School Name

Date

Volunteer Name

Electric Generator SEEDKIT Workshop

A little bit about me.

How is electricity generated?

What are we going to do today?

• Build an electric generator.

• Learn about electric generators and how they work.

• Explore how electric generators are used.

Introduction

• Remove the flashlight from the box.

• Discuss in your group how the flashlight produces light when the crank handle is squeezed.

• Write, explain, or draw what you think is happening.

Converting Muscle Energy to Light

You will need:

• Electric Generator SEEDKIT

• Screwdriver

• Pliers

• Scissors

Building the Electric Generator

1. Peel the white paper off of the two acrylic side pieces.

2. Place the two sidepieces together so that the engraved side is on top and the two small center tabs with small holes (red arrows in photo) are both pointing to the right. The other small holes (yellow arrows in photo) should be arranged as shown.

Building the Electric Generator

3. Connect the two side pieces using four screws, four nuts, four spacers, and a screwdriver. Do not over tighten the screws.

Building the Electric Generator

4. Feed about 15 cm (6 in) of the insulated copper wire through the small hole on the front acrylic piece next to the SEED logo.

Double back through the hole two more times to secure the wire in place.

Building the Electric Generator

5. Wrap the wire from the spool loosely about 100 times around the large grooves near the top of the acrylic pieces.

It might be helpful to use your screwdriver or a pencil for an axle so that the wire will unwind smoothly from the spool. Do NOT pull on the wire as you wind it.

Building the Electric Generator

6. Continuing in the same direction, wind the wire about 100 times around the large grooves near the bottom of the acrylic pieces.

Unwind an additional 15 cm of wire from the spool. Then cut the wire with your pliers and thread the end three times through the small hole near the bottom of the back acrylic piece.

Building the Electric Generator

7. Remove the insulation from about 2.5 cm (1 in) of each end of the wire using sandpaper.

Building the Electric Generator

8. Insert the lightbulb wires outward through the holes in the small central tabs.

Pull the wires outward until the lightbulb is positioned between the tabs.

Twist the ends of the winding wire to the ends of the lightbulb wire as shown.

Building the Electric Generator

9. Cut the magnetic tape into two equal pieces.

10. Trim the magnetic tape pieces to fit flat on the face of one of the magnets with a gap between them of about 4 mm (0.15 in).

Check to make sure that the folded portion of the metal handle will fit snugly in the gap, then place the metal handle aside.

Building the Electric Generator

11. Add two more magnets to the back of the magnet with the magnetic tape pieces.

Do this carefully so that your fingers do not get pinched when the magnets come together.

Building the Electric Generator

12. Insert the long end of the folded metal handle into the center hole on the front acrylic piece. Then carefully bring the three magnets with the magnetic tape up between the acrylic plates so that the folded metal handle rests in the gap between the magnetic tape pieces.

13. Carefully lower three more magnets on top to form a solid grouping of six magnets with the folded metal handle acting as an axle in the middle.

Building the Electric Generator

14. Your electric generator is now ready for action! Turn the handle quickly and smoothly to start the magnets rotating. If you are successful, the lightbulb will light.

Testing the Electric Generator

If you want to extend the exercise further try these activities:

• Hook up a multimeter to the wire instead of a lightbulb.

• Explore how the magnetic field effects electricity generation.

• Take apart the hand crank flashlight to explore how it works.

• Design a house powered by your electric generator.

• Research Michael Faraday’s original experiment that used magnets to generate electricity.

For more activities visit http://www.planetseed.com/seedkits/electricgenerator

Extending the Activities

What can you do with your new knowledge?

What problems can you solve?

What predictions can you test?

What other things can you do with this idea?

Now What?

Electricity is generated when magnets spin either inside coils of copper wire, or the wire spins around magnets.

As these two materials interact, kinetic energy is transformed into electrical energy.

Electric generators are found in most electricity sources, including coal, hydroelectric, wind, geothermal and many more.

For more information about electric generators review the Digging Deeper.

Electric Generator Summary