Student Performance Objectives

The following student performance objectives (including both knowledge and skills) are based on the "Electricity Visualized" unit from CASTLE (Capacitor-Aided System for Teaching and Learning Electricity). At the conclusion of this unit, students will demonstrate the ability to:

1. define what constitutes a closed and open circuit by making reference to a battery, a bulb, and connecting wires.
2. distinguish between conductor and insulator.
3. use schematic symbols to characterize an electrical circuit.
4. define series and parallel circuit components.
5. determine the equivalent resistance of series, parallel, and mixed circuits.
6. explain the results of putting batteries in series and parallel (e.g, with respect to voltage and current)
7. define and distinguish current, voltage, amperage, capacitance, and resistance.
8. use a multimeter correctly to measure voltage drops across circuit elements and current through various parts of a circuit.
9. use Ohm's law to work out voltage drops and current in various parts of parallel, series, and mixed circuits.
10. state the limitations of Ohm's law (e.g., a battery can't adequately power a low-resistance hair dryer).
11. demonstrate conservation of energy and charge in an electrical circuit.
12. explain the workings of a capacitor.
13. create and/or interpret schematic diagrams with symbols for batteries, resistors, capacitors, etc.
14. predict the equivalent resistance of parallel, series, and mixed combinations of capacitors.
15. use the analogy of a football team and a water piper to associate voltage, current, and resistance.
16. explain what happens when a capacitor discharges through a light bulb.
17. explain when a given voltage is applied across light bulbs in series and/or parallel.
18. use the analogy of air pressure and air flow through a straw to relate voltage and current.
19. use color coding on a resistor to determine both resistance and tolerance.
20. explain the meaning of resistance and capacitance.
21. determine the power of a circuit.
22. explain safety concerns associated with an electrical circuit.
23. distinguish between AC and DC current.
24. calculate electrical field strength inside a capacitor.
25. relate voltage to charge in a capacitor.
26. calculate the electric field force on a given charge.
27. distinguish between electric field and electric force.
28. wire a simple circuit from a wiring schematic.
29. make, read, and interpret various graphs and tables.
30. given a setup and objective, to determine whether one or more parts is missing to reach the objective, and to name those parts.
31. solve problems, new to a student, involving the use of laboratory equipment.
32. solve problems based on data obtained in the laboratory.
33. recognize an unsafe circuit and correct it (short circuit, overheating of circuit elements, etc.)
34. identify and know the use and limitations of capacitors, resistors, batteries, galvanometers, and multimeters.
35. predict what will happen, on the basis of theory, what is likely to happen with a given circuit set up.