Você está na página 1de 18

Harnessing Electricity to

Communicate
Lesson plan and more resources are
available at: aka.ms/hackingstem
Hacking STEM
Hacking STEM is a free resource for teachers, delivering inquiry and project-
based lessons that complement current STEM curriculum. In this project we
explore the use of electricity in communication.

Harnessing Electricity to Communicate


Students build a telegraph out of everyday objects to understand electrical
energy and its role in communications. Then, they use a customized workbook
to send and receive information in Morse code using their telegraph.
Lesson Plan
Contents Notebooks
Contains lessons, materials, and
03 Activity Overview activities to support teaching
this unit. Mapped to the NGSS
04 Analog Telegraph Instructions and ISTE standards.

05 Things Youll Need Go to:


aka.ms/morselessonplan
12 Digital Telegraph Instructions to access the OneNote
notebook and other resources.
13 Things Youll Need

14 Flash the Arduino

15 Connect the Arduino

16 Excel Workbook Basics

17 International Morse Code Basics

-2-

Project Overview Hack our projects
In this project, students explore the phenomenon of electricity and the vital role that it has
We love innovation and
played in changing the world of communications. It provides a rich collection of activities
encourage you to hack
tracing important scientific discoveries that lead to the development of the telegraph and
our activities and make
modern communications.
them your own.

Analog Telegraph
Students build the Analog Telegraph to send coded information with sound and light using
a technique created by Samuel Morse in 1844. Students explore the role of electricity in


communication and are encouraged to reflect on the impact that this discovery has had
on our society. This activity can be completed as a standalone activity or enhanced to
build a Digital Telegraph that supports communication between an Arduino Uno and
customized Excel workbook. Steps for success

Weve indicated
Digital Telegraph important steps with a
rocket ship. Use extra
The Digital Telegraph is used by students to send real time messages in Morse code care and precision when
visualized and interpreted on a customized Excel workbook. The Workbook supports two- you see the rocket to
way communication between the Telegraph and the computer. Using Morse code, students ensure great results!
can input dots and dashes that get decoded into an alpha numeric format. They can also
enter letters and numbers in the workbook that get converted into Morse Code and
transmitted through the LED and cup speaker.


Substituting everyday
objects

Similar items can be


substituted for most
materials according to
availability.


Sourcing specialized
materials

You can find an online


shopping list for this
21st century technical skills explored in this activity include: entire lesson at:

aka.ms/morse
shoppinglist

-3-
ANALOG

Telegraph

-4-
Things youll need
Get links to all the materials you need at: aka.ms/morseshoppinglist

Materials Toolkit
1 2AA battery holder wire strippers
2 AA batteries adhesive tape
2 pin-ended alligator clips hot glue gun
1 spool of 32 gauge magnet wire paper clips
2 20 gauge solid core wires, 30 cm long
1 round magnet
1 170 point breadboard
1 small square of fine grit sandpaper
1 12 oz plastic cup
1 wood clothespin
1 iron or steel screw
1 piece of cardboard, roughly 10 x 7 cm
1 LED 3V bulb
1 sheet of paper

-5-
Make a switch
1 2

Hot glue the clothespin to the cardboard. Strip 2 cm from both ends of the insulated wires.

3 4

Tape one wire down to the cardboard so that the stripped Make a hook at the end of the second wire.
end lays over the tip of the bottom clothespin arm.

5 6

Place the hook over the top arm of the clothespin with down
Check carefully that the wires touch when you press
special attention to placement, taping it down. on the clothespin. You have made a switch.
-6-
Create a circuit
1

1 Insert the LED bulb with the longer leg (+) in the 2 Put the batteries into the holder and plug the
breadboard as shown in the diagram. wires into the breadboard. If the wire is fraying
twist the fibers together.

3 Insert the two wires from the clothespin into the


breadboard according to the diagram.

Test your signal lamp


Push down on the switch. This completes your circuit and powers the LED.

Awesome! Youve completed the LED signal lamp. These pieces will also be used in the next activity!
-7-
Build an electromagnet
1 2

Lightly
Cut a length of magnet wire to at least 90 cm long. Wind
sand the ends of both leads to remove the
the wire around the screw as shown. Leave about 10 cm of
insulation. Connect the alligator clips to the leads.
excess wire on each side to form leads and connect the
electromagnet.

3 Connect the pin ends of the alligator clips in the


place of the LED.

-8-
Test your electromagnet.
Press down on the clothespin. The screw and wire will become an electromagnet. Try picking up paper clips with the
electromagnet.

CONCEPT IN ACTION

Why does the screw become an electromagnet?


The current flowing through the wire creates a magnetic field around the coil, magnetizing the
metal as if it were a permanent magnet.

Great Work! Youve combined your circuit with an electromagnet.


Youre now ready to make a speaker out of a plastic cup!

-9-
Make a speaker from a cup
1 2

Measure the width of your magnet. Roll a sheet of paper so that its slightly wider than the mag-
net and tape it closed. This will be used for winding wire.

