Here is a fun experiment that you could try with your friends.
Things Needed
- Game board
- 10 paper clips
- 2 nails
- Electric tape
- Copper wire
- Battery
- Battery holder (optional)
- Light bulb
- Bulb socket
Procedure
- Make your own game board on card stock. Below is an example of a game board. It has two columns, on the left five questions are listed and on the right are five answers arranged in no particular order. Make sure that the correct answer to the question is not in the same line. It could have more items, but for this experiment we used five.
- Beside each question and answer, attach a paper clip on the card.
- Remember which questions match the correct answer.
- Turn the game board over. Measure the distance between the paper clips of a correct question and answer. Cut copper wire corresponding to this length.
- On each end of the wire, remove an inch of the protective covering exposing the copper wire.
- Attach one end of the wire to the question, and the other end to the correct answer. Secure the wire by taping it to the board.
- Repeat steps 4 to 6 for all remaining question and answers. The back of the board will look like this:
- Set the game board aside.
- Prepare three more copper wires approximately 6 inches long. Remove 1 inch of protective covering on each end.
- Wire #1: one end would be wrapped around a nail; the other is connected to the positive end of the battery. Secure all ends using an electric tape.
- Wire #2: one end would connect to the negative end of the battery, and the other end is connected to the light bulb socket.
- Wire #3: one end would connect to the light bulb socket, and the other end is attached to another nail.
- Tie a rubber band around each nail.
- The battery could be secured in place using a battery holder or taped to the board.
15. Try your game. Hold the nail by the rubber band and touch it to a question, and another nail to an answer. If the answer is correct, the light bulb would turn on.
Explaining the experiment
If there is a complete circuit, electricity would flow from the battery to the light bulb. The positive end of the battery must connect to the negative end of a battery using conductive materials like wires and paper clips. Once there is a connection between the positive and negative ends of the battery, electrons can run freely and create electricity.
In this experiment, when one of the nails touches the paper clip with a question, and the other nail touches a paper clip corresponding to the correct answer, a complete circuit is formed. In cases where a question is answered with a wrong answer, the light bulb will not light up because the circuit is not complete.
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