Chapter Graphic : Buzzer
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Approach: One to one  Level: Year 4 and year 8
Focus: Using an electrical circuit for a particular purpose.
856k
Resources: Floor plan of house, red pencil, battery, 4 wires with crocodile clips, switch, buzzer.

Questions / instructions:
Imagine that someone in your family is sick in bed. They feel too sick to call out when they want something. You decide to make it possible for them to call you when they want something by using an electrical buzzer.

Here is some equipment for making a buzzer that works.

Show equipment and name each component as you lay it out on the table.

 
% responses
y4
y8
1. Before you have a go with this equipment, try to describe to me how you would connect the equipment together to make the buzzer go.
Student explains.    
2. Now you can have a go at making the buzzer go. You will need to use all of the pieces of wire.
If you get stuck I can help you.
made buzzer sound
98
93
Allow time.
Help needed:
none
10
34
some clues
39
33
detailed verbal instructions
12
6
hands – on help
39
27
Show student house plan.
Here is a plan of the house where the family lives. This is the sick person's bedroom [room with person in bed], and here is the living room where most of the family will be.

3. Think about how you would set up the buzzer so that it would help the sick person in this house. Draw your ideas on this house plan, and show the main parts of the system you would make. As you are drawing, tell me what you are doing and why.


Give plan and red pencil to student.
Prompt for explanation if necessary.

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Features of plan
switch in bedroom
84
94
switch accessible to person in bed
77
90
buzzer in place to be heard
63
87
battery or identifiable power source in circuit
55
62
wire(s) running from switch/battery to buzzer
81
90
two wires shown (to complete circuit)
27
28
Total score:
9–10
8
28
7–8
38
41
5–6
35
22
3–4
12
8
0–2
7
1
Commentary:
About 20 percent more year 8 than year 4 students performed very well on this task. The importance of a power source and (particularly) a two wire circuit was often not recognised in the plans drawn.
 
Chapter Graphic
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