CONTENTS
PARTS LIST HOW TO ASSEMBLE ELECTRICITY IN REAL LIFE ELECTRIC CURRENT AND THE RELATED EXPERIMENTS ABOUT MOTOR AND THE EXPERIMENTS 10 MODELS CAN BE MADE MODELS Model 1 Photogene Model 2 Street Lamp Model 3 Jiggling Bug Model 4 Electric Irritating Maze (Stability Contest) Model 5 Locomotive Model 6 Dump Truck Model 7 Rescue Car Model 8 Sea Gull Park Model 9 Helicopter Model 10 Windmill Tower
P. P. P. P. P. P. P. P. P. P. P. P. P. P. P. P. P.
2 3-4 5 6-11 12-13 14 15-28 15 15 16 17 18-19 20-21 22 23-24 25-26 27-28
RECOMMENDATIONS
Children can easily learn the concepts of electricity in physics through this kit. It helps children lay the foundation of electricity and develop logical thinking through every attempt in the assembly. 1. Please read these instructions, follow the safety rules and keep them for reference. We recommend that you make the models in the order that is given. You will then be able to understand assembly of parts and soon many more different models you wish. 2. This is a toy that has been designed for children over 8 years of age. It is designed to help children discover what an electric circuit is while creating variety of models. 3. Discuss the safety warnings and possible risks involved with the children before allowing them to build these models. 4. Do not try to plug the wires or accessories into any electrical outlet. This would be extremely dangerous. Designed for batteries only. 5. CLEANING: * Before cleaning, take out the batteries. * Only use a cloth that has been slightly dampened with water. * Never use a detergent.
SAFETY GUIDELINES
1. The batteries must not be recharged. 2. Only re-chargeable batteries can be charged under the supervision of an adult. 3. Do not mix chargeable and non-chargeable batteries . 4. Only the recommended batteries are to be used. 5. The polarity of the batteries must always be observed. 6. The terminals of a battery must not be short-circuited. 7. The old batteries must be disposed of as hazardous waste. 8. Follow the recycling instructions given on the battery.
WARNING
1. Remove the batteries when not planning to use the device for a long period of time. 2. Misuse of batteries can cause them to leak, which damages and corrodes the area around the battery, creating the danger of fire, explosion and personal injury.
WARNING TO PARENTS
This toy is not suitable for children under 3 years of age. It contains small parts that a child could swallow. This toy must be kept out of the reach of very young children.
1
PARTS LIST 1
2
9
10
20
26
33
34
PARTS NAMES
5
6
13
19
25
2
4
12
11
18
NO.
3
27
14
PCS NO.
37
PARTS NAMES
16
22
29
36
8
15
21
28
35
7
17
23
30
24
31
38
39
PCS NO.
32
40
PARTS NAMES
PCS
1
PEG / AXLE REMOVER
1
15 SMALL GEAR 20T
1
29 BATTERY HOLDER WITH FUSE
2
2
MOTOR WITH SPINDLE GEAR
1
16 CAM CONNECTOR
1
30 CUBE CONNECTOR
2
3
ROD-GRAY
1
17 AXLE
2
31 SWITCH
1
4
LONG ROD-GRAY
1
18 WASHER
1
32 BULB HOLDER
1
5
AXLE CONNECTOR
3
19 GEAR FIXING
4
33 3-HOLE ROD
2
6
SHORT FRAME-GRAY
5
20 L PULLEY-Y
1
34 5-HOLE ROD
3
7
BASE GRID-DOUBLE-SIDED
2
21 S PULLEY-Y
1
35 DUAL ROD
2
8
BASE CONNECTOR
2
22 M BELT
1
36 SQUARE FRAME
4
9
LONG DRIVE AXLE
3
23 EGG CAM
1
37 BUTTON FIXER
4
10 MEDIUM DRIVE AXLE
1
24 EXPANDABLE WORM GEAR
1
38 ALUMINUM WIRE 70CM
1
11 MOTOR AXLE
1
25 ROD CONNECTOR-GRAY
1
39 PEG CONDUCTOR
2
12 PEG
20
26 WIRE CONNECTOR-RED
2
40 DIECUT CARD BOARD
1
13 LARGE GEAR 60T
2
27 WIRE CONNECTOR-BLACK
2
14 MEDIUM GEAR 40T
2
28 WIRE CLIP-BLACK
1
TOTAL
90
ELECTRICITY IN REAL LIFE In general, generators produce very high-voltage electricity which can be transmitted through a long distance to our houses. However, such electricity cannot be used. Normally, the electricity company will build a transformer station close to residential districts to adjust the voltages to an appropriate level for house using.