3 4

Leave roughly 10 cm for wire leads and wind the wire about When youve completed the coil, cut the wire allowing for
50 times. The more winding you do, the louder the speaker. the second 10 cm or so lead. Slide the coil from the tube.

5 6

Tape the coil on opposite side then gently sand the Tape the coil to the bottom of the cup, in the center.
ends of the leads, removing the insulation.
-10-
7 8

Place the magnet in the center of the coil and tape it down. Detach the alligator clips from the electromagnet wires and
attach to the cup speaker leads.

Use your plastic cup speaker.


Press down on the clothespin to make a clicking sound. Put the speaker closer to your ear if you cant hear it.

CONCEPT IN ACTION

Why is sound generated?


When an electric current flows through the coil it becomes a temporary electromagnet that is
attracted and repelled by the permanent magnet. As the coil and magnet move, the plastic cup
moves back and forth, pumping sound waves into the air.

Super job! Youve made a speaker and completed the Analog Telegraph. Youre ready to go digital!
-11-
D I G I TA L

Telegraph
Things youll need
Get links to all the materials you need at: aka.ms/morseshoppinglist

Materials Toolkit
scissors
1 completed Analog Telegraph
1 A to B USB cable
5 pin-ended jumper wires
1 resistor 100 ohm
1 Arduino UNO microcontroller

Start with the technical requirements at:


aka.ms/hackingSTEMmorsecode

-13-
1 2

Start by connecting your Arduino to your computer with Go to aka.ms/morseflashcode and download the flash code.
the USB cable. Next, you will need to install the Arduino IDE
which you can access through the Technical Requirement
links at: aka.ms/hackingSTEMmorse
Follow the prompts to complete installation.

3 4

Open your downloaded file to launch the Arduino App. Next, select: Tools > Port > COM4 (Arduino Uno) Your com
port may be different than COM4.

5 6

Then select Tools > Board: Arduino/Genuino Uno > Click on the circular right arrow button to upload.
Arduino/Genuino Uno.

-14-
Connect the Arduino
2

1 Remove the LED and leads from both the 2 Connect the Arduino UNO and breadboard with
clothespin switch and the speaker from the the 5 jumper wires as shown in the diagram. The
breadboard. You will be re-inserting them in new wire color is helpful for organization but does not
points. impact function.

3 Place the LED bulb with the longer leg (+) placed 4 Insert the resistor leads into the breadboard as
as shown in the diagram. shown.

Connect the clothespin switch wires to the 6 Connect the plastic cup speaker to the
5
breadboard. breadboard by plugging in the pin ends of the
alligator clips as shown.

-15-
Send Morse code with your telegraph
Press down on the clothespin key. You will see the LED light up and a hear corresponding tones coming from the speaker.

CONGRATULATIONS! Youre ready to connect to Excel, visualize data, and communicate using electricity!
Get ready to visualize data
To complete the full project, make sure you meet these technical requirements:

PC running Windows 10, and Excel 2016 (Desktop)


Project Cordoba Add-In: Update your existing copy of Microsoft Excel 2016 with a free add-in to support real-time data
streaming from your projects available at: aka.ms/getaccess
Customized Excel Workbook available at: aka.ms/morseworkbook

Excel workbook basics


Encode a Message

Encode an alphanumeric message into Morse code. Type in your message in the Compose Message box and watch as it is
encoded below. Click the Transmit Message button to send it to the Arduino microcontroller and watch the LED light up and
hear the cup speaker produce Morse code tones.

Decode a Message

Decode a message by using the telegraph chart to send Morse code. As you use the telegraph key the message is decoded
one mark at a time. Click the Clear Message button to start a new message. The immediate feedback can also can be helpful
when learning Morse code.

Toggle

Use the toggle switch to switch between Encode a Message and Decode a Message.

-17-
International Morse code basics
Marks

The building blocks of Morse Code. Marks are decoded into the signal elements (dot, dash, and space). The dot
and dash marks must be separated by an inter-signal space (markSpace) equal to one unit of duration.

unit = base time interval


dot = mark with duration of one unit
dash = mark with duration of three unit
markSpace = pause for a duration of one unit
signalSpace = pause for a duration of three unit
wordSpace = pause for a duration of seven unit

Signals

All of the characters are encoded as a sequences of marks (dot and dash) forming signals with an inter-signal
space (signalSpace) to separate each signal from those of the next signal.

Characters

International Morse Code provides for the encoding of natural text using 57 characters:
27 letters: alphabet + [space]
10 digits: 0-9
20 punctuation and miscellaneous signs

Glossary

A V
B W
C X Rules
D Y
E Z 1. 1 dash = 3 dots
F . 2. The parts between parts of
the same letter = 1 dot.
G ,
3. The space between letters is
H ?
3 dots.
I /
4. The space between words is
J @ 7 dots.
K 1
L 2
M 3
N 4
O 5
P 6
Q 7
R 8
S 9
T 0
U

-18-

Você também pode gostar