Battery and Lightbulb

Book Chapter | May 2009

The number of batteries used in this lab is determined by the type of lightbulbs that are used. A 3 V lightbulb will require two batteries. Students should perform this activity after being instructed how to use the…

Battery and LED

Book Chapter | May 2009

An LED should never be connected directly to a battery or it will be damaged. A current-limiting resistor must be attached to either leg to prevent this damage. The value of the resistor will depend on the battery that…

Batteries and bulbs

Book Chapter | January 2006

Given a flashlight battery, a flashlight bulb, and a single piece of wire, hold them together to make the bulb light. Adults have taken more than an hour to light the bulb! And yet, this is the first activity in a…

Batteries Included

Book Chapter | August 2011

Learners make drawing of what they think might be inside “energy balls,” small plastic spheres that light up and buzz. After investigating simple circuits using batteries, bulbs, and wires, they learn that electricity…

Series/Parallel Batteries

Book Chapter | May 2009

It is important for students to understand how resistors, capacitors, and batteries combine in series and parallel. The combination of batteries has a lot of practical applications in science competitions. This lab also…

Batteries, Bulbs, and Wire

Book Chapter | June 2009

The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about complete circuits involving lightbulbs. It reveals whether students recognize the pathway of electricity in a complete circuit, including its path…

Batteries and Bulbs: Teaching is More Than Telling

Book Chapter | March 2010

This activity features a simple, three-component system that can be used to explore a variety of concepts including closed versus open electrical circuits and conductors versus insulators. It also can initiate further…

How Does the Current in Each Battery Compare?

Book Chapter | March 2014

The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about batteries. It is designed to reveal students’ ideas about how the flow of current through a battery is affected by the type of circuit. The probe…

Focus on Physics: Electric Power in a Parallel Circuit With an Automobile Battery

Journal Article | January 2019

Bulb-battery teaching demonstration explains voltage, current, and power in parallel circuits with the aid of a common automobile battery.

Scope on Safety: Battery safety basics

Journal Article | March 2010

Batteries commonly used in flashlights and other household devices produce hydrogen gas as a product of zinc electrode corrosion. The amount of gas produced is affected by the batteries’ design and charge rate.…

Tech Trek: Getting students charged up about batteries

Journal Article | October 2000

The Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation’s (RBRC) lesson plan entitled Charge Up to Recycle! is a nonprofit organization that recycles Nickel-Cadmium (Ni-Cd) rechargeable batteries in Canada and the United States…

Design-Based Science: A problem-solving experiment compares different brands of batteries

Journal Article | March 2003

Developing useful skills for a wide range of actual problem-solving situations involving science is one goal of design-based science. This article features a problem-solving experiment where students compare different…

Batteries, Bulbs, and Wires

Lesson Plan | December 2022

The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about complete circuits involving lightbulbs. The probe reveals whether students recognize the pathway of electricity in a complete circuit, including…

What’s the Buzz?

Journal Article | April 2021

It’s All About Energy!

Journal Article | January 2021