Instruction Guide: The NXT Circuit
This lesson applies the learning from the previous Circuits and Switches lesson to the particulars of the NXT.
The Four Parts of a NXT Circuit (see NXT Circuit PPT : slide 1)
- Power Source – Battery
- Conducting Path – Wires
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Switch – NXT brick buttons, or other inputs
- Ask students which sensor acts like a simple switch (Touch Sensor)
- Load – Motors, or other outputs (lamps, LCD screen, speaker)
NXT Insulators, Conductors and Semiconductors
- Conductors – Wires (slide 1)
- Insulators – Plastic covers on electronic components
-
Semiconductors – Not as obvious from the outside
- LED’s on battery pack or light sensor
- LCD screen on NXT brick
- Mostly inside plastic housings (slide 2)
- Black plastics rectangles on circuit board are semiconductor computer chips
- Also found in ultrasonic, sound and light sensors
- Also found in motors (slide 3)
