Electronics Workshop Series

Cymraeg

Aberystwyth University's Electronics Online Workshop Series

We have adapted the material created for our Robotics Club for anyone to work through at home or in school.

Each of the below sessions include a video lesson from one of our staff and a set of exercises to assess your understanding. As this page is for independent learners, answers are included.

For teachers and group leaders, we hope to soon make these resources into packs freely available for schools and STEM clubs to use in our TES Shop.

Please select a session heading to get started.

Video Lesson:

Using Tinkercad:

Tinkercad is a free in-browser software we can use to create, program, and simulate circuits. It also has classroom options for teachers - see our Educators Guide to Tinkercad.

To use the software, you will need to create an account or log-in with accepted alternatives (Google, Microsoft, Apple, or Facebook).

Once logged in, select designs from the left-hand menu. Click on new and select circuit to create a new file. Alternatively, you can scroll down your designs page to find previous circuit files you've created. Tinkercad autosaves your work after every change.

Exercises:

We have created three levels (bronze, silver, and gold) of challenge for learners to start investigating and creating circuits in Tinkercad.

All learners should start with the bronze level and work their way up as far as they can.

Click on each challenge heading to expand.


  1. Recreate this circuit:

    A circuit diagram containing two 1.5V batteries, a 1kΩ resistor, and a LED light.


    • AA batteries are 1.5V power supplies and this circuit asks for two.

    • Remember, negative connects to positive.

    • The cathode is the positive terminal on an LED.

    • A resistor can be connected either way round - it does not have a negative or positive terminal.

    If you are still stuck, use the answer button below.


    A Tinkercad circuit containing two 1.5V batteries, a 1kΩ resistor, and a LED light.



Create a new circuit file in Tinkercad (to return to the designs page click on the Tinkercad logo in the top left corner).

  1. Recreate this circuit:

    A circuit diagram containing a 3V battery, a resistor (1kΩ), a LED, and an LDR

    Tip: This includes an LDR (Light Dependent Resistor) which is called a 'photoresistor' in Tinkercad.


    • The button (round) battery is 3V, or you could use 2 AA batteries.

    • The LDR is a type of resistor, so it doesn't matter which way round it is wired.

    If you are still stuck, use the answer button below.


    A Tinkercad circuit containing a 3V battery, a resistor (1kΩ), a LED, and an LDR

  2. Start the simulator and click on the LDR/photoresistor. This will give you a light level scale you can adjust. See what happens to the LED when the light level is increased and decreased.


    • You can click and slide the light level. Moving it to the right increases the light level.




Create a new circuit file on Tinkercad for this exercise.

  1. Recreate this circuit:

    A circuit diagram showing a Micro:Bit with two loops. Both loops contain a 1kΩ resistor and a LED. One loop connects to pin 0 and the GND pin on the Micro:Bit, the other to the 3V and GND pin.

    Tip: The arch where the wires cross show they pass over each other instead of connecting.

    Tip: The GND pin on the Micro:Bit is the negative terminal.


    • The Micro:Bit replaces the need for a battery in this circuit. The power required (3V) is provided by the cable plugged into it.

    • You can use different coloured wires for the separate loops.

    If you are still stuck, use the answer button below.


    A Tinkercad circuit made using a Micro:Bit with two loops. Both loops contain a 1kΩ resistor and a LED. One loop connects to pin 0 and the GND pin on the Micro:Bit, the other to the 3V and GND pin.

    2. When you start the simulator, only one LED lights up. This is because the 3V pin acts like the positive end of a battery whilst the GND pin acts like the negative. This means anything connected to these two pins in a circuit will receive power. The other LED is attached to a numbered pin - these are programmable pins and without a program they will not provide power.

  2. Write a program so both lights are turned on and stay on.

    Tip: You can open the coding panel using the code button next to the start simulator button. Remember to stop the simulation first - you cannot edit the program whilst it is running.


    • You can use the 'digital write pin' block to set an LED on ('HIGH') or off ('LOW').

    • You could instead use an 'write analog pin' block to set the brightness (0 is off, 255 is maximum brightness).

    If you are still stuck, use the answer button below.


    The 'forever' loop contains a 'digital write pin P0 to HIGH' block.

