Elenco Electronics Snap Circuits STEM Quick guide

any means; electronic, photocopying, or otherwise without written permission from the publisher. U.S. Patents: 7,144,255; 7,273,377, & patents pending

Instruction Manual

Projects 1 - 93 Project 3

8-108

AGES

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1. Most circuit problems are due to incorrect assem-

bly, always double-check that your circuit exactly

matches the drawing for it.

2. Be sure that parts with positive/negative markings

are positioned as per the drawing.

3. Be sure that all connections are securely snapped.

4. Try replacing the batteries.

Elenco®is not responsible for parts damaged due to

incorrect wiring.

Basic Troubleshooting

Note: If you suspect you have damaged parts, you can follow

the Advanced Troubleshooting procedure on page 11 to deter-

mine which ones need replacing.

Basic Troubleshooting 1

Parts List 2

How to Use t 3

Assembling the Build-Your-Own Electromagnet 4

Guidelines for Use in Classrooms & Home School 4

About Your Snap Circuits®Parts 5-8

ntroduction to Electricity 9

DOs and DON’Ts of Building Circuits 10

Advanced Troubleshooting 11

Project Listings 12

Projects 1 - 93 13 - 74

Test Your Knowledge 75

Other Snap Circuits®Projects 76

Block Layout Back Cover

Table of Contents

WARN NG: Always check your wiring

before turning on a circuit. Never leave

a circuit unattended while the batteries

are installed. Never connect additional

batteries or any other power sources to

your circuits. Discard any cracked or

broken parts.

Adult Supervision: Because children’s

abilities vary so much, even with age

groups, adults should exercise discre-

tion as to which experiments are suit-

able and safe (the instructions should

enable supervising adults to establish

the experiment’s suitability for the

child). Make sure your child reads and

follows all of the relevant instructions

and safety procedures, and keeps them

at hand for reference.

This product is intended for use by

adults and children who have attained

sufficient maturity to read and follow

directions and warnings.

Never modify your parts, as doing so

may disable important safety features

in them, and could put your child at risk

of injury.

 Use only 1.5V AA type, alkaline batteries

(not included).

 nsert batteries with correct polarity.

 Non-rechargeable batteries should not

be recharged. Rechargeable batteries

should only be charged under adult su-

pervision, and should not be recharged

while in the product.

 Do not mix old and new batteries.

 Do not connect batteries or battery

holders in parallel.

 Do not mix alkaline, standard (carbon-

zinc), or rechargeable (nickel-cadmium)

batteries.



Remove batteries when they are used up.

 Do not short circuit the battery termi-

nals.

 Never throw batteries in a fire or attempt

to open its outer casing.

 Batteries are harmful if swallowed, so

keep away from small children.

Batteries:

WARN NG: CHOK NG HAZARD -

Small parts. Not for children under 3 years.

!Conforms to all applicable U.S.

government requirements and

CAN CES-3 (B)/NMB-3 (B).

WARN NG: Moving parts. Do not touch the fan while it is spinning.

WARN NG: SHOCK HAZARD - Never connect Snap

Circuits®to the electrical outlets in your home in any way!

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mportant: If any parts are missing or damaged, DO NOT RETURN TO RETA LER. Call toll-free (800) 533-2441 or e-mail us at: help@elenco.com.

Customer Service ● 150 Carpenter Ave. ● Wheeling, IL 60090 U.S.A.

