Thames & Kosmos Electricity and Magnetism 620417 User manual

TITELSEITE U1
EXPERIMENT MANUAL

› › › SAFETY INFORMATION
››› WARNING! Not appropriate for use by children under  years of age. There
is a danger of suffocation due to the possibility of swallowing or inhaling
small parts.
››› WARNING! Not suitable for children under  years. This product contains
small magnets. Swallowed magnets can stick together across intestines
causing serious injuries. Seek immediate medical attention if magnets are
swallowed.
››› Never experiment with wall outlets or the household power supply. Never
insert wires or other parts into wall outlets! Household voltage can be deadly.
››› You will need two .-volt AA batteries for the experiments. Due to their lim-
ited shelf life, these are not included in the kit.
››› Avoid short-circuiting the batteries while experimenting; they could explode!
››› Different types of batteries (e.g., rechargeable and standard batteries), or new
and used batteries should not be used together.
››› Do not mix old and new batteries.
››› Do not mix alkaline, standard (carbon-zinc), or rechargeable (nickel-cadmium)
batteries.
››› Only install batteries in the correct polarity direction. Press them gently into
the battery compartment.
››› Never recharge non-rechargeable batteries. They could explode!
››› Rechargeable batteries must only be charged under adult supervision.
››› Remove dead batteries from the kit.
››› Dispose of used batteries in accordance with environmental regulations.
››› Make absolutely sure that metallic objects such as coins or key chains are not
left in contact with battery terminals.
››› Do not bend, warp, or otherwise deform batteries.
››› Individual parts in this kit may have sharp edges or corners. Do not injure
yourself!
Safety Information for Parents and Children
This experiment kit will teach your children about electricity and magnets in
a simple and safe way. They will learn about and experiment with devices
such as light switches, electrical circuits, motors, permanent magnets, elec-
tromagnets, and compasses.
As with any new science kit, you might have questions about the kit’s safety.
All electrical experiments are powered by two AA batteries (not included)
that need to be installed inside the included battery case. The experiments
are thus performed with the very low and safe electrical voltage of only 
volts.
This experiment kit meets U.S. and European safety standards. These stan-
dards impose obligations on the manufacturer, but also stipulate that adults
should assist their children with advice and assistance with the experiments.
Tell your child to read all the relevant instructions and safety advice, and to
keep these materials on hand for reference. Be sure to point out that he or
she must follow all the rules and information while performing the
experiments.
We wish you and your young electrician fun and success in your electric and
magnetic experiments!
Dear Parents,

› › › CONTENTS
TIP !
You will find supplemental
information in the “Check it
out” sections on pages , ,
, , , , and .

Safety information .................................. inside front cover
Contents................................................................................... 
Equipment................................................................................ 
Tips and tricks for assembly ............................................... 
Troubleshooting..................................................................... 
EXPERIMENTS
Electricity ................................................................................ 
We can no longer get by without electricity in our homes.
In this chapter, you will get to know a few of its basic
properties, and you will learn about all the things you
can do with switches and lights.
Electric Motor ....................................................................... 
Electric motors produce rotation from electric current.
You can also use your electric motor to tell the direction
in which current is flowing through your circuit.
Magnetism............................................................................. 
How would you like to explore the secret powers of mag-
netism? Dive into this mysterious world, which has been
put to use by early seafaring explorers and today’s high-
tech engineers alike.
Electromagnetism................................................................ 
What does electricity have to do with magnetism? Find
out in the experiments in this chapter.

