Elisabeth Deaton

Terrie Donovan

Lori Harms

Mary Lou Hunt

Handbattery

Target Grade/Subject:ÊÊ 4^th grade heterogeneous science class

ÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊ Students in this grade are in the concrete operational stage of thinking.Ê Students in this stage enjoy hands-on activities, and this is a hands-on activity.Ê They also enjoy classifying things.Ê This activity gives them the opportunity to classify some of the materials involved into various subgroups (good conductors, poor conductors, metals, non-metals, etc).Ê Similarly, children in this stage like seriation, arranging things from largest to smallest and vice-versa.Ê They will have a chance to order their results from largest to smallest.Ê To capitalize on their active imaginations, this lesson gives students the opportunities to hypothesize and to create their own combinations of materials (Woolfolk, 2001).

Objectives

Standards:Ê

Virginia Science SOL 4.1Ê ö The student will plan and conduct investigations in which

á distinctions are made among observations, conclusions (inferences), and predictions;
á data are classified to create frequency distributions;
á appropriate metric measures are used to collect, record, and report data;
á predictions are made based on data from picture graphs, bar graphs, and basic line graphs;
á hypotheses are formulated based on cause and effect relationships;
á variables that must be held constant in an experimental situation are defined; and
á numerical data that are contradictory or unusual in experimental results are recognized.
 
Virginia Science SOL 4.2 ö The student will investigate and understand that energy is
ÊÊÊÊ needed to do work and that machines make work easier.Ê Key concepts include
á energy forms (electrical, mechanical, and chemical energy)
 
Behavior/Conditions/Criteria

¯ Students will predict which combinations of plates they think will produce the weakest and strongest currents, based on their existing knowledge.

¯ Students will perform five trials for both required and two student-chosen combinations of plates.

¯ Students will determine, through experimentation, which combination of metal plates creates the most current when students place one hand on each plate.

¯ Students will use Microsoft Excel to record, label, average, sort, and graph their data.

¯ Students will offer plausible explanations as to why certain combinations produced more current than others.

Materials

¯ DC microammeter (1 per pair): reads current

¯ FET input voltmeter (1 per pair): reads voltage

¯ Aluminum, copper, nickel, lead, plastic, wood, brass, zinc plates, 4ä by 6ä (1 each per student): where the students place their hands during the experiment

¯ Electrical lead wires with alligator clips at both ends (2 per pair): connect plates to ammeter, voltmeter

¯ Microsoft Excel: spreadsheet program

¯ Computers: tool required to run Microsoft Excel

¯ Lab notebook (1 per student): where the students take notes during lab, write up their final analyses, and glue their spreadsheet data and combination lists at the end of the lab

¯ Pencil (1 per student): to write things in the lab notebook

¯ Water: students will need to wet their hands on occasion to fulfill lab requirements

¯ List of combinations (1 per student): lists the mandatory plate combinations that students must make (see attached) and provides space for students to write down combinations of their own choosing

Lesson Description

¯ Students will work in pairs (with pre-assigned lab partner) to share available equipment.Ê Each pair needs an ammeter and voltmeter; 4 aluminum, copper, nickel, lead, plastic, wood, brass, and zinc plates; 2 electrical lead wires; 2 lab notebooks; 2 lists of combinations; and 2 pencils.Ê

¯ Students will examine the required combinations of plates.Ê They then add any of their own to that list.Ê Then, they predict which combination will generate the most and least current and voltage.Ê

¯ Students will connect one end of each wire to the ammeter; it does not matter which wire connects to which terminal.Ê They connect the other end of each wire to a plate according to the combination list.

¯ Students will turn on the ammeter.Ê One student places one hand on each plate.Ê He and his partner read the current reading from the ammeter and record the plate combination, current, and student name in their lab notebooks.Ê Each student should test and record each required combination 5 times.Ê

¯ Students will then experiment with combinations of their own, again testing and recording each combination five times per student.Ê They must create at least two of their own combinations.Ê

¯ Students will complete all required and chosen combinations using the ammeter, and then follow the above procedures for execution and recording combinations again with the voltmeter.

¯ Students will then go to computers and enter their data into Microsoft Excel.Ê They should begin by listing their combinations in column A.Ê In columns B ö F, they record the readings that they got for each trial.Ê In column G, they will enter the formula for an average to calculate the average current.Ê

¯ Students will graph average currents for all combinations using a bar graph.ÊÊ The graphs will include labels for title, Y-axis and each combination tested. Students then copy and paste their data on another portion of the spreadsheet and sort the combinations from highest to lowest average.Ê They then enter data in a similar fashion for voltage and perform the same graphing and sorting exercises.

¯ Students will print out their spreadsheets and graphs, then write in their lab books about why they think a certain combination was highest or lowest in terms of current and voltage, as well as whether their predictions were correct.Ê The students will put the spreadsheets and graphs in their notebooks and clean up their lab stations.Ê The teacher will gather the class to discuss results following cleanup.

Evaluation Procedure

ÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊ Examine the studentâs spreadsheets, graphs, and lab notebooks.Ê Were their least & most current & voltage combinations correct**?Ê Were their averages correct?Ê Do their graphs of average current and voltage include all combinations?Ê Did students label the graphs properly?Ê Did they make predictions?Ê Did they comment on these predictions?Ê Do their comments and predictions make sense, given their background knowledge and lab results?Ê Did they conduct five trials per combination?Ê Did they sort their data properly?Ê Did they create at least two combinations?Ê See attached checklist.

**Of the required combinations, those that will create the most and least current and voltage are:

	Current	Voltage
Most	Copper/Aluminum	Zinc/Lead
Least	Wood/Nickel	Brass/Plastic

REQUIRED COMBINATION LIST

Copper/Aluminum

Zinc/LeadÊÊÊÊÊÊ

Brass/Plastic

Wood/NickelÊ

(Create at least two of your own combinations)

__________________________ÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊ

__________________________

__________________________

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EVALUATION CHECKLIST

ÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊ Ê

	YES	NO
Was your ãleast currentä combination the correct combination?
Was your ãmost currentä combination the correct combination?
Was your ãleast voltageä combination the correct combination?
Was your ãmost voltageä combination the correct combination?
Did you graph your results?
Do your graphs of average current include all the combinations tested?
Do your graphs of average voltage include all the combinations tested?
Did you label your graphs with a title, Y-axis label, and label each combination graphed?
Did you predict which combinations would generate most and least current and voltage?
Did you comment on your predictions after completing the experiment?
Do your comments and predictions make sense, given your background knowledge and lab results?
Did you conduct five trials per combination?
Did you sort your data properly (greatest to least current and voltage)?
Did you create at least two combinations?
TOTAL ãYESä OUT OF 14:Ê ______ PERCENTAGE GRADE: ______

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