Objective:

Your team will design and construct an electric house with separate series, parallel, and complex circuits.

The house will consist of one or two stories. Each house will contain at least the following areas: one bedroom, one bathroom, a kitchen, a porch, a front

door, and  a living room/dining room area.

Each individual room will be illuminated by its own light. 

Materials:

Your team will provide the materials needed for the house frame, glue, additional tools, decorations, furniture and the batteries.

You will receive:

- Ten small light bulbs- Seven switches

-  Insulated wire    - A motor

- Buzzer and button    - A barrier strip

- X-ACTO knife- Soldering iron

Project Timeline:

Your team should follow the Project Timeline.

DC Circuits Resources

Series and Parallel Circuits: Explanation of series and parallel circuits and the equations of voltage and current.

DC Circuits Tutorial: Detailed tutorials that include schematic diagrams, Ohm's Law and circuits.

Lessons on Electricity: Excellent site with information about resistors, series, parallel and combination circuits

DC Circuit Resource Lesson: Information and examples about DC Circuits.

DC Circuits Lecture: Includes theory and problems on various types of circuits.

Requirements:

- The house dimensions are approximately: 24" by 36" horizontally  or

  vertically. The 'science fair' tri-fold foam board is an excellent material for

  building the house.

Each house will be wired with 5 different circuits as follows:

- The living room area  must have a chandelier with at least two lights in a

  SERIES CIRCUIT with a switch.

- The house must have one PARALLEL CIRCUIT consisting of a switch and at

  least two lights.

- The house must have one COMBINATION CIRCUIT consisting of two

  switches and at least three lights.

- The front door must have a doorbell (buzzer) and a switch.

- The use of the motor is open-ended, that is, you will incorporate the motor

  in the house in a creative manner. Some ideas are: an elevator, a ceiling

  fan or a garage door.

Scoring Rubric:

The score of your project consists of 200 points divided into three parts:

I. Group Project = 100 points

Meeting minimum construction requirements:

Neat house assembly, four rooms, and a porch =   20 pts

Successfully meeting series circuit minimum requirements =   10 pts

Successfully meeting parallel circuit minimum requirements =          20 pts

Successfully meeting complex circuit minimum requirements =       20 pts

Successfully meeting doorbell requirement =          10 pts

Successfully incorporating the motor =       20 pts

II. Individual Project = 40 points 

- Drawing and schematic of every circuit combination =      20 pts

- Calculations and measurements of voltage and current =        20 pts

Bonus for creativity and/or ingenuity = 20 pts

III. Electric House WebProject  = 60 points

You will design and publish a website following the Website Guidelines

- Index page with links  = 20 pts

- Physics page with complete information, diagrams and links   = 20 pts

- House page with procedure, pictures and suggestions      = 20 pts