Component Description Illustration
Battery case
Item No. 704484
Never directly connect these
terminals to each other. The
batteries and wires can heat
up and explode, not to mention
that the batteries will be
quickly used up.
This power pack supplies the electricity for the
experiments. Before starting the experiments,
you will have to install two 1.5-volt AA batter-
ies (also known as penlight or LR6 batteries)
inside it, as indicated in the battery compart-
ment. You can then obtain electric current
from the box’s two terminals.
Red light
Item No. 706415
Later on, electricity will light up this bulb.
That will show you that electrical current is
flowing.
Green light
Item No. 706417
This is just like the red light, except it’s a differ-
ent color.
Yellow light
Item No. 706416
Again, this is just like the red light, except it’s a
different color.
Motor
Item No. 706414
When electrical current flows through it, the
motor and its yellow propeller will turn quite
quickly.
Two-way switch
Item No. 705055
Quantity: 2
Depending on the setting of the switch, one or
the other of two contact plugs will be electri-
cally connected.
Push button
Item No. 705054
If you push the button, you create an electrical
connection between the terminals. But the
connection is only maintained as long as you
keep pressing it.
COMPONENTS› › › EQUIPMENT
This list presents brief descriptions
of all the components in the kit,
along with illustrations.
Presenting
the assembly
components!


Component Description Illustration
Connectors with 
terminals (X-shaped)
Item No. 705050
Quantity: 12
For connecting components.
The metal prongs of other
components such as the push
button are inserted into the
side slits. In the instructions,
they are called “X-connec-
tors” for short.
Straight connectors
with  terminals
(I-shaped)
Item No. 705051
Quantity: 4
For connecting components
electrically. The two plugs
are electrically connected
to each other. In the instruc-
tions, they are referred to as
“I-connectors” for short.
Angled connectors with
 terminals (L-shaped)
Item No. 705052
Quantity: 2
For the electrical connec-
tion of components, but in a
way that guides the current
at an angle. Looks like an
“L,” hence referred to as an
“L-connector” for short in
the instructions.
Connector with
 terminals (T-shaped)
Item No. 705053
For electrical connections.
The three prongs are electri-
cally connected to each
other as indicated by the
white lines. In the instruc-
tions, they are referred to as
“T-connectors” for short,
because their shape is simi-
lar to a “T.”
Component Description Illustration
Red connecting wire
with plugs
Item No. 706428
For connecting the electronic
components. At the ends,
there are contacts that fit into
the green X connectors. Re-
ferred to as “red connecting
wire” in the instructions.
Blue connecting wire
with plugs
Item No. 706429
Like the red connecting wire
with plugs, but in a differ-
ent color. In the instruc-
tions, it is referred to as
“blue connecting wire.”
Separator
Item No. 706078
An easy way of separating
assembled connectors,
lights, switches, etc. Simply
slide it between the compo-
nents and pry them apart.
Red alligator wire
Item No. 704486
Never insert the wire
into a wall outlet, or
connect it in any way to
the household current.
Electrical current from a
wall outlet is deadly!
For connecting the electronic
components. At the ends, it
has alligator clips (so called
because they resemble the
jaws of an alligator). If you
squeeze the clips, they will
open up and you can clamp
them onto small metal con-
nection prongs such as those
on the battery case, the
lights, or the motor. Called
“red alligator wire” in the
instructions.
COMPONENTS
Equipment


COMPONENTS› › › EQUIPMENT
Component Description Illustration
Blue alligator wire
Item No. 704487
Like the red alligator wire,
but in a different color so you
can tell them apart more eas-
ily. Called “blue alligator
wire” in the instructions.
Bar magnet
Item No. 706423
Quantity: 2
A powerful magnet. The
different colors (blue, red)
mark the two poles of the
magnet. The north pole is
red, the south pole is blue.
Ring magnet
Item No. 706412
Quantity: 2
With this magnet as well,
the red (north) and blue
(south) colors designate the
two magnetic poles.
Electromagnet
Item No. 706422
Unlike the bar magnets and
ring magnets, this only be-
comes magnetic when elec-
tric current flows through
it.
Component Description Illustration
Small parts in pouch
Item No. 772180
Various metal parts for the
experiments, such as screws,
nuts, washers, and colored
disks with a thin iron ring
that you can use for the mag-
net games.
Base
Item No. 706419
Belongs to the three-part
magnet hanger consisting
of a base, an arm, and a
cord with rings.
Arm
Item No. 706420
The L-shaped arm is part of
the three-piece magnet
hanger. It is inserted into
the horseshoe-shaped base.
The cord with rings hangs
on its hook.
Cord with rings
Item No. 706421
Two rings tied together with
string, belonging to the mag-
net hanger. The smaller ring
is suspended from the hook
on the arm. The two bar
magnets are secured to the
larger ring.
Box of iron powder
Item No. 704449
Finely powdered iron in a
sealed container. This is
used for making magnetic
forces visible.


