School science project: Frantic dad needs help

[Guest innsaneink]

Hi all.

 

I thought this the most appropriate forum.

 

My 9 yo son has a science project at school soon, theme of energy/electricity.

 

I asked for ideas on a football forum I use, and one fella suggested the old coathanger wire bent crazily, with a ring and handle attached, all rigged up to a 9v battery (I think) as well as torch light bulb etc, the object being to get the handle with the ring from one end of the crazily bent coathanger wire to the other without contact......the lightbulb acting as a signal when contacts made. (similar to below)

 

 

I recall seeing these simple things on kids shows I watched inthe 70's, but man...were going back a way, and many brews have left my memory in worse shape than it started.

 

Any tips on what we need and exactly how to rig it all up would be appreciated...Ive skimmed these forums and there seems to be some cluey peeps here.

 

Cheers!

INK.

[Kniteli]

basically you just build a complete circuit with the ring as the switch, so... im not that familiar with this stuff, but I think

 

You can alter the order of these in any way you want, the key is to make sure that when the ring hits the hanger that the circuit closes, and that you put a rubber handle on it or something...so people dont get a painful punishment for messing up...or perhaps you could leave it so they do hehe

[Lance]

The insulation is pointless for two reasons:

 

1)9 volts is not enough voltage to overcome the resistance in the human body for any measurable current to flow.

2)A 9v battery is DC and you would need to touch both the positive and the negative terminal for current to flow.

 

Also, I would switch the bulb for a buzzer. If you're using a bulb and the ring just grazes the hanger without a good connection the bulb will not visibly light. With a buzzer this will still be slightly audible.

 

I would personally go with a more interesting project and aim for a higher grade.

[swansont]

You can alter the order of these in any way you want, the key is to make sure that when the ring hits the hanger that the circuit closes, and that you put a rubber handle on it or something...so people dont get a painful punishment for messing up...or perhaps you could leave it so they do hehe

 

For a 9V battery? "Painful shock" doesn't come to mind.

[the tree]

I would personally go with a more interesting project and aim for a higher grade.

More interesting projects:

• Under very careful supervision, using electrolysis to clean coins is pretty impressive.
  
• If you like you could construct a motor.
  
• Although it's not that impressive, lemon batteries are rather cool.
  

[Guest innsaneink]

basically you just build a complete circuit with the ring as the switch' date=' so... im not that familiar with this stuff, but I think

[img']http://img375.imageshack.us/img375/3914/schem0ol.jpg[/img]

 

You can alter the order of these in any way you want, the key is to make sure that when the ring hits the hanger that the circuit closes, and that you put a rubber handle on it or something...so people dont get a painful punishment for messing up...or perhaps you could leave it so they do hehe

 

Thanx a lot champ!

 

The way my son & some of his mates behave sometimes it wouldnt be bad if we could rig it so they got a random shocking surprise...LOL, but I guess his teacher wouldntbe too impressed with me.

 

Would one of these be better?

 

 

Im not very cluey and this seems odd, how can that ^^ (6 volts) be stronger than this one (9)???

[Lance]

It's not. It just has a higher capacity. 9v batteries would be lousy for this job because they are made for very small loads over long periods. Your circuit is going to be drawing high-ish current for short amounts of time.

 

The voltage of your battery should match the voltage rating for the bulb or buzzer.

[Guest innsaneink]

It's not. It just has a higher capacity. 9v batteries would be lousy for this job because they are made for very small loads over long periods. Your circuit is going to be drawing high-ish current for short amounts of time.

 

The voltage of your battery should match the voltage rating for the bulb or buzzer.

 

 

Righto champ...thnx for that!

[Severian]

Is it just me, or are science projects not supposed to be done by the kids rather than the parents?

[calbiterol]

That was my thought, too.

[5614]

He is 9 years old though... still, you've got a point. I think at this stage (9yrs old) if you understand (on your 9yr basic level) what is going on that's prob enough (for a 9yr old!).

[calbiterol]

Yeah, but I've known plenty of 9-year-olds (myself included, back when I was one) that could have handled this on their own. I guess it just bugs me when stuff like this happens because I was always the kid who did something on their own with very little/no help and, as a result, my display wasn't quite as pretty-looking than everyone else's.

 

That reminded me of something we did back in.. 4th-grade-ish: we were 'sposed to "invent" something. So, after being called on my first idea as too outlandish (a miniature flying car), I settled for making a remote-control locator. You pressed a button, and the remote beeped. I did it by reassemling a walkie talkie with a beep button. I don't think I had more than five minutes worth of help on that project.

 

Anyways, that's my rant. Ink, don't take it personally or anything, I understand what makes you do it... I just always remember that I had more fun doing things on my own than having a pretty display.

[Guest innsaneink]

No offence taken calbiterol.

 

If I left it to him totally , nothing would be done. He will be doing the majority of it, with my help where needed, he will learn about a circuit as well, so it wont be a total waste.

Hes a football playing, baseball playing, PS2 playing kid a bit like his dad at his age, where I knew little of electronics etc, I had bike parts everywhere and was constantly modifying and altering my bike.

 

I agree with your thoughts, the kids should do it....and he does do his projects himself, with some help from me....I make sure the entire excersice is a learning one.

[calbiterol]

Awesome. Exactly how I think it should be. I really wish I had the cash for some more advanced projects these days, but seeing as I don't have time for a job, either, that isn't looking like it's going to happen. So, it's back to the computer - or xbox - just like any other high schooler. I honestly don't know if my dad would have been overly-helpful or just guiding me along - part of the reason I never got much help was that my dad worked insane hours. Anyways... Good luck to your son.

[YT2095]

to preclude cheating, since a lightbulb can be relatively slow to light on a very short contact, use a doorbell instead, not only that but the sound when they hear it makes them jump and thus make alot more errors afterwards

[Guest innsaneink]

to preclude cheating, since a lightbulb can be relatively slow to light on a very short contact, use a doorbell instead, not only that but the sound when they hear it makes them jump and thus make alot more errors afterwards

 

Yeah, I thought a buzzer might be good...door bell too, good idea, I'll see what the electronics store has on offer.

 

Im guessing the ring on the handle should be the same material as the

bendy wire....ie: coathanger wire???? And should the handle be insulated in someway....No idea here, as you all can see.

[Lance]

Why didn't I think of that first? Oh wait....

 

Also' date=' I would switch the bulb for a buzzer. If you're using a bulb and the ring just grazes the hanger without a good connection the bulb will not visibly light. With a buzzer this will still be slightly audible.

[/quote']

 

Nope, the handle needs no insulation for safety purposes. If you want to add it for comfort feel free though.

[calbiterol]

Make sure the end of the ring/handle thing is connected to the battery. On the pic by Kniteli, it's a little hard to tell where the handle connects (or if it does at all.)

 

Just clarifying.

[Lance]

...

[Guest innsaneink]

Thanx a lot everyone....but Lance, should it be like this?

 

Or does it not matter?

[Guest innsaneink]

BTW..."frantic" was probably stretching it a bit....grabs the attention though. LOL.

[calbiterol]

Doesn't matter. As long as the thing forms a closed loop (in other words, a closed circuit) when the ring touches the wall, it doesn't matter. Just make sure if your buzzer has polarity (+/- terminals) that you line it up correctly.