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Island 5 Code Rover
Snap Circuits

Circuitry

Use Snap Circuits to create a rover. POP students will design, build and test their Snap Circuit code rover and compete in obstacle course to determine the best design and driver.

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Snap Circuits Code Rover

The challenge is to use Snap Circuits to build a night rover.

Your challenge is to use Snap Circuits to build a night rover.

 

Rovers

A rover is a machine designed to move across the solid surface on a planet. Some rovers have been designed to land on other planets and carry gear or transport members of a human space flight crew. Some rovers have been built to drive completely on their own with remote control. NASA has sent an unmanned rover named Curiosity to explore Mars. NASA had four goals for their Mars exploration:

  1. Find out if there was ever life on Mars.

  2. Understand the Mars’ climate. What is the climate like today? What was it like in the past? Why did it change?

  3. Understand Mars’ geology. Why is Mars so rocky? How did the planet form?

  4. Get ready for humans to travel to Mars.

How can a rover help with NASA's goals? What types of tool or features would have to be added to Curiosity to help it complete all its tasks?

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Circuits

Electricity flows from a power source (like a battery) along a path (a wire or another conductive material) to a load (an electrical device like a light), and then back in a loop.

All circuits have these three parts: 

  1. a power source (battery)

  2. load or resistor (light, motor, fan)

  3. conductor (wire path)

A load is also called a resistor because it creates resistance between the two ends of the power supply. The resistor needs electricity to work, and as it does, it reduces the current flow. In this example, the resistor is a light. As the bulb uses some of the electricity to light up, it reduces the current.

A path does not have to be made of wires. It just needs to be made of a conductive material so there is a path between the power source and the resistor. Some circuits use metal strips, some use magnets, The Snap Circuits Rover uses color-coded wires with snaps on each end to hold them in place. Each wire is made out of copper wrapped in colored plastic. Copper wire is conductive, plastic is not. Can you think of other conductive materials?

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