TIPS AND TRICKS
Additionally required household items
> Two rulers (30 cm), pencil, cardboard, cardboard box, felt-tip pens, scissors,
paper, tape, metal prong fasteners from a folder, map of your area, paper clips
> Aluminum foil, metal pot, metal fork, cup, saucer, large water bowl, cooking
spoon, metal baking sheet, aluminum tealight candle holder, bottle, aluminum lid
from a jar, bottle closures
> Nail, sewing needles, file, sandpaper, piece of wood, handful of sand, various
coins, books, twine, textiles, plastic
Tips and tricks for assembly
It isn’t hard at all to assemble the electronic experimental setups in this kit.
• For each experiment, you will find a picture that shows exactly how to fit the
parts together.
• It is easiest to assemble parts that are equipped with plugs or prongs if you first
lay them out on a smooth table surface. Then slide the pieces together on the table,
so that the printed white lines meet up properly and the metal prong slides
smoothly into the X-connector hole.
• To disassemble the parts, simply insert the separator.
• Do not use force!
• After assembling a circuit, check it against the picture one last time before you
switch on the electric current.
Troubleshooting
If something doesn’t work, try to isolate the problem:
• Does the assembly match what you see in the picture?
• Could the battery be dead? Check it with a bulb.
• Was a switch installed in the wrong position or the wrong way around?
• Could the light bulb be dead? Test it with the battery or try a different one.
• Is one of the connections loose? Push them all together again one more time.
Don’t worry:
If you start with the first experiments in this manual, you will soon have enough
practice handling the components that everything will become clear to you.
Foreword
This kit will help you explore two extraordinarily important invisible forces: elec-
tricity and magnetism.
Of course, you know electricity by what it does — it makes light bulbs shine and
powers appliances such as television sets and vacuum cleaners. You may also
have seen a magnet and wondered why it attracts screws and other items made
of iron.
The kit has more than  experiments on these topics, and once you try them you
will know a lot more about electricity and magnetism than you do now. You will
find almost everything you need contained in the kit: switches, lights, a motor,
magnets, connector pieces and, for your power supply, a battery case in which
you will have to install two --volt AA batteries. You will also find a box for let-
ting you see otherwise-invisible magnetic forces.
The experiments are easy to perform, since precise drawings show you how to
assemble them, and everything is explained in the instructions as well. Stick to
the pictures as closely as possible and read the tips on the left side of this page.
That way, everything will work properly.
Have fun with the experiments!

Equipment

Electricity
We use electricity every day. We only really tend to notice how
much we depend on it when we don’t have it. Electricity gives us
light and powers televisions and radios, washing machines and
refrigerators, electric ovens and stereo systems. Electricity from
batteries powers flashlights, transistor radios, and MP players.
You too, no doubt, have electric lighting in your room that you can
turn on and off with the flick of a switch. But how does it actually
work? How does this mysterious electrical current make light
bulbs glow? That’s what you’ll find out in the experiments in this
chapter.


WHAT’S HAPPENING
The bulb lights up just as
brightly as before, because
the current is so agile that
even a “roller coaster ride”
through multiple knots
won’t throw it off it at all.
HERE’S HOW
Tie a loose knot in the red wire. Don’t pull
it too tight, or you might damage the wire!
Next, assemble a closed circuit again with
the battery case, light, and the other alli-
gator wire.
EXPERIMENT 1 EXPERIMENT 2
Electricity
Electric roller coaster
The wires run nice and straight. But will a wire also conduct current if it is
tangled up?

