E X PE R I M E NT M A N UA L

WARNING Science Education Set.

This set contains chemicals and/or parts that
may be harmful if misused. Read cautions on
individual containers and in manual carefully.
Franckh-Kosmos Verlags-GmbH & Co. KG, Pfizerstr. 5-7, 70184 Stuttgart, Germany | +49 (0) 711 2191-0 | www.kosmos.de
Not to be used by children except under Thames & Kosmos, 301 Friendship St., Providence, RI, 02903, USA | 1-800-587-2872 | www.thamesandkosmos.com
adult supervision. Thames & Kosmos UK Ltd, Goudhurst, Kent, TN17 2QZ, United Kingdom | 01580 212000  | www.thamesandkosmos.co.uk

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 Kit Contents

KIT CONTENTS
GOOD TO KNOW! If you are missing any parts, please
contact Thames & Kosmos customer service for replacements.

Component name Qty. Component description Component picture

The Battery compartment

Item no. 714721
1 This box supplies the current you need for all the
experiments. Before starting, insert four AA

components batteries (1.5-volt, type LR6/AA). Then, you will

be able to draw electrical current from the two

in your kit
terminals (+ and -).

6 Volt
NOTE! Never connect the battery terminals
directly to each other! The battery and wires
This list provides brief could become hot and explode, and the battery
descriptions and illustrations of will also quickly go dead.
all the components in this Selector switch 2 This electrically connects two of the three contact
experiment kit. Item no. 705055 plugs, depending on the position of the switch
knob.

Pushbutton 1 This electrically connects the two terminals when

Item no. 705054 you press the button.

You will also need: Connector with 4 terminals

zed
lt, type LR6/AA), deioni
Four AA batteries (1.5-vo
the hardware store or
or distilled water from a,
t, cooking oil , baking sod
supermarket, sugar, sal ing
d, teaspoon, dishwash
lemon, vinegar, citric aci el
urt container, paper tow
liquid, glass, clean yog ter
aluminum foil, tap wa
roll, bowl, saucer, fork,
ks, transparent tape,
(warm and cold), two boo and
er clips, sheet of paper
30-cm ruler, metal pap c-
cil, copper penny, zin
cardboard, soft lead pen l, and
are store), long iron nai
coated washer (hardw cel ain,
lowing materials: por
objects made of the fol other
rofoam, cork, iron, and
plastic, wood, glass, sty
metals.
(X-shaped)
Item no. 705050
Straight connector with 2
prongs (I-shaped)
Item no. 705051
Angled connector with 2
prongs (L-shaped)
Item no. 705052
Connector with 3 prongs
(T-shaped)
Item no. 705053
25 For connecting components. The metal plugs of
other components are inserted into the side slits so
that they are electrically connected to each other
as indicated by the white lines. In the instructions,
they are called X-connectors.
8 For connecting components. The two plugs are
electrically connected to each other. In the
instructions, they are referred to as I-connectors.
4 For the electrical connection of components, but
in a way that guides the current at a right angle.
Looks like an L, hence referred to as an
L-connector in the instructions.
1 For electrical connections. The three plugs are
electrically connected to each other as indicated
by the white lines. In the instructions, they are
referred to as T-connectors due to their shape.

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 KIT CONTENTS

Component name Qty. Component description Component picture Component name Qty. Component description Component picture
Red bulb 1 When current is flowing through it in Potentiometer (pot) 1 A continuously adjustable resistor
(6 volts/50 mA) the proper direction, this emits red 100 k with a maximum resistance of about
Item no. 714717 light. Item no. 714732 100 kilohms. Informally known as a
pot.
Green bulb 1 This shines with a green light when
(6 volts/50 mA) current flows through it.
Item no. 714718
Capacitor 1 Capacitors are used to store electrical
Yellow bulb (6 1 This shines with a yellow light when
1 microfarad (1 F) charges, with current flowing when
volts/50 mA) current flows through it.
Item no. 714740 they charge or discharge. The
Item no. 714719 capacitance of a capacitor is indicated
in farads. Capacitors typically have
Silicon diode 4 An electrical valve that only allows a small capacitance indicated in
Item no. 712926 current to flow in one direction, and microfarads (F). 1 microfarad
blocks it in the other. equals one millionth of a farad. With
Capacitor 2 our bipolar electrolytic capacitors,
Speaker 1 This converts the alternating current
unlike ordinary electrolytic
Item no. 708805 oscillations into something you can microfarads (10 F)
Item no. 714742 capacitors like the 470-F capacitor,
hear.
you dont have to pay attention to
polarity. The 10-F capacitor has ten
times the capacitance of the 1-F
Capacitor 1 capacitor. The 47-F capacitor
Resistor 1 Electrical resistors offer resistance to 47 microfarads (47 accordingly has 47 times the
56 ohms (56 ) electric current hence their name. 56 F) capacitance.
Item no. 715367 They are used to regulate the flow of Item no. 714733
current. They come in various
Resistor 2 electrical magnitudes, indicated in
120 ohms (120 ) ohms () or kilohms (k). 120

