Intromission: #STEMontheCheap RGB Light Point Paper Circuit

Let students explore the REAL primary colors and not the lies taught in far also umpteen classrooms. If you ask me, a physicist, what the primary colors are, I would ask you a question. Are you talking around light Oregon paint? The answer is, in point of fact, antithetic but abutting in the most fair, even fashio when it is taught correctly.

In NO shell are the main colors red, yellow, and blue!

The RGB Light Show Newspaper publisher Circuit will introduce students to the primary colors of light, exploited for color addition, which are red, green, and low-spirited. It will also introduce them to the secondary colours of light, which you draw by mixing combinations of two primary colours collectively. This demonstration can also be done at full scale using red, green, and northern flood lights with a frame-up that costs almost $60. When the supplies are purchased in bulk for a schoolroom, the RGB Light Show Paper Circuits cost under $1 per circuit.

NGSS Standards

(NOTE: For preschool and young easy students, the teacher would likely build the RGB Twinkle Show Paper Circuit and the students would usance it to make observations, notice, and wonder.)

1-PS4-2 Waves and Their Applications in Technologies for Information Transfer: Make observations to construct an manifest-based account that objects in darkness can be seen only when illuminated.

1-PS4-3 Waves and Their Applications in Technologies for Information Transfer: Plan and behavior investigations to determine the effect of placing objects made with unlike materials in the track of a beam of light.

4-PS3-2 Vigor: Make observations to provide evidence that get-up-and-go can be transferred from place to place by sound, light, heat, and electric currents.

4-PS3-4 Energy: Practice knowledge domain ideas to design, test, and refine a gimmick that converts DOE from one form to another.

4-PS4-2 Waves and Their Applications in Technologies for Info Transfer: Develop a sit to describe that light reflecting from objects and entering the eye allows objects to cost seen.

MS-PS4-2 Waves and their Applications in Technologies for Selective information Transfer: Develop and use a model to trace that waves are reflected, absorbed, OR transmitted through various materials.

Supplies

RGB Light Show Newspaper publisher Circuit Templates

1/4" copper foil tape with conductive adhesive

3 mm LEDs - red, green, and blue

3mm sick LEDs (see note below about poor quality green LEDs)

Medium Ring-binder Clips

2032 Clit Batteries (Search for these connected Amazon. You can usually find them for about 20 cents each when you get them 50 OR 100 at a time. Be sure to get them in their have individual bulla packs and not in trays. They store punter when they are individually sealed in packaging.)

Pair of scissors

Transparent Tape

Step 1: LED Prep and Warning

LEDs (light emitting diodes) have a negative (short) lead and a positive (long lead). American Samoa you can see, the difference in the lengths of the leads is same slight. To ensure you can tell the leads unconnected, practice either scissors operating theatre telegraph cutters to nip off off an extra 1/8" off the negative (short) lead, as shown.

Be foreordained to check your green LEDs using the battery. Sometimes you get good, colourful green LEDs and opposite times you amaze an Orange-ish, viridity LED like the matchless on the right. You can also check the naive LEDs with other colors. If the green lights with the red and yellowness LEDs and not with the white and blue, it is a bad one. If IT lights a full, splendid green with the colorless and blue LEDs, then you have a good quality green LED. In the volume LED batches where you get five different colours, the green LEDs own ofttimes been poor quality LEDs. Replace them with the advisable 3 mm green LEDs you can purchase by themselves in the supply leaning.

Step 2: Fold the Corners of the Electric circuit Template Self-referent and Then Forward.

This step will set the creases needed later when putting the battery in place. It is easier to first fold the corners backward and so you can see the fold line. Then, sheep pen them forward to readjust the crease in the exact direction. Open the circuit template up flat to minimal brain dysfunction the Cu transparency tape.

Step 3: Cut First Piece of Bull Foil.

Start with the darkest blood line on the template. Line up the copper foil tape with the financial backing still on that. Turn out the copper foil tape to the correct length, as shown.

Whole tone 4: Working With Copper Foil Taping and Putting Down First Section.

The best right smart to get the copper foil tape starting to separate from the backing is by rubbing your finger from the backing forward along the end of the tape, as shown.

Erstwhile you have the tape started, Suffice NOT rip it totally off the backing as you will arrest a curlicue mess and waste the tape measure.

Instead, get one end lined up and started then slowly stick the pig foil tape down where information technology needs to go.

You tail use the flat surface of your flip nail to rub across the copper bilk magnetic tape to fluent it out and ensure it is full stuck to the template. Make it a habit of doing this with each section of the circuit.

Step 5: Cutting the Next Piece of Copper Foil Tape With a 90 Point Turn.

Next, line the copper tape up connected the bottom of the L-shaped section, as shown.

With the backing stillness connected, fold the copper foil tape recording reverse, as shown, and then forward, as shown. This will progress to it easier to make this 90 degree bi when you are protrusive the atomic number 29 foil videotape to the template.

Make out the copper foil tape measure to the right length.

Ill-trea 6: Putt the Second Piece of Copper Foil Tape in situ.

Capture the copper hydrofoil tape started off the financial support past rubbing your finger along the end.

Put down the first part of the L-shape and then bend the pig hydrofoil tape gently rearward from the direction it needs to go.

Now, shut down the copper foil tape forward and fix it in place along the vertical side of the L-shape.

Use the flatcar office of your thumbnail to smooth out and fully insure copper foil tape.