WHAT’S HAPPENING
Electric current always has to flow in
a circle, or circuit. If this kind of circuit
is broken in just one place, the flow of
electricity immediately stops — the
bulb will go out, or not light up at
all, if the light and battery case are
connected with just one wire.
Circulating current
HERE’S HOW
Use the red alligator wire to connect one of
the battery case’s terminal prongs to one of
the prongs of the red light. Does the bulb
light up? No, it doesn’t.
Do you think the bulb might be dead? Try the
yellow or green one. Now try connecting
both of the light’s terminal prongs to the two
battery case terminal prongs. Break the con-
nection somewhere. What do you see?
Your kit contains three different-colored light bulbs. Try lighting them up! The
battery case will supply the necessary current.

ELECTRONS
Electric current is
invisible. You can only
see it by its effects,
such as a glowing
light bulb or a turning
motor.
Current consists of a
flow of tiny particles
known as electrons.
They are even much
smaller than atoms,
and they can move
through something
like the metal in a
metal wire.
They flow through
your wires more or
less like water flows
through a pipe.
WHAT’S HAPPENING
Yes, the bulb lights up just as well as
before, even though the current is
now flowing in the opposite
direction.
Light bulbs, such as the ones in your
kit, are among those electronic
components that work equally
well regardless of which direction
the current flows through them.
But as you will discover later on,
there are also components for
which the direction does matter.
Reversed
connections
Does it make any difference which direc-
tion the current flows through the light?
You can easily find out.
HERE’S HOW
Assemble a circuit again. The bulb will
light up.
Now remove the two wires from the
light’s prongs, turn the light unit around,
and reconnect the wires. Does the bulb
light up now?
EXPERIMENT 3


WHAT’S HAPPENING
The bulb lights up as soon as
all the components are se-
curely connected.
The current flows through
the wires that are hidden in-
side the green connectors, as
shown by the white lines.
So you can also use the
green components for your
electrical connections.
Prongs instead of alligator clip
HERE’S HOW
Connect up the components and the green
connectors exactly as you see in the
drawing.
Be sure that the prongs are inserted
securely into the slots.
HERE’S HOW
This time, assemble a circuit using the
wires with plugs at their ends.
You will have to push an X-connector onto
each of the wire’s plugs so that they can
be attached to the light and battery case.
Then push the X-connector slots onto the
light and battery case prongs.
In addition to the wires with alligator clips attached to them, you will also find
some wires in your kit with green cubes at their ends. Try seeing what you can
use them for.
You will find other green connectors in your kit besides the green X-connectors.
Do you think you can use them to assemble a circuit without any wires at all?
Green conductor
EXPERIMENT 4 EXPERIMENT 5
Electricity
WHAT’S HAPPENING
The bulb lights up. So you
can also use this kind of
wire for electrical
connections.


ELECTRIC
VOLTAGE
The battery pushes
electrons through your
light like a water pump
pushes water through
a pipe. And just like a
water pump, the bat-
tery creates “pressure”
to push the electrons
along.
In the language of elec-
tronics, this “pressure”
is known as voltage. Its
unit of measure is the
volt (abbreviated “V”).
Each of your batteries
supplies 1.5 volts, and
when they are connect-
ed together in a line
they add up to 3 volts.
WHAT’S HAPPENING
The experiment shows that a single
battery accomplishes less than two.
Now you also know why you al-
ways have to fill all the battery
compartments of a battery-pow-
ered device. Don’t forget to re-in-
sert the second battery for the next
experiments.
With half the force
Your battery case holds two batteries,
which join forces to power your circuits.
Do you think the bulb will light up if it
is supplied with current from just one of
them?
HERE’S HOW
Open the battery case cover and remove
one of the batteries.
Connect the battery case to the light using
the two plug wires and X-connectors. The
bulb won’t light up because the removed
battery was part of the circuit, which is
therefore no longer closed.
To close the circuit, connect together the
terminals in the empty section of the bat-
tery compartment by using the red alli-
gator wire. Now the bulb will indeed light
up, even if not nearly as brightly as it did
when you used two batteries.
EXPERIMENT 6