Nuclear power plant
Transformer station
Hydraulic power plant
High-voltage electricity tower
Step-down substation
Deliver-transform system
Thermal power plant
Transformer on pole
Houses
Electricity distribution system
Wind power plant
Fig. 1 Distribute the electricity to our houses
The transformer station transforms different kinds of energy into electricity to provide households demands. The power distributed to our houses is called AC (alternating current); that is, a electric current which changes its direction and amount at regular intervals of time. Another type of current produced by dry batteries or rechargeable batteries is DC (direct current), which is an electric current won’t change with time.
5
ELECTRIC CURRENT AND THE RELATED EXPERIMENTS A
A
B
B
A A
The amount and direction of the current are fixed
Direct current (DC)
Electric current
Electric current
Time
B
A
B
B Time
The amount and direction of the current are flexible
Alternating current (AC)
Fig. 2ďźšComparison between direct current and alternating current
1) The bulb is shining!
What kind of toys do you have at home? Do they shine at night, make sounds or move? What are they made of? What makes them shine or move? Do they all use batteries? 1) Dry batteries a) consist of 2 poles, positive (Symbol: + ) and negative (Symbol: - ) b) supply DC electricity transformed from chemical energy. c) positive pole has higher electric potential than negative d) the protruding end of the battery is the positive pole, while the other end is negative.
Carbon rod (positive)
Positive pole Symbol: +
Ammonium chloride Manganese dioxide Amylum compound
Zinc (negative)
Negative pole Symbol: -
Fig. 3ďźšStructure of the battery
Electric pressure: a) The electric potential difference between the positive pole and the negative is called the electric pressure. b) The unit of electric pressure is voltage (V) c) The general voltage of a battery is 1.5V, that is, the electric potential of the positive pole is 1.5V higher than that of the negative.
6
ELECTRIC CURRENT AND THE RELATED EXPERIMENTS
+
-
Low potential
Water at higher location
Hish potential
Electric current: a) Electric current is the flow of electric charge flowing in the conductor b) With the potential difference, plus a conducting wire from positive to negative, the electric current happens. c) The direction where electricity flows is from high to low potential d) The strength of the electric current depends on it’s amount. It is measured by Ampere (A). 8 The speed of the electric current is the same as that of light, About 3 x 10 meter/second.
Water at lower location
Fig. 4：Electric potential difference produces voltage and current.
2) Battery Holder When we use battery at home, the positive and negative pole need to be connected to work. We usually put it in a battery holder so that a wire connector can easily connect them. Be sure to insert the battery in a correct direction.
1.5V
Fig. 5：Insert the battery in a correct direction
7
ELECTRIC CURRENT AND THE RELATED EXPERIMENTS 3) Wire connector Wire connector is the wire to conduct electricity. It is made of copper, a metal, wrapped with plastic cover to protect them from being touched each other or by people to cause short circuit or electric shock.
Fig. 6：Wire connector, no matter it is red or black, can conduct electricity from one end to the other.
4) Bulb Holder Bulb can produce light for people when it is dark. It produces light by heating up the filament. But how does it work? When electric current flows through the filament it releases energy and thus produces heat to heat up the filament. In 1879, Edison used coal as the material for the filament. Although coal has a very high melting point (3550℃) it's easy to be consumed and last only a short time and needs to be insulated from air (otherwise it will burn in the air). We are using tungsten filament with melting point at 3410℃. It has longer life but still burn in the air. Therefore the light bulb needs to be a vacuum. If you find your light bulb does not work, check if the filament is broken first. The bulb can be easily changed if needed. Cap Filament
Bulb Tungsten double spiral filament
Copper plate Housing Bulb holder The side hole where the Copper Bulb holder plate comes through
Power wires
Fig. 7：Tungsten filament can change the energy released by electric current into light and heat.
Our bulb holder contains 2 copper plates which lead two poles of the bulb separately to it’s two holes where the copper plates come through so that they can be conducted through the wire connectors which are inserted into the holes. This plug-in design is very convenient for us to build a circuit.
8
ELECTRIC CURRENT AND THE RELATED EXPERIMENTS Exp.1 Let the bulb shine Let’s build a basic circuit including battery holder, bulb holder and wire connectors.
+ 1.5V
-
battery
bulb
Fig. 8：The bulb is shining
1) Dry battery provides electric current and voltage which a circuit needs. We call it power source. 2) Light bulb is the electrical device in a circuit 3) The power source and the electrical device are connected with wire connectors. 4) Connect the battery holder, bulb holder with red and black wire connectors. 5) Does the bulb shine? 6) Use your hand to touch the bulb to see if the temperature is increased. Attention: Don’t touch the light bulb used at home to avoid a burn. Because the high voltage it uses, it may become very hot!
