Activity

Solar panel

Summary
Light a bulb or turn a fan with a solar panel, with light from a flashlight or lightbulb.
Science content
Physics: Energy forms, Conservation of Energy (1, 3, 4, 5)
Physics: Electricity, Electromagnetism (7)
Earth/Space: Sustainable practices, Interconnectedness (2, 5, 7)
Science competencies (+ questioning + manipulation + others that are in every activity)
Questioning/predicting: predicting (1 up), hypothesizing (7)
Planning/conducting: planning investigations (3 up)
Processing/analyzing: comparing observations with predictions (1 up)
Processing/analyzing: considering alternative explanations (5 up)
Evaluating: inferring (3 up)
Evaluating: identifying environmental implications (1 up)
LED flashlight on the solar panel lights a super red LED bulb
incandescent bulb on the solar panel brightly lights a super red LED bulb
incandescent bulb on the solar panel dimly lights a 3V LED bulb
incandescent bulb on the solar panel turns a fan
Lessons activity is in
Energy from fossil fuels and renewable sources
Materials
  • solar panels (mine are 0.3W 5V from AliExpress)
  • flashlight/light bulb
  • LED bulbs including a low voltage 'super red'
  • optional: small fan (test first) - mine is a toy windmill attached to this generator
Procedure

Test before use to make sure the solar panel makes enough power to light the bulb/turn the fan.

Cross the solar panel wires with the LED terminals, matching black to black and red to red, and tape to the tabletop.
Shine the flashlight or light bulb on the solar panel to make electricity which can turn on the LED light/turn the fan. An incandescent bulb will light the LED more brightly and be able to turn the fan, whereas an LED flashlight will likely not turn the fan.

The light energy of the flashlight/lightbulb is converted to electrical energy in the solar panel, and back to light energy in the LED bulb.

Discuss the energy transformations, from light energy to electrical energy to light (or motion) energy.
Discuss renewable energy sources of electricity.

Grades taught
Gr 4
Gr 5
Gr 7