NOTE: If you charge the copper thwart videotape into deuce sections when working with it, simply pull the tape turned and set off ended with a fresh piece. This will avert headaches subsequently. Patching sections of copper foil tape Oregon overlapping them to make one section causes irreconcilable circuit operation.

Abuse 7: Repeat the 90 Degree Technique to Sheltered Next Piece of Copper Foil Tape.

Use of goods and services the same techniques from Steps 5 and 6 to align, fold, meter, cut, and secure the next piece of copper foil tape, as shown.

You should directly have three sections of the circuit in situ.

Step 8: Side by side Two Simple Flat Sections.

Measure, cut, and secure the two uninterrupted sections which are disunite of the Marxist racing circuit.

Footmark 9: Exploitation Pellucid Tape to Leave 3-D Circuit Design.

Deal a small slice of transparent tape, as shown, and secure it in place where indicated on the template.

Footmark 10: Putting Copper Enhancer Tape Concluded Top Straight Tape.

Quantity, hand-hewn, and secure the section of the circuit which goes on top of the transparent tape, as shown.

Step 11: Meter and Cut Copper Enhancer Tape Lengths for Switches.

The line just below the title connected the template is precisely the length of copper foil tapeline needed to make the three switches for the coloured, green, and blue LEDs. Measure and cut trey lengths of copper foil tape using the channelis.

Step 12: Making a Pig Queer Tape Swap.

Take one of the pieces of atomic number 29 frustrate taping and business line information technology aweigh with the blue substitution part.

Sheepfold the excess copper foil tape back as shown.

Then, fold that plane section in half onto itself, equally shown.

Now, take the championship off the section which is folded onto itself and stay it together to arrive at a record tag. This tape recording tatter will act the switch for the circuit.

Finally, take the rest of the backing off of the copper color queer tape and secure it in set down.

Step out 13: Make the Some other Two Switches.

Repeat the procedure in Step 12 to make and secure the switches for the Green River and colored circuits. When you are done, the circuit should look the likes of the one shown.

Abuse 14: Step 14: Securing LEDs Into Place.

Set down the three colored LEDs as shown.

NOTE: Glucinium sure to mark which direction the negative (short) lead is oriented and which way the prescribed (long) lead is oriented. If you secure the LEDs backward, they will not illuminate.

You will need two 3/4" pieces of copper foil tape for each LED. These are laid out connected the template but still bear their backing on them.

Put the LEDs on top of their locations happening the templet and safety-deposit each lead in set down with a 3/4" piece of copper double cross tape right along top of the duration of tape in this section. The LEDs should be egg laying along their sides pointing in the direction indicated on the templet.

NOTE: Be careful about shortsighted circuiting the tour by allowing either the copper taping sections to become joined or short circuiting the two leads neighbouring the LED housing.

Step 15: Shelling Installment and Light-emitting diode Testing.

Place two 2032 clit batteries in place, arsenic shown, with the positive root lining upward.

Then, fold the corners of the template all over on top of the batteries and safe-deposit them in range with a medium binder clip, as shown.

Tryout each LED to see to it IT will light when the switches are wont to close the circuits. Draw certain the green and depressing LED will both work out at the same time. If they do not, you leave deman to troubleshoot.

Gradation 16: Making the Reflection Box.

Cut out the reflection boxful template and chisel in along the dashed lines, as shown.

Fold up along the solid lines and then secure the box with transparent tape.

Step 17: Exploring Colors Using the Reflection Boxwood.

Shoes the reflection box over tip of completely the LEDs.

Turn the lights call at a elbow room which keister come fairly dark.

Fiddle around with altogether the color combinations you can create.

Shown are the primary colours of light - red, green, and blue air - and also the lower-ranking colors of light which are created by having two LEDs on at the same time. Blue + Green = Cyan (pronounced suspiration-ann); Red + Common = Yellowness; Red + Blue = Magenta; So, bluish green, fearful, and fuchsia are the secondary colours of light!

What coloring do you stick when all triplet LEDs are on at the same time?

Step 18: RGB Airy Show Miniature.

As mentioned, the RGB light show derriere be done victimization people ahead of red, green, and downcast flood lights. This can actually be modeled with your $1 paper circuit.

Correct the reflection box in as a block out, as shown.

Charge up one LED and place a pen or slender objective betwixt the LED and the block out. Note that the shadow cast is opprobrious, as expected.

Excite two LEDs and like a sho the write out will have two shadows. Federal Reserve note the color of the two shadows is the synoptic as the LEDs which are lit. Also note the color of the block out is now the secondary color created away those two primary colors. In the case shown, light-green and blue light combining together makes the CRT screen look cyan in color.

Finally, sour on all three LEDs at the same time. Note the color of the three shadows the compose today casts are the secondary colors of light. Yellow where red and green luminescent commingle. Magenta where red and blue light combine, and cyan where blue and go-ahead blend.

Step 19: Extensions: Nature of Science Paper Circuit and Parallel and Series Composition Circuits

If you like this paper circuit, you might as wel like the Nature of Skill Paper Circuit. It can personify used to let students discover the rules that govern how LEDs sluttish up together and is a keen exemplary for how scientific discipline in truth workings in sol many ways.

If you want students to explore series and parallel circuits, then you bequeath want to check out our Notice, Wonder, Get wind Paper Circuits too. These also arrive into circuit diagrams.

And let's non forget to just let students engineer their possess paper circuits. Get them use the science and engineering practices to design their have paper circuits for whatever they would like.

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