Exp.2 Use the switch to turn on or off the bulb. Connect the battery holder, switch and bulb holder with wire connectors. 1) When the switch is turned on, it allows the current to go through. In this case, the switch is said to be in a closed position. 2) When the switch is turned off, it doesn’t allow the current to go through. In this case, the switch is said to be in an open position. 3) The circuit is shown below: Knob
Copper plate A
Copper plate B
Copper plate C
Housing Switch
When the knob is turned so that its Copper plate A will touch Copper plate B & C, the electricity can be conducted. When the knob is turned so that its Copper plate A will not touch Copper plate B & C, the electricity can not be conducted.
The side hole where the Copper plate comes through
9
ELECTRIC CURRENT AND THE RELATED EXPERIMENTS switch Fig. a
+ 1.5V
-
battery
bulb
Fig. b
Fig. 9：Circuit Fig. a：When switch is turned off, the circuit is disconnected, the switch is in an open position. Fig. b：When switch is turned on, the circuit is connected, the switch is in an close position.
Fig. 9
Exp.3
Experiments on conductors Try to see if the following objects can conduct electricity when they are put on the position of the “question mark” on Fig. 10. Please tick the boxes with the right answers behind them.
?
?
+ 1.5V
-
battery
bulb
Fig. 10
Spoon □Can □Can not
Key □Can □Can not
10
Coin
□Can □Can not
ON
OFF
Switch
□Can □Can not
Pencil
Marker
□Can □Can not
□Can □Can not
Cube connector
Rubber band
□Can □Can not
□Can □Can not
Getting to know conductors and insulators: Objects that allow electricity to go through are called conductors; objects that does not allow electricity to go through are called insulators. The reason that conductors can conduct is because they contain negative free electrons which flow around under the effect of battery to cause electric current, whereas insulators do not contain any free electrons and thus they cannot allow electricity to go through.
ELECTRIC CURRENT AND THE RELATED EXPERIMENTS Batteries in Series and Batteries in Parallel There are copper plates coming through on all sides of the battery holder ends except the bottom. When two battery holders are connected together the batteries are connected through these copper plates, too. 1. How to make Batteries in series I
+ + 1.5V
+
1.5V
-
battery
1.5V+1.5V=3V battery
Copper Plate
-
Batteries in series is to link batteries together in a line with positive and negative poles connecting each other. The more batteries, the greater voltage there is in the circuit. For example, the voltage for one battery is 1.5V, two batteries in series will have 3V, 3 batteries in series will have 4.5V, and so on. However, the amount of the current stays the same no matter how many batteries are in series in the circuit.
2. How to make Batteries in parallel
I
I+I
+
1.5V
+ -
battery
1.5V
+ -
battery
1.5V
Batteries in parallel is to link batteries together side by side with same polarity ends connecting each other. In this case, the voltage remains the same. However the total amount of electric current become greater and thus the batteries in parallel can last longer. Attention: Batteries need to be removed from battery holders when they are in series or in parallel to avoid electricity being consumed when they are not to be used.
11
Exp.4 Experiments on batteries in series and batteries in parallel Which bulb is brighter in following circuits? Please tick the box before the right answer.
□Batteries in series
□Batteries in parallel
So the higher the voltage received from the batteries is, the brighter the light bulb will be
ABOUT MOTOR AND THE EXPERIMENTS
Rotation of the motor The concept of motor’s rotation is to change electric energy into magnetic energy and then into kinetic energy to activate the motor. The motor rotates to drive gears and create many movable toys.
Exp.5
Direction of the current and direction of the motor’s rotation.
1.5V
-
M
+ motor
Fig. 5-1
Direction of motor’s rotation □clockwise □counter-clockwise
1.5V
Fig. 5-2
12
Direction of motor’s rotation □clockwise □counter-clockwise
M
If exchange two wire connectors on the battery (or on the motor), in which direction will the motor rotate?
motor
Exp.6
1.5V
+
1.5V
-
battery motor
M
+
switch
battery
Fig. 6-1
Compare Fig. 5-1(1.5V) with Fig. 6-1(3V), which motor rotates faster? Why? (The higher the voltage received from the batteries is, the faster the motor will rotate.)