Parts List (Colors and styles may vary) Symbols and Numbers

Qty. D Name Symbol Part # Qty. D Name Symbol Part #

r31-Snap Wire 6SC01 r1String 6SCM1S

r62-Snap Wire 6SC02 r1Spare Motor Top 6SCM1T

r33-Snap Wire 6SC03 r1lectromagnet 6SCM3

r14-Snap Wire 6SC04 r2

Iron Core Rod (46mm)

6SCM3C

r15-Snap Wire 6SC05 r1Bag of Paper Clips 6SCM3P

r16-Snap Wire 6SC06 r1Meter 6SCM5

Battery Holder - uses

3 1.5V type AA (not included)

6SCB3 r1Magnet 6SCMAG

Base Grid (11.0” x 7.7”)

6SCBG r1Nut Snap 6SCNS

r1Compass 6SCCOM r1Two Spring Socket 6SCPY1

r1White L D 6SCD6 r1Slide Switch 6SCS1

Copper lectrode with Snap

6SC CS r1Press Switch 6SCS2

Zinc lectrode with Snap

6SC ZS r1Relay 6SCS3

r1Iron Fillings 6SCIF r1Switcher 6SCS6

r1Jumper Wire (Black) 6SCJ1 r1Reed Switch 6SCS9

r1Jumper Wire (Red) 6SCJ2 r1Coil 6SCWIR 1

r3Lamp 6SCL4 r2Grommet 662510

r1Motor 6SCM1 r1Thin Rod MWK01P5

r1Glow Fan Blade 6SCM1FG You may order additional / replacement parts at our website:

www.snapcircuits.net

D6 S1

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How to Use SnapCircuits

Snap Circuits®uses building blocks with snaps

to build the different electrical and electronic

circuits in the projects. ach block has a func-

tion: there are switch blocks, light blocks, bat-

tery blocks, different length wire blocks, etc.

These blocks are different colors and have

numbers on them so that you can easily iden-

tify them. The blocks you will be using are

shown as color symbols with level numbers

next to them, allowing you to easily snap them

together to form a circuit.

For Example:

This is the switch block which is green and has

the marking on it. The part symbols in this

booklet may not exactly match the appearance

of the actual parts, but will clearly identify them.

This is a wire block which is blue and comes

in different wire lengths.

This one has the number , , ,

or on it depending on the length of the wire

connection required.

There is also a 1-snap wire that is used as a

spacer or for interconnection between different

layers.

You need a power source to build each circuit.

This is labeled and requires three (3) 1.5V

“AA” batteries (not included).

When installing a battery, be sure the spring

is compressed straight back, and not bent up,

down, or to one side.

A large clear plastic base grid is included with

this kit to help keep the circuit blocks properly

spaced. You will see evenly spaced posts that

the different blocks snap into. The base has

rows labeled A-G and columns labeled 1-10.

Next to each part in every circuit drawing is a

small number in black. This tells you which

level the component is placed at. Place all

parts on level 1 first, then all of the parts on

level 2, then all of the parts on level 3, etc.

Some circuits use the jumper wires to make

unusual connections. Just clip them to the

metal snaps or as indicated.

Usually when the motor is used, the glow

fan will usually be placed on it. On top of the

motor shaft is a black plastic piece (the motor

top) with three little tabs. Lay the fan on the

black piece so the slots in its bottom “fall into

place” around the three tabs in the motor top.

If not placed properly, the fan will fall off when

the motor starts to spin.

234

Note: While building the projects, be careful

not to accidentally make a direct connection

across the battery holder (a “short circuit”),

as this may damage and/or quickly drain the

batteries.

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How to Use SnapCircuits

Assembling the build-your-own electromagnet:

You need the coil, an iron core rod, a grommet, and the 2-spring socket

(?1).

Wrap the coil around one of the iron core rods, leaving about 3 inches

free at both ends. Place a grommet on the end of the rod to help keep

the coil wire from coming off it.

Check that some of the protective coating has been removed

at each end, leaving about half an inch of bare wire. If the coil

wire is broken (or later gets broken) then use sandpaper or

steel wool to scrape off the protective coating for about half an

inch at each end.

Connect the bare wire ends to the springs on the 2-spring

socket (the springs must connect to the wire where the varnish

has been removed, otherwise it won’t make electrical contact).

GU DEL NESFORUSE NCLASSROOMSORHOMESCHOOL NG:

This product is a tool for opening the exciting world of electronics, and its relationship to

magnetism. Following the Learn by Doing®concept, electronics & magnetism will be easy

for students to understand by using Snap Circuits®to build circuits as they learn about them.

