Teacher pack: Introduction to Electronics
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WRITE_TEACHER_PACKS=1 pnpm -C apps/learn vitest run lib/seed/__tests__/teacher-pack.test.tsBuild your first circuits and learn the fundamentals of Ohm’s Law, LEDs, and Arduino.
- Lessons: 12
- Total lesson time: 173 minutes (about 2 h 53 min)
- Level: beginner
- Objectives to mark: 39
- Access: every lesson is free
Lesson sequence
| # | Lesson | Minutes | Checks | Parts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Introduction to Solderless Breadboards | 12 | 7 | breadboard, battery pack, resistor, LED |
| 2 | Wire a Single LED with a Resistor | 10 | 3 | breadboard, bench supply, battery pack, resistor, LED |
| 3 | Control the LED with a Pushbutton | 10 | 3 | breadboard, bench supply, battery pack, resistor, LED, push button, switch |
| 4 | Build a Latching On/Off LED Switch | 8 | 3 | breadboard, bench supply, battery pack, resistor, LED, push button, switch |
| 5 | Add a Second LED in Parallel | 12 | 1 | breadboard, bench supply, battery pack, resistor, LED, switch |
| 6 | Make a Capacitor Fade an LED On and Off | 15 | 2 | breadboard, bench supply, battery pack, resistor, LED, switch, capacitor |
| 7 | Use a Transistor to Switch a Brighter LED | 15 | 5 | breadboard, bench supply, battery pack, resistor, LED, switch, NPN transistor |
| 8 | Build a Capacitor Delay with a Transistor | 18 | 3 | breadboard, bench supply, battery pack, resistor, LED, switch, NPN transistor, capacitor |
| 9 | Wire a Manual Traffic Light with Red, Yellow, and Green LEDs | 15 | 3 | breadboard, bench supply, battery pack, resistor, LED, switch, push button |
| 10 | Build a One-Shot Timer with the NE555 (Monostable) | 20 | 2 | breadboard, bench supply, battery pack, resistor, LED, NE555 timer, push button, capacitor |
| 11 | A Transistor as a Switch, Measured | 18 | 4 | breadboard, bench supply, resistor, NPN transistor |
| 12 | Relay and Flyback | 20 | 3 | breadboard, bench supply, resistor, NPN transistor, switch, relay, diode, LED |
| Total | 173 | 39 |
Allow 173 minutes (about 2 h 53 min) of build time across 12 lessons. The estimates assume a learner working alone at the board; a class discussion, a demonstration and a pack-away typically add a third on top.
Curriculum mapping
The last two columns are deliberately blank. Fill in your own syllabus codes and the outcome each lesson evidences, then keep this page with your scheme of work.
| # | Lesson | Focus | Your code | Your outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Introduction to Solderless Breadboards | Learn how breadboard rows, columns, and power rails connect components without soldering. | ||
| 2 | Wire a Single LED with a Resistor | Complete a series LED circuit and learn why a current-limiting resistor protects the LED. | ||
| 3 | Control the LED with a Pushbutton | Insert a momentary pushbutton into the series LED circuit and use it to turn the LED on and off. | ||
| 4 | Build a Latching On/Off LED Switch | Replace the momentary pushbutton with a latching switch so the LED stays on without holding anything. | ||
| 5 | Add a Second LED in Parallel | Wire two LED branches in parallel and see how parallel circuits share a common supply. | ||
| 6 | Make a Capacitor Fade an LED On and Off | Use a large capacitor to store charge and produce a smooth LED fade instead of an instant on/off. | ||
| 7 | Use a Transistor to Switch a Brighter LED | Use an NPN transistor as a switch to drive an LED with more current than a simple resistor circuit allows. | ||
| 8 | Build a Capacitor Delay with a Transistor | Add an RC network to a transistor base to create a timed delay — the LED turns on about a second after the switch closes. | ||
| 9 | Wire a Manual Traffic Light with Red, Yellow, and Green LEDs | Build a three-LED traffic light circuit controlled by switches, introducing shared ground, multiple current-limited outputs, and organised breadboard wiring. | ||
| 10 | Build a One-Shot Timer with the NE555 (Monostable) | Wire an NE555 timer as a monostable one-shot: a brief button tap produces a single fixed-length LED pulse (about one second) set entirely by an RC timing network, then the output switches itself off. | ||
| 11 | A Transistor as a Switch, Measured | Measure the base current and the collector current of the same transistor and see current gain as a number you took with a meter, not a claim in a datasheet. | ||
| 12 | Relay and Flyback | Use the transistor stage to drive a relay coil, switch a separate load through the contacts, and tame the inductive kick with a flyback diode. |
Objective checklist
One line per automatically-marked objective, in the order a learner meets them. Learners tick their own as they pass; a teacher can use the same list to mark a paper submission or to spot the lesson a class is stuck on.
