North Carolina Science Olympiad

Circuits Lab help (to be continuously updated, email with suggestions please!)

 

Components to experiment with:

*Light emitting diodes (LEDs), of various colors
*Small DC motors, obtainable at Radio Shack and similar places
*Resistors

*Batteries in circuits

*Breadboards

*Electrical devices that can be powered by batteries

*Light bulbs

 

Links to helpful study information:

All About Circuits

Kirchoff's Current and Voltage Laws
Kirchoff's Voltage Law tutorial
Electronics Concepts

How to Use a Multimeter

 

Contact:  Laura Bottomley, NC State College of Engineering, laurab@eos.ncsu.edu


 

Links to obtain components/multimeters (listing is by courtesy and does not apply endorsement):

North Carolina Science Olympiad online store
Edmund Scientifics
Hosfelt Electronics

American Science and Surplus

Digital Multimeters

 

Topics to be familiar with:
  • How to measure current/voltage/resistance in a circuit
  • How to calculate power dissapated or supplied
  • What voltage and current MEAN
  • What resistance MEANS
  • How a breadboard is wired
  • Debugging a circuit (figuring out why it doesn't work)
  • How to read a circuit diagram and assemble the circuit
  • How to calculate voltage/current, etc. using Kirchoff's Current and Voltage Laws
  • Ohm's Law

 


Last Updated: January 5, 2006