middle of the two sides. Two words will be read. Move to the side of the room that corresponds with their selection.

Quiet/loud
Private/public
Extrovert/introvert
Masculine/feminine
Affectionate/distance
Personal space/contact
Punctual/Time flexible
Family/individual
Group/solo
Conservative/liberal
Religious/Atheist
Plural/singular
Elders/youth
Education/Experience
Membership/autonomy
Participate/observe
Passive/active
Verbal/physical
Modest/exposed
Direct/indirect

Suggested Debriefing Questions

Why did we do this activity?
Were there times you felt conflicted? Explain.
Which choices were hardest to make? Easiest to make? Why?
Did you learn anything new about someone in the room?
How does this activity help our group?

Adapted from this collection of team-building exercises

Background On a pushbutton

A push button is a button that is pushed to operate an electrical device. It acts similar to a switch for a circuit, as it completes an electric circuit when you press on it. When it is pressed a metal spring inside of it connects two wires and allows electricity to flow. When it is not being pressed the spring restracts and connection between the two wires is broken, thus causing electricity to not flow.

Switch Visual

The notation used in the image to the left can be referenced here.

Step 3: Create the circuit

Directions

Attaching the battery

Add the battery snap to the top of the 9V battery
Take the red wire and put it in one of the red power rails of the breadboard
Take the black wire and put it in one of the blue power rails of the breadboard

Adding the LED

Place the negative end (short leg) of the LED into the breadboard in a different row from the positive end (long leg)
Place one leg of the resistor in the same row as the positive leg of the LED
Place the other leg of the resistor in an unused row

Adding the push button

In the same row of the resistor, place one leg of the push button
- Note: due to the construction of the push button, the button will probably have to straddle the central divider of the breadboard.

Completing the circuit

In the row of the push button that is unoccupied, add a wire that goes from that row to the positive power rail (red)
In the row of the negative end of the LED (short leg), place a wire that goes from that row to the negative power rail (blue)

Now, when you press the button, it should light up!

Step 5: REflection

Where do you see examples of push buttons or things that work like a push button in your life?
How would you explain how a push button works to someone else?
How did you work together with other people in the session?

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