  3. Change the program so the LED connected to pin 0 flashes on and off every 500ms.


    • The 'wait' block default measurement is seconds. You can change this to milliseconds inside the block or convert the value.

    • Remember, you will need a wait block after each change of the pin's value.

    If you are still stuck, use the answer button below.


    The 'forever' loop contains a 'digital write pin P0 to HIGH' block followed by a 'wait 500 milliseconds', 'digital write pin P0 to LOW', and a nother 'wait 500 milliseconds' block.



Create a new circuit file on Tinkercad for this exercise.

New Component: For this exercise you will be using an RGB LED. This is a LED light that can be programmed to light up in a variety of different colours. This component has 4 connection pins as labelled in the below image.

An RGB LED showing the four pins and their labels. From left to right these are Red, Cathode, Blue, and Green
  1. Create a circuit containing a BBC Micro:Bit, a resistor (1kΩ) and a RGB LED.

    Tip: Each colour pin will need to be connected to a different programmable pin on the Micro:Bit.


    • The cathode is the positive terminal on the RGB LED.

    • The resistor will need to go between the cathode of the RGB LED and the GND pin of the Micro:Bit.

    • Use different coloured wires for each pin to help.

    If you are still stuck, use the answer button below.


    A Tinkercad circuit with a Micro:Bit, RGB LED, and a resistor. The red pin on the LED is connected to pin 0 on the Micro:Bit. The green to pin 1 and the blue to pin 2. The LED's cathode is connected to a resistor which then connects to the Micro:Bit's GND pin.

  2. Program your circuit so the light changes colour every 2 seconds, repeating this sequence: red, green, blue.


    • For this, we can use the 'digital write pin' blocks.

    • Don't forget to turn off a colour before showing the next.

    If you are still stuck, use the answer button below.

    Be aware, the Micro:Bit pins used by each colour may be different for your circuit.

    A 'forever' loop containing the following blocks in order: 'digital write pin P2 to LOW', 'digital write pin P0 to HIGH', 'wait 2 secs', 'digital write pin P0 to LOW', 'digital write pin P1 to HIGH', 'wait 2 secs', 'digital write pin P1 to LOW', 'digital write pin P2 to HIGH'.

  3. Change your program so the light changes colour every 2 seconds, repeating this sequence: red, magenta, blue, cyan, green, yellow, white.

    Tip: Magenta, cyan, and yellow light are each made up from mixing two colours from red, blue, and green. For more information about mixing light colours please see our Science of Colour activity.


    • See what happens if you have red and blue both set to 'HIGH' at the same time. Repeat with blue and green, then green and red.

    • White light is created by having all the pins set to 'HIGH'.

    • Don't forget to turn off the colours not needed.

    If you are still stuck, use the answer button below.

    Be aware, the Micro:Bit pins used by each colour may be different for your circuit.

    A 'forever' loop containing the following blocks in order: 'digital write pin P1 to LOW' 'digital write pin P2 to LOW', 'digital write pin P0 to HIGH', 'wait 2 secs', 'digital write pin P2 to HIGH', 'wait 2 secs', 'digital write pin P0 to LOW', 'wait 2 secs', 'digital write pin P1 to HIGH', 'wait 2 secs', 'digital write pin P2 to LOW', 'wait 2 secs', 'digital write pin P0 to HIGH', 'wait 2 secs', 'digital write pin P2 to HIGH', 'wait 2 secs'.

Video Lesson:

Exercises:

This session looks at creating circuits in Tinkercad to investigate current and voltage.

All learners should start with the bronze level and work their way up as far as they can.

Click on each challenge heading to expand.


New Information:

A circuit made up of a single loop of wires and components is called a Series Circuit.

  1. Recreate this series circuit:

    A circuit diagram containing a 9V batteries, a 1kΩ resistor, two LEDs and an Ammeter in a single loop (series circuit).


    • Tinkercad does not include an Ammeter, instead it has a multi-meter that can be used to measure current in the same way.

    If you are still stuck, use the answer button below.


    A Tinkercad circuit containing a 9V batteries, a 1kΩ resistor, two LEDs and an Ammeter in a single loop (series circuit).