This kit emphasizes the practical applications of electronics, without bogging down in math-

ematics. This course is as much about science as about electronics & magnetism.

Why should students learn about electronics? lectronics plays an important and increasing

role in their everyday lives, and so some basic knowledge of it is good for all of them. Learn-

ing about it teaches how to do scientific investigation, and the projects develop basic skills

needed in today's world.

This product is intended for ages 8 and up. The only prerequisite is basic reading skills.

It should take about 6 hours to do this entire book, or about 2 hours to read the Introduction

to lectricity (page 9) and do just the educational summary projects (shown on page 12).

Teachers should review the Project Listing (page 12) and decide what is best.

NSTRUCTOR PREPARAT ON/ORGAN ZAT ON

●Determine what the learning environment will be. Will the students be learning independ-

ently or in small groups? How much teacher instruction will there be for each section?

Will the students be reading the lesson as homework and then have limited teacher in-

struction before performing the experiments? Decide when quizzes will be given and

how they will be organized.

●Allocate time within the session as needed for:

●Teacher instruction about the topics being covered during the session.

●Getting the Snap Circuits®components into the workspace.

●Teacher instruction about the specific projects to be performed during that ses-

sion.

●Building and testing the circuits.

●Performing experiments (and teacher verification if desired).

●Dismantling the circuits and returning Snap Circuits®components to storage area.

●Reassembling the class for review.

●Make sure the students know their objectives for the day, how much time they will need

for cleanup, and where the materials are being stored.

●Students must understand that there are usually many ways of making the same circuit,

and that the instructor may not know all the answers. They are doing scientific investi-

gation, and many circuit projects suggest variations to experiment with.

●Have students review the DO’s and DON’Ts of Building Circuits on page 10 at the begin-

ning of each session.

Answers to quiz questions are at www.snapcircuits.net/scstem1

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About Your Snap Circuits®Parts

(Part designs are subject to change without notice).

The base grid is a plat-

form for mounting

parts and wires. It

functions like the

printed circuit boards

used in most elec-

tronic products, or

like how the walls are

used for mounting the electrical wiring in your

home.

BASEGR D

The blue snap wires

are wires used to con-

nect components.

They are used to trans-

port electricity and do not af-

fect circuit performance. They

come in different lengths to allow orderly

arrangement of connections on the base grid.

The red and black

jumper wires

make flexible con-

nections for times

when using the snap wires

would be difficult. They also

are used to make connections off the base grid.

Wires transport electricity just like pipes are used

to transport water. The colorful plastic coating

protects them and prevents electricity from get-

ting in or out.

The batteries (B3) produce an electrical voltage

using a chemical reaction. This “voltage” can be

thought of as electrical pressure, pushing elec-

tricity through a circuit just like a pump pushes

water through pipes. This voltage is much lower

and much safer than that used in your house

wiring. Using more batteries increases the “pres-

sure”, therefore, more electricity flows.

The funny marking on the battery holder is the

standard battery symbol used in electrical wiring

diagrams. These wiring diagrams are called

schematics, and are used in everything from

house wiring to complex radios.

SNAP W RES & JUMPER W RES

BATTERY HOLDER

Battery Symbol

Battery Holder (B3)

Symbols

Slide &Press

Switches

(S1 & S2)

SW TCHES

The slide & press switches (S1 &S2) connect

(pressed or “ON”) or disconnect (not pressed or

“OFF”) the wires in a circuit. When ON they have

no effect on circuit performance. Switches turn

on electricity just like a faucet turns on water from

a pipe.

Reed Switch (S9)

The reed switch (S9) is an electrical switch that

can be controlled by a magnet. It has two metal

contacts close together. The magnetic field from

the magnet makes the contacts come together,

completing a circuit just like other switches do.

The switcher (S6) is a more complex switch used

to reverse the wires to a component or circuit. See

project 2 for an example of connections.