Item no. 715368 Electrolytic capacitor 2 This capacitor has 470 times the
Resistors with larger values let less
470 microfarads (470 electricity storage capacity of the
Resistor 1 current through than ones with
F) 1-F capacitor. Always install it as
3.3 kilohms (3.3 k) smaller values printed on them.
Item no. 712954 shown in the circuit diagram.
Item no. 712944
CAUTION! Always use the resistor
WARNING! Pay attention to the proper
Resistor 1 with the correct value, as specified in
polarity (+ and -), or the capacitor
15 kilohms (15 k) the assembly diagram.
could get damaged or might even
Item no. 715369 explode!

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 Kit Contents

CAUTION! nt or the AC
ctly to the battery compartme
Never connect the meter dire ring sett ing (100 mA or 500 A)!
rent-measu
generator when it is in its cur
troy its sensitive circuitry.
The strong current would des

Component name Qty. Component description Component picture Component name Qty. Component description Component picture
Red connecting wire 1 For connecting electronic Alternating current 1 This instrument will use the battery
with plugs components. At the ends, there are generator current to create the alternating
Item no. 706428 plugs that fit into the green Item no. 714716 current required for the alternating
X-connectors. Referred to as red current experiments. You can also
wire for short in this manual. use it to control the alternating
current frequency (number of cycles
Blue connecting wire 1 For connecting electronic per second). The alternating current
with plugs components. At the ends, there are generator has a range selector switch AC - Generator

plugs that fit into the green with three settings, which you can
Item no. 706429
X-connectors. Referred to as blue use to roughly adjust the frequency
wire for short in this manual. of the alternating current. All the
way to the left is the lowest
frequency, all the way to the right is
Red connecting wire 1 For making electrical connections
the highest. Use the dial to adjust the
with plug and between components without using
frequency more precisely.
alligator clip plugs. At one end of the wire, there is
Item no. 714714 a plug that fits into a green
Meter 1 You can use this meter to measure
X-connector. The alligator clip at the voltage and current strength. It has
other end bites tight onto another
Item no. 712937
CAUTION! Be very three selectable measurement
component. Referred to as red settings: 10 volts (10 V) for voltage
alligator wire for short in this careful with this
measurements, 100 milliamperes (100 2 5

manual. instrument, and 100 250

10 V

mA) for current strength 500 A

always be sure to 20 50
100 mA

Blue connecting wire 1 For making electrical connections measurements, and 500
follow the microamperes (500 A) for 10 V 500 A 100 mA
with plug and between components without using
instructions in the particularly weak currents.
alligator clip plugs. At one end of the wire, there is
manual. Otherwise it
Item no. 714715 a plug that fits into a green
X-connector. The alligator clip at the could get damaged. TIP! Any meters display has a certain
other end bites tight onto another amount of play. Your measurements
component. Referred to as blue may deviate a little from those
alligator wire for short in this indicated in the instruction manual.
manual. Transformer 1 Instrument for changing alternating
Item no. 714735 current voltage. It consists of three Transformer

Electrode set 1 The electrode set consists of two

coils. One is marked Prim. (primary
A

Item no. 712957 wires. The blue wire has a zinc plate
coil), the others are marked Sec.
(zinc electrode) at one end, and the
(secondary coil).
red wire has a copper plate (copper
electrode).
B
Prim. Sec.

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 KIT CONTENTS

Component name Qty. Component description Component picture Component name Qty. Component description Component picture
Relay 1 An electrically activated switch. Elastic iron strip 1 A springy strip made of iron.
Item no. 714729 Item no. 714724

Relay

S S Coil 2 Each of these components contains

Item no. 714726 several hundred coils of thin copper
Coil
S
wire whose ends lead to contact
B A
plugs.

Electric motor 1 The motor with the little propeller

Item no. 714968 converts current into rotational Iron core for coils 1 A long iron core for inserting into the
movement. Item no. 714727 center hole of a coil.

Iron rod 2 Thin rods made of iron.

Neodymium magnet 1 WARNING! Swallowed magnets can
stick together across intestines Item no. 714734
Item no. 714722
A particularly strong causing serious infections and death. Plastic tube 1 Transparent tube to keep the bar
magnet without any Seek immediate medical attention if Item no. 714728 magnet from moving sideways.
magnet(s) are swallowed or inhaled.
markings on the
poles. pH paper 1 You can use the pH paper to
Item no. 714731 determine whether a solution is
Blue-red bar magnet 2 acidic or basic.
Item no. 706423 South North
Cup 1 Transparent vessel for the
Item no. 714725 electrochemical experiments.
Box of iron powder 1 Finely powdered iron in a sealed
Item no. 704449 container. It helps to turn magnetic
forces into something you can see.