WHAT’S HAPPENING
Both bulbs light up, although less brightly than with one. This kind of arrange-
ment with two lights installed in a row is called a series circuit. It apparently lets
less current flow than when you use just a single bulb, which is why the light is
less bright. An electrician would say that the current strength is lower.
Two bulbs,
half the brightness
If one battery does less than two, will it
also make a difference if they have to sup-
ply two lights with electricity instead of
one?
HERE’S HOW
Assemble a circuit with X-connectors and
one plug wire.
This time, insert two lights in a row so the
current has to flow through both, one
after the other.
CURRENT
STRENGTH
Current strength, or
amperage, is a mea-
surement of how many
electrons run through a
wire per second —
comparable to the
number of liters of
water flowing through
a pipe per second.
Current strength is
measured in amperes
(abbreviated “A”), a
unit of measure named
after the French physi-
cist André-Marie
Ampère (–).
Only about one tenth of
an ampere flows
through your light,
while several hundred
amperes flow through
the engine of an elec-
tric train.
EXPERIMENT 7
Electricity


EXPERIMENT 9EXPERIMENT 8
WHAT’S HAPPENING
Now, both bulbs light up
with their full brightness.
If you follow the path of the
current, you will find two
circuits. Both are fed by the
same battery, and each
supplies current to one
light. This type of arrange-
ment is known as a paral-
lel circuit.
All yoked up Quick switch
HERE’S HOW
In your circuit, replace one of the I-con-
nectors with the two-way switch.
Now you can turn the light on and off by
pushing the orange-colored switch.
HERE’S HOW
Connect two of your lights to the battery
using four X-connectors and six
I-connectors.
The picture shows the simplest way to
hook up the circuit. How brightly do the
bulbs light up now?
Do you know another way connect two lights to a battery? Exactly: You can try
connecting each light directly to the battery terminals.
If you let the bulb shine for a long time, the batteries will get used up. On the other
hand, it can be inconvenient to have to keep reassembling the circuit. Luckily, there’s a
solution to this problem: a switch.

WHAT’S HAPPENING
Depending on its setting, the
two-way switch opens or
closes the two contacts
and, thus, the circuit. This is
very much like the way a
wall switch works when
you use it to turn the light
on or off in a room.

WHAT’S HAPPENING
The table shows that there are four possible combinations in all, and the bulb will
only light up with one of them.
Electrical engineers call this kind of arrangement of switches an AND circuit.
That’s because the light will only shine when switch  AND switch  are turned
on.
A lot of MP players will only work when their main switch is set to “On” and
you also press the start button — this is an AND circuit too.
Switches in
lockstep
If you can arrange lights in a series, you
should also be able to do that with
switches. See how the current behaves
when you do that.
HERE’S HOW
Insert the two switches into the circuit
directly behind one another in series. This
way, you can more easily compare their
settings.
Try different settings for the two switch
buttons. How many different possible
combinations are there? And with how
many of them does the bulb light up?
SWITCH SETTINGS
EXPERIMENT 10
Switch 1 Switch 2 Light
left left off
right right lights up
left right off
right left off
Electricity


WHAT’S HAPPENING
Once again, there are four possible
combinations. But this time, the bulb
lights up with three of them and
stays off with just one.
This kind of parallel arrangement
of switches is called an OR circuit.
The bulb lights up when switch 
OR switch  is turned on. Only
when both are switched off will it
fail to shine (figure ).
One or the other
Of course, you can also hook up the two
switches in parallel. How does the current
behave when you do that?
HERE’S HOW
Assemble the illustrated circuit (figure ).
Try all the different switch settings again.
With which ones will the bulb light up
now?
Trace the course of the current with the
help of figure .
EXPERIMENT 11
SWITCH SETTINGS
Switch 1 Switch 2 Light
left left off
right right lights up
left right lights up
right left lights up