Switcher (S6)

Its symbol & connections look like this:

Symbol

-5-

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About Your Snap Circuits®Parts

How does electricity turn the shaft in the motor?

The answer is magnetism. lectricity is closely

related to magnetism, and an electric current

flowing in a wire has a magnetic field similar to

that of a very, very tiny magnet. Inside the motor

is a coil of wire with many loops wrapped around

metal plates. This is called an electromagnet. If

a large electric current flows through the loops,

it will turn ordinary metal into a magnet. The

motor shell also has a magnet on it. When elec-

tricity flows through the electromagnet, it repels

from the magnet on the motor shell and the shaft

spins. If the fan is on the motor shaft, then its

blades will create airflow.

The meter (M5) is an important measuring de-

vice. You will use it to measure the voltage (elec-

trical pressure) and current (how fast electricity

is flowing) in a circuit.

The electrical symbol for a meter is shown below.

The meter measures voltage when connected in

parallel to a circuit and measures the current

when connected in series in a circuit.

This meter has one voltage scale (5V) and two

current scales (1mA and 1A). These use the

same meter but with internal components that

scale the measurement into the desired range.

This will be explained more later. Note: Your M5

meter is a simple meter. Don’t expect it to be as

accurate as normal electronic test instruments.

The motor (M1) converts electricity into mechan-

ical motion. An electric current in the motor will

turn the shaft and the motor blades, and the fan

blade if it is on the motor. The electrical symbol

for a motor is also shown here.

METER

MOTOR

Meter Symbol

Magnet

Coil

Pointer

Contacts

Motor Symbol

Magnet

Electromagnet

Shaft

Power Contacts

Shell

Meter (M5)

Motor (M1)

Inside the meter there is a fixed magnet and a

moveable coil around it. As current flows through

the coil, it creates a magnetic field. The interac-

tion of the two magnetic fields causes the coil

(connected to the pointer) to move (deflect).

Glow-in-the-dark Fan

-6-

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About Your Snap Circuits®Parts

A light bulb, such as in the 4.5V lamps (L4), con-

tains a special thin high-resistance wire. When a

lot of electricity flows through, this wire gets so

hot it glows bright. Voltages above the bulb’s rat-

ing can burn out the wire.

The electrical symbol for a lamp is shown here,

though other symbols are also used in the industry.

LAMP

Lamp Symbol

The electromagnet (M3) is a large coil of wire,

which acts like a magnet when electricity flows

through it. Placing an iron bar inside increases

the magnetic effects. The electromagnet can

store electrical energy in a magnetic field.

The properties of the electromagnet will be ex-

plained in the projects. Note that magnets can

erase magnetic media like computer disks.

The grommet will be used to hold the iron core

rod on the electromagnet.

ELECTROMAGNET

Electromagnet (M3)

ron Core Rod

(usually placed in

electromagnet)

Electromagnet Sym-

bol with Rod nside

Grommet

OTHER PARTS

The magnet is an ordinary magnet

like those in your home.

The compass is

a standard compass.

The red needle will

point toward the

strongest magnetic

field around it, usually

the north pole of the

earth.

The iron filings are tiny

fragments of iron in a

sealed case. They

will be used in

m a g n e t i s m

projects.

The copper and zinc elec-

trodes are just metals that

will be used for electro-chem-

ical projects. They have

snaps attached for easy con-

nection.

The nut-snap is an iron nut

mounted on a snap for special

projects.

The string will be used

in special projects. You

can use your own

string if you need more.

The thin rod is an iron

bar for special projects.

The Paper Clips will be

used for special proj-

ects. You can use your

own if you need more,

but they must be metal.

The spare motor top is provided in

case you break the one on the

motor. Use a screwdriver to pry

the broken one off the motor,

then push the spare one on.