Compass 1 Compass with a needle that moves Divider 1 You can use this to separate the
easily, serving as an indicator of
0

Item no. 000276 Item no. 706078 inserted components or connectors

0 30
33
N
0
NW

60
NE
30

magnetic forces. from each other without bending the

W
270

90
E

plugs. Simply slide it between the

SE
0

12
SW
24

S 15
0
21 180
0

components and push them apart.

Aluminum tube 1 Tube made of light aluminum metal.
Item no. 714723

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 CHECK IT OUT

The word
Abbreviations resistor
Volta and Company at a glance can generally be
The names for the most important electrical units of measurement are all Ohm....................... understood to mean
based on famous scientific researchers. Kilohm................... k something that resists the
Megohm................ M flow of current basically
The godfather of voltage was the Italian physicist Alessandro Volta (1745-
the opposite of conductor.
1827). Among other things, he invented the electrical battery in 1801 and Ampere.................. A
To an electrical engineer,
thus provided the first current source capable of supplying electricity for a Milliampere......... mA
it more specifically refers
sustained period of time. Microampere....... A
to a component meant to
The unit of measurement for current goes back to the French physicist Farad..................... F provide a certain amount of
Andr-Marie Ampre (1775-1836), who performed extensive research into Microfarad........... F resistance within a circuit.
electrical circuits.
Volt......................... V These kinds of resistors
The German physicist Georg Simon Ohm (1789-1854) was honored with Millivolt................ mV usually, they look like
the unit of measurement for electrical resistance with good reason, little cylinders with two
since he was the one who discovered the relationship between voltage terminal wires come in
and current inside a circuit known as Ohms law. different sizes with different
resistance values, or orders
of magnitude of resistance.
This value is printed on them
in the form of a number or a
color code.

32

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 Always Changing

EXPERIMENT 62

Automatic change TIP!

of light Connect the AC generators

positive and negative
Changing the currents direction with the terminals to the battery

6 Volt
AC - Generator
selector switches can get little bit tiresome compartment. You can then
after a while. Fortunately, your experiment use the selector switch to
kit box contains an alternating current turn the generator on and
generator to take care of it for you. off. Keep this same setup for
all the alternating current
experiments.

The AC generator terminals

HERES HOW
marked with a ~ supply the
Start by setting the AC generators range alternating current.
selector switch all the way to the left at the
lowest setting the one with just a single
wave.

Once youve turned on the current, you can HOW THE ALTERNATING CURRENT GENERATOR WORKS
adjust the speed of the light change by turning The AC generator is an instrument that produces a weak voltage of about 5 volts from the battery
the dial at the top. current. You can then tap the alternating current at the two terminals marked with ~.

The alternating currents frequency (in other words, the number of alternations per second) can be
WHATS HAPPENING set to three different levels by using the range selector switch.

The AC generator supplies current in a regularly alternating
direction. First one diode lets it pass through, then the other.
This setting of the range selector switch turns on the slowest
frequency range.
If you switch to other settings, both bulbs will shine with a
fairly weak light. Whats happening is that they are blinking
so fast that your eyes cant keep up.
The range marked with a single wave line (~) is for the slowest frequencies of about 0.3 hertz (cycles
per second) to about 8 hertz. The middle range () covers around 4 to 200 hertz, and the upper
range ( ) supplies frequencies of 180 to around 7,000 hertz.
Within each range, you can use the dial to adjust the desired frequency. The symbols indicate the
settings with the lowest and highest frequencies.

67

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 Current as Chemist

EXPERIMENT 115

Electricity from a lemon 2

100 250
5

10 V

In all your experiments so far, you got electricity from 20 50

500 A
100 mA

the batteries. Would you like to find out how a battery

actually produces electricity? 10 V 500 A 100 mA
TIP!
After the experiment,
clean both electrodes
HERES HOW with clean water and dry
them carefully with a
Set the meter to 10 volts.
paper towel.
Insert the copper and zinc electrodes into the lemon a
slight distance apart. Dont let them touch each other!

The needle will show a voltage of a little under 1 volt.

Switch to the 100-mA or 500-A range. A weak current

will flow here, too.

WHATS HAPPENING
Over 200 years ago, the Italian researcher Luigi Galvani observed that two different
metals will produce an electrical voltage if they are connected by a conductive
liquid.

The physicist Alessandro Volta used this observation to construct the first electric
battery. As in your experiments, it was made of copper and zinc sheets, but instead
of a lemon it used a weak acid.

123

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