MORSE CODE
WHAT’S HAPPENING
The push button closes the circuit
so the bulb lights up in matching
rhythm.
EXPERIMENT 12
Electricity

Morse code with
light
Would you like to send secret messages to
your brother or sister or a friend next door?
One way to do that is by Morse code. This
is a code consisting of short and long sig-
nals that you can send by radio or as puls-
es of light. Each letter and each number is
transmitted as a certain sequence of short
and long signals.
HERE’S HOW
Assemble a circuit with push button and
light.
By pressing briefly or longer, you can
make the bulb light up accordingly. This
is how you transmit the Morse code
signals.
TIP!
Only let the current flow
for a brief time (a few sec-
onds), or the battery will
quickly get used up.
TIP!
If you really want to use
the circuit to send messag-
es, you should get your-
self a few meters of dou-
ble-cable wire. Use the
alligator wires to hook up
the circuit so that the push
button and battery are
next to you but the light is
in another room (wherever
your friend is).
Another possibility is to
hold the light up to a win-
dow so your friend can see
the light signals.
In the Morse telegraph ex-
periment, you will build a
Morse station that will
also let you hear the
signals.

WHAT’S HAPPENING
Depending on the position of the switch, the
red or the green bulb will light up.
When you activate the switch, one of the
two lights goes out while the other comes
on.
The setup contains two circuits — one
with the red (figure ) and the other with
the green light (figure ). Both are con-
nected at one end to the upper battery
contact. Depending on its setting, the
switch connects first one and then the
other light to the lower battery terminal.
This kind of red-green switch is very use-
ful. If you have a model train set, you
can use it as a railway signal. Or you
can use it as a signal to tell visitors
whether they are allowed to enter your
room or not.
Choice between red
and green
You have probably been asking yourself
what you can use the switch’s third termi-
nal for. Now you’ll find out.
HERE’S HOW
Try the illustrated circuit. Turn on the
switch — what do you see?
EXPERIMENT 13




EXPERIMENT 14
Electricity
WHAT’S HAPPENING
In the first circuit, the current
runs either to the green light or
to the second switch, which
switches it between the red and
the yellow lights.
In the second circuit, the two
two-way switches and the
push button are each connect-
ed to one of the lights.

Your own traffic
light
Of course, red and green are also the
colors that traffic signals use to tell
drivers or pedestrians whether they are
allowed to proceed through an inter-
section or cross the street. Traffic lights
also use the color yellow. Would you
like to be able to control three differ-
ent lights?
HERE’S HOW
Assemble the circuit exactly as shown
in figure . If you do it right, you can
choose whether to have the green, red,
or yellow bulb light up. Trace the
course of the current with your finger.
In the traffic lights used in some coun-
tries, the yellow light can shine at the
same time as the red one, or at the
same time as the green one. This setup
can’t do that, but the one shown in fig-
ure  can. In this one, the first switch
provides current to the green light,
while the other one controls the red
light, and you can use the push button
to switch on the yellow light whenever
you want.



WHAT’S HAPPENING
Follow the path of current for each of
the four switch position combinations.
Each switch can close the circuit in one
of its two possible settings — regard-
less of the setting of the other switch.
When it is connected to the red path,
the current then chooses the black or
the red route (figure ).
This method of connecting two
switches in a house or apartment is
known as a three-way switch.
Light from the end
of the hallway
In long hallways or in apartment building
stairways, you can usually turn the light
on or off from two different places. That
isn’t as easy to do as you might think. But
here’s a trick you can use.
HERE’S HOW
Assemble the circuit shown in figure .
Now you can turn the light on or off from
either switch.
EXPERIMENT 15