1. Introduction to Solderless Breadboards
- Place a solderless breadboard on the bench.
- Place the 5V Battery Pack power supply.
- Wire + to the top red rail and − to the top blue rail.
- Place a 220 Ω resistor on the breadboard.
- Place an LED next to the resistor.
- Connect the resistor to the positive (Vcc) rail.
- Connect the resistor’s other end to the LED anode.
2. Wire a Single LED with a Resistor
- Wire the resistor and LED in series.
- Make the LED light up.
- Keep the LED current between 2 mA and 20 mA (safe operating range).
3. Control the LED with a Pushbutton
- Wire a pushbutton in series with the LED.
- Make the LED light up by pressing the button.
- Confirm the button controls the LED — it lights only while pressed.
4. Build a Latching On/Off LED Switch
- Wire a latching switch in series with the LED (replace the pushbutton).
- Turn the switch on and light the LED.
- Confirm the switch controls the LED — on when closed, off when open.
5. Add a Second LED in Parallel
- Light up two LEDs simultaneously in parallel.
6. Make a Capacitor Fade an LED On and Off
- Add a capacitor to the circuit.
- Make the LED fade in and out gradually (capacitor charge and discharge).
7. Use a Transistor to Switch a Brighter LED
- Add an NPN transistor to the circuit.
- Make the LED light up through the transistor collector path.
- Drive at least 15 mA through the LED (brighter than the simple 14 mA circuit).
- Switch the LED with the transistor: a small base current (through the ~1 kΩ base resistor) must control a much larger collector-path LED current.
- Confirm the switch turns the transistor-driven LED on and off.
8. Build a Capacitor Delay with a Transistor
- Add a capacitor to create the RC delay network on the transistor base.
- Include an NPN transistor to switch the LED via the delayed base voltage.
- Make the LED turn on at least 0.3 s after the switch closes (RC delay).
9. Wire a Manual Traffic Light with Red, Yellow, and Green LEDs
- Light up all three traffic-light LEDs at the same time.
- Include a current-limiting resistor in each LED branch.
- Confirm each switch controls its LED — all dark when open, all lit when closed.
10. Build a One-Shot Timer with the NE555 (Monostable)
- Include an NE555 timer, a timing resistor, a timing capacitor, and a trigger button.
- Briefly tap the trigger button: the LED must turn on for a fixed RC pulse of about one second, then switch itself off — even though you only tapped.
11. A Transistor as a Switch, Measured
- Wire the emitter to the blue GND rail.
- Wire the 470 kΩ base resistor from the red rail to the base so about 9 microamps flow into it.
- Confirm the base sits at roughly 0.7 V once it conducts.
- Wire the 1 kΩ collector resistor from the red rail to the collector; about 0.9 mA must flow — roughly a hundred times the base current.
12. Relay and Flyback
- Add the relay, a flyback diode and an LED on the contact side.
- Put the diode across the coil, cathode to the positive end, so it is reverse-biased while the coil is energised.
- Closing the switch must energise the coil and light the LED through the NO contact; opening it must put the LED out.