Electromagnet Sym-

bol without Rod

(a coil of wire)

Lamp (L4)

-7-

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About Your Snap Circuits®Parts

LED

White LED (D6)

The white LED(D6) is a light emitting diode, and

may be thought of as a special one-way light

bulb. In the “forward” direction, (indicated by the

“arrow” in the symbol) electricity flows if the volt-

age exceeds a turn-on threshold brightness then

increases. A high current will burn out an L D,

so the current must be limited by other compo-

nents in the circuit (Snap Circuits®L Ds have in-

ternal resistors added, to protect them in case

you make wiring mistakes). L Ds block electricity

in the “reverse” direction. COM

Relay:

Coil - connection to coil

NC - normally closed contact

NO - normally open contact

COM - common

See project 69 for an example of proper connections.

Coil

Coil NO

The relay (S3) is an electronic switch with contacts

that can be closed or opened. It contains a coil that

generates a magnetic field when current flows

through it. The magnetic field attracts an iron arma-

ture, which switches the contacts. See project 69 for

further explanation.

RELAY

Relay (S3)

Two Spring Socket

Two Spring

Socket (?1)

The two-spring socket (?1) just has two

springs, and won’t do anything by itself. In this

set it is used to make the build-your-own electro-

magnet, as per page 5. It can also be used by

advanced users to connect other electronic com-

ponents to Snap Circuits®for creating your own

circuits.

LED Symbol

Relay Symbol

-8-

The symbols for the parts shown in

this section are used by engineers in

drawings of their circuits, called

schematics. Wires connecting com-

ponents are shown as lines, with a

dot indicating a connection between

lines that cross. Here are schematics

of some of the circuits you will build:

SCHEMAT CS

Project 14 Schematic:

Project 27 Schematic:

Project 43 Schematic:

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-9-

ntroduction to Electricity

What is electricity? Nobody really knows. We only know how to produce it, under-

stand its properties, and how to control it. lectricity is the movement of sub-atomic

charged particles (called electrons) through a material due to electrical pressure

across the material, such as from a battery.

Power sources, such as batteries, push electricity through a circuit, like a pump

pushes water through pipes. Wires carry electricity, like pipes carry water. Devices

like L Ds, motors, and speakers use the energy in electricity to do things. Switches

and transistors control the flow of electricity like valves and faucets control water.

Resistors limit the flow of electricity.

The electrical pressure exerted by a battery or other power source is called volt-

age and is measured in volts (V). Notice the “+” and “–” signs on the battery; these

indicate which direction the battery will “pump” the electricity.

The electric current is a measure of how fast electricity is flowing in a wire, just

as the water current describes how fast water is flowing in a pipe. It is expressed

in amperes (A) or milliamps (mA, 1/1000 of an ampere).

The “power” of electricity is a measure of how fast energy is moving through a

wire. It is a combination of the voltage and current (Power = Voltage x Current). It

is expressed in watts (W).

The resistance of a component or circuit represents how much it resists the elec-

trical pressure (voltage) and limits the flow of electric current. The relationship is

Voltage = Current x Resistance. When the resistance increases, less current flows.

Resistance is measured in ohms (W), or kilo ohms (kW, 1000 ohms).

Nearly all of the electricity used in our world is produced at enormous generators

driven by steam or water pressure. Wires are used to efficiently transport this en-

ergy to homes and businesses where it is used. Motors convert the electricity back

into mechanical form to drive machinery and appliances. The most important as-

pect of electricity in our society is that it allows energy to be easily transported

over distances.

Note that “distances” includes not just large distances but also tiny distances. Try

to imagine a plumbing structure of the same complexity as the circuitry inside a

portable radio - it would have to be large because we can’t make water pipes so

small. lectricity allows complex designs to be made very small.

There are two ways of arranging parts in a circuit, in series or

in parallel. Here are examples:

Placing components in series increases the resistance; highest

value dominates. Placing components in parallel decreases the

resistance; lowest value dominates.

The parts within these series and parallel sub-circuits may be

arranged in different ways without changing what the circuit

does. Large circuits are made of combinations of smaller series

and parallel circuits.

Series Circuit

Parallel Circuit

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