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Circuit Construction Kit DC Virtual Lab Guide

The document provides tips for using the Circuit Construction Kit simulation, including how to save and load circuit configurations, explore circuits using right click functions, analyze circuits using current and voltage charts, and reset components. It also notes some simplifications in the simulation model and insights into how the simulation can help students learn challenging circuit concepts and skills. Suggestions are made for incorporating the simulation into homework, lectures, activities, and labs.

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606 views

Circuit Construction Kit DC Virtual Lab Guide

The document provides tips for using the Circuit Construction Kit simulation, including how to save and load circuit configurations, explore circuits using right click functions, analyze circuits using current and voltage charts, and reset components. It also notes some simplifications in the simulation model and insights into how the simulation can help students learn challenging circuit concepts and skills. Suggestions are made for incorporating the simulation into homework, lectures, activities, and labs.

Uploaded by

inu0031
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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PhET Tips for Teachers Circuit Construction Kit (All versions) Written by Trish Loeblein, Sam Reid, Kathy

Perkins, last updated July 19, 2010 Tips for controls:


Components are dragged from the toolbox to make circuits with the exception of the voltmeter and stopwatch. Use the Save button to save a configuration for lecture or homework. In order to open a saved circuit, download the file. To open a file, Circuit Construction Kit simulation must be running, press the LOAD button, if the file was not saved with the .cck extension, then in the FILE TYPES box, select ALL FILES. Right Click helps explore many situations. For example, you can break a junction, remove a component, or change values like resistance. The current charts have a movable sensor than one chart, click again on the button that can be dragged to different locations, If you want more . The voltage charts work similarly, but requires

that both sensors are connected across a component You can Pause the sim and then use Step to incrementally analyze. If you are doing a lecture demonstration, set your screen resolution to 1024x768 so the simulation will fill the screen and be seen easily. The Reset Dynamics will discharge any capacitors or inductors Under Options, you can change the colors if it is helpful for viewing.

Important modeling notes / simplifications:


The model is computed with Modified Nodal Analysis. Capacitors and inductors are linearized at each time step, and dynamic timestep subdivisions are used to trade off accuracy and speed. There are 4 versions of Circuit Construction Kit. The DC version is the simplest and is a good spot to start students. The AC version includes AC voltage sources, capacitors, and inductors. The Virtual Lab versions do not have the ammeter that can be moved onto components to determine the current. This was a request of teachers who use ammeters that must be incorporated into the circuit. Fire denotes a short circuit or very high current If the current is high and the blue dots for the electrons cannot be drawn fast enough, the sim changes speed and this displays : . When you change the Wire Resistivity, the amount of resistance will vary with the length of the wire. So to find the resistance value for any wire, read both the current and voltage and use Ohms Law R=V/I

Insights into student use / thinking:


Students sometimes have difficulty recognizing if a switch is completely closed or not. Our studies show that complex concepts and lab skills about circuits may be made easier for students who use this simulation. To read more, see these articles (names have been shortened for simplification). Assessing..Environments Assessing..Tutorials

Suggestions for sim use:


For tips on using PhET sims with your students see: Guidelines for Inquiry Contributions and Using PhET Sims The simulations have been used successfully with homework, lectures, in-class activities, or lab activities. Use them for introduction to concepts, learning new concepts, reinforcement of concepts, as visual aids for interactive demonstrations, or with in-class clicker questions. To read more, see Teaching Physics using PhET Simulations For activities and lesson plans written by the PhET team and other teachers, see: Teacher Ideas & Activities

Authors: Loeblein, Reid, Perkins

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