Exp.7 The following figure shows “Loads in series” ( motor and bulb)
3V -
motor
M
+ + -
bulb
Exp. 8 The following figure shows “Loads in parallel” (motor and bulb)
motor
M
+ 3V -
+ bulb
Comparing the motor’s rotation speed and bulb's brightness with that in Exp. 7
13
10 MODELS CAN BE MADE
1.Photogene
3.Jiggling Bug 2.Street Lamp
4.Electric Irritating Maze (Stability Contest)
7. Rescue Car
9. Helicopter
14
5.Locomotive
6.Dump Truck
8. Sea Gull Park
10. Windmill Tower
MODELS 1.Photogene PARTS NEEDED 1
2
x1
x1
26
39
20
11
x1
x1
x1
7
29
x1
x1
31
1
27
x1
x1
40
x1
x1
3
2
Completed
What images will you see when the card disc is rapidly rotating and when it slows down gradually to the end?
2.Street Lamp PARTS NEEDED 1
26
7
4
27
1
2
x1
31
32
x1
3
x1
x1
x1
x1
39
29
x1
x2
x1
4
Completed
15
MODELS 3.Jiggling Bug The egg cam is used in this model to create rapid "left and right" movement. PARTS NEEDED 1
2
29
7
26
27
11
1 x1
x1 x1
x1
39
37
x1
x4
2
x1 12
31
x1
23
40
x1
x6
x1
x1
x1
4
3
5 7
6
Completed
16
MODELS 4.Electric Irritating Maze (Stability Contest) Use the aluminum wire included in this kit to make your own maze. Make sure to insert the “S” curved at the end of the aluminum wire directly into the hole on the Bulb Holder so that it can touch the copper plate therein to conduct electricity outward only.
1
PARTS NEEDED 1
7
x1 29
31
m
maze x1
32
36
x1 38
39
loop x1
x1
x2
x1
“S” curve
x1
2
4
3
5
-
+
+
x2
Use the aluminum wire to make a small loop.
6mm
12
x2
x1
22m
28
26
-
Clip the loop end with the wire clip so that the loop can be conducted.
6
Completed
17
MODELS 5.Locomotive PARTS NEEDED 1
2
6
10
20
27
x1
x1
x1
26 9
x3
12
13
14
15
x12
x2
x1
x1
x1
17
x1
22
x1 24
33
34
x2
1
4
18
x2
x1
x1
x2
2
x2
39
x1
x1
36
29
x4
x2
35
19
x2
31
x2
3
5
MODELS 6
7
8
9
10
Completed
19
MODELS 6.Dump Truck 1
PARTS NEEDED 1
2
x1
3
20 5
6
9
29
x1
x2
19
12
x1
27
10
x3
x1
26
x5
x13
x1
x1
36
x2
x1
x2
16
13
14
15
17
24
22
39
31
33
34
35
x1
x2
x2
x1
x2
x1
x1
x1
x1
x2
x3
x2
3
2
x4
4 5
6 7
8
20
MODELS 9
10
11
12
13
14
Completed
21
MODELS 7. Rescue Car PARTS NEEDED 1
6
2
17
20
x7
x2
x1
13
14
22
x2
x2
x1
x3
29
30
31
x2
x2
x1
2
1
26
x1
x1
x1
12 9
7
x1 32
x1
36
39
19
33
x3
x2
x2
x2
x2 27
x2
4
3
6
5
7
8
Completed
22
MODELS 8. Sea Gull Park PARTS NEEDED 1
2
3
x1
x1 23
4
x1
x1 26
6
27
7
14
20
x2
x1
x1
12
15
22
x1
x1
x2
x3 29
8
30
31
x14
24
x2 32
25
x2 x1
x1
x2
x1
4
x1 x2
x2
40
x1
33
34
36
5
x2
x3
x4
x1
x2 x1
2
1
10
39
35
x1
9
x1
3
5
6
23
7
8
10
9
11 12
13
Completed
24
MODELS 9. Helicopter PARTS NEEDED 1
2
x1
4
6
10
x1
24
x1
x1
20
25
x1
x1
1
12
13
15
19
x11
x2
x1
x3
14
39
17
x2
x1
x1 x1
22
9
26
27
x3
x2
29
31
x2 x1
x2
x1
33
35
x2
x2 34
x1 36
x1
x2
2
4
3
5
25
MODELS
6
7
8
9
10
Completed
26
MODELS 10. Windmill Tower PARTS NEEDED 1
2
4
9 6
10
12
7
x20 x1
x1 20
x1
24
x1 19
x4
x2
x4 26
27
x1 22
x1
x3
29
x2
25
x1
x1
1
13
x2
x1
31
36
x1
x3
33
34
35
x2
x3
x1
x2
14
15
39
x2
x1
x1
40
2 x1
3
4
5
6 9 7
8
27
MODELS 10
13
11
12
14
15
16
Completed
28
Put the card discs on different driven axles of the Windmill Tower and you will see different images resulted from different turning speeds of the axles.