| ELECTRONICS
COURSE MATRIX |
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SYNOPSIS |
SCIENCE
CONCEPTS |
PROCESSES |
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1. |
Circuits
(5 sessions)
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Students
learn the basics of circuits, using 9-V batteries, lamps, and
a spring board to discover open and closed circuits, series
and parallel circuits, conductors, insulators, and shorts. They
learn to represent their circuits with schematic drawings. |
•
A circuit is a pathway through which electric current can flow.
• Current from a battery flows in one direction only.
• Electric current flows through conductors; current does
not flow through insulators.
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Conduct investigations comparing intensity of lights in parallel
and series.
• Record observations.
• Develop models.
• Communicate circuit designs and components using symbolic
representations.
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2. |
Resistors
1 (4 sessions) |
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Students
explore resistors to discover their effect in circuits. They
decode the color bands to quantify resistors and observe that
greater resistance reduces the brightness of lamps. They use
an ohmmeter to measure
resistance. |
•
Resistance is the property of materials that opposes or impedes
the flow of electric current.
• An ohmmeter is used to measure resistance in ohms.
• A potentiometer is a variable resistor. |
•
Conduct a systematic investigation of resistors in series with
a lamp.
• Make observations using senses and tools (direct and
indirect evidence).
• Organize evidence.
• Build conceptual models.
• Conduct an experiment to test a model. |
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3. |
Voltage
(4–5 sessions) |
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Students
use a voltmeter to measure voltage drops across different resistors.
They discover voltage drop across a component is directly proportional
to its resistance, and the sum of the voltage drops across the
components equals source voltage. |
•
Voltage is the push that moves current through a circuit.
• Voltage drop is the amount of voltage “used”
by a component.
• The sum of the voltage drops in a circuit is equal to
the source’s voltage.
• Voltage drop is proportional to the resistance of a
component. |
•
Conduct investigations using tools.
• Use logic to develop a proportional relationship.
• Organize data mathematically.
• Use inference to construct a model of voltage drop. |
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4. |
Electronic
Dissection (3 sessions) |
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Students
open and inventory broken electronic devices to look for familiar
components and discover new components and printed circuits.
They view a video of the history of television and ponder its
influence on American society.
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Common consumer devices include resistors, capacitors, diodes,
LEDs, transistors, and integrated circuits.
• Metallic lines can replace wires in printed circuits.
• Electronic devices have a strong influence on the way
we live and relate to one another. |
•
Observe and compare the design and components in consumer electronic
devices.
• Explore the relationship among science, technology,
and society. |
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5. |
Resistors
2 (3 sessions) |
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Students
explore the total resistance imposed by resistors in series
and parallel. They use formulas to calculate total resistances
of resistors in series and parallel to solve problems. |
•
Resistance is an opposition to the flow of electric current.
• Resistances in series add directly; resistances in parallel
add inversely.
• The total resistance of two or more resistors in parallel
will be less than the smallest resistor in the set. |
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Design and conduct investigations.
• Analyze data to discover
relationships.
• Communicate relationships mathematically.
• Compare results obtained from estimation, measurement,
and calculation. |
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page 4
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