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Low-Budget Electronics Projects For High School?

Posted by timothy on from the does-school-policy-rule-out-ieds? dept.

SciGuy writes "I am a physics teacher for 9th graders. I really want to teach them modern electronics (something beyond the light bulb and battery). My hope is for a project that: 1) Is fun 2) Teaches about circuits that are relevant to their life. 3) Doesn't rely too heavily on a black box microcontroller. Individual components would probably be better. (I realize that #2 and #3 are probably contradictory. They will already be programming in my class but I want them to understand the circuitry behind modern tech.) 4) It must be as cheap as possible. Yay, public school. Unless some of the parts can be scrounged or found at home, I would probably want to keep the project around $5." What would you build?

5 of 364 comments (clear)

  1. Re:A Theremin by fm6 · · Score: 2, Funny

    Now that's a good suggestion. The only risk is that all the students will become fans of really weird movies!

  2. 555 timer by anish1411 · · Score: 2, Funny

    At school in 10th grade we had to build a diorama based around a 555 timer. I was playing half-life at the time so I wanted to incorporate the alarm sound from the 'resonance cascade' at the beginning. I asked my teacher if I could do that and he went mental. Apparently he had just given a 15 minute lecture about why we wouldn't be able to do that and I wasn't listening... :-\

  3. Re:A-stable multivibrator by TheGratefulNet · · Score: 3, Funny

    Astable multivibrator

    don't you have to be over 21 to buy those?

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  4. E-Meter by Roger+W+Moore · · Score: 2, Funny

    Have them make a theremin [wikipedia.org] (see the "Similar instruments" section as well). It makes spooky music. Great for a late-October/Halloween project.

    Better yet have them build an E-Meter. Since it is just a Wheatstone bridge they can learn something about physics. It doesn't produce spooky music but it would be great for scaring their parents at Hallowe'en.... "Mum, Dad look what I got for signing up with the scientologists!".

  5. Re:Good Luck by ocularDeathRay · · Score: 2, Funny

    I don't think I put it in my mouth, THAT time.... lol, don't you love the human brains emergency mode? where it makes sense to stick a burn into your 98.6 degree bacteria filled mouth to "cool it"

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