  2. What is the current in this circuit?


    • If the value is negative, the meter wires are the wrong way round.

    • Check the mode of the multi-meter is set to Amperage.

    • The leds should all be lit, if not, check your wiring.

    If you are still stuck, use the answer button below.

    You should have a value on the meter of 5.14mA. This means the current in your circuit is 5.14 milli-Amps, or 0.00514 Amps.


  3. What voltage does each LED use?

    Tip: You will need to add two more multi-meters to the circuit.


    • To measure the voltage for each LED, you will need to add a multi-meter to each.

    • Here is the new circuit diagram for what you need to add.

      A circuit diagram containing a 9V batteries, a 1kΩ resistor, two LEDs and an Ammeter in a single loop (series circuit). Then, a Voltmeter connected 'across' each LED.

    • Again, if you have a negative reading it means the multi-meter wires are the wrong way round.

    If you are still stuck, use the answer button below.


    A Tinkercad circuit containing a 9V batteries, a 1kΩ resistor, two LEDs and an Ammeter in a single loop (series circuit). Then, a Voltmeter connected 'across' each LED. These multimeters each show usage of 1.92 Volts.



New Information:

You can also have Parallel Circuits. These are made up of more than one loop.

Here is an example:

Circuit Diagram

A circuit diagram containing a 3V battery with an LED connected, and a second LED connected across it (the same way a Voltmeter would have been connected).

Tinkercad Circuit

A circuit diagram containing a 3V battery with an LED connected, and a second LED connected across it (the same way a Voltmeter would have been connected).

Circuit

A circuit containing a two 1.5V batteries with an LED connected, and a second LED connected across it (the same way a Voltmeter would have been connected).

From this example, we hope you can see that we connect Voltmeters in parallel circuits already, whilst Ammeters are in series.

  1. Recreate this circuit:

    A circuit diagram containing a 9V battery, a resistor (1kΩ), an Ammeter and a LED in series, with a second LED connected in parallel to the first.


    • Wires can only connect to terminals on components, not to each other.

    • Connect the second LED in the same way you would connect a Voltmeter.

    If you are still stuck, use the answer button below.


    A Tinkercad circuit containing a 9V battery, a resistor (1kΩ), an Ammeter and a LED in series, with a second LED connected in parallel to the first.

  2. Add two Voltmeters to the circuit to measure the voltage used by each LED.

    Tip: This will require more parallel connections to the LEDs.


    • Negative values mean the wiring is wrong.

    • One LED will have 3 different wires connected to each terminal - using different wire colours might help.

    If you are still stuck, use the answer button below.


    A Tinkercad circuit containing a 9V battery, a resistor (1kΩ), an Ammeter and a LED in series, with a second LED connected in parallel to the first. There is then a Voltmeter connected in parallel to each LED.

New Information:

We have now created a circuit with two LEDs in series (the bronze challenge), and a circuit with two LEDs in parallel (the silver challenge).

What would happen in either of these circuits if one of the LEDs was broken? Would the other one light up? Why?

Series Circuit with broken lightbulb:

A circuit containing two AA batteries and two lightbulbs in series. None of the lights are lit.

Parallel Circuit with broken lightbulb:

A circuit containing two AA batteries and two lightbulbs in parallel with each other. One of the lights is brightly lit.

When a component breaks, the electrons can no longer travel through it. This means it breaks the circuit if all the components are in series. However, a parallel component gives the electrons a different route back to the battery.




New Component:

For this exercise, we will be using a new component, a slide-switch.


The slide switch available on Tinkercad with the three pins labeled left to right; Terminal 1, Common, Terminal 2.

Circuit example of the switch in both the open and closed position.

Closed Switch

A series circuit diagram containing a 3V battery, a 1kΩ, a LED and a closed switch.

A Tinkercad series circuit containing a 3V battery, a 1kΩ, a LED and a closed switch.

Open Switch

A series circuit diagram containing a 3V battery, a 1kΩ, a LED and an open switch.

A Tinkercad series circuit containing a 3V battery, a 1kΩ, a LED and an open switch.

Create a new circuit file on Tinkercad for this exercise.

  1. Create a circuit which has 3 LEDs, each in parallel, powered by a 9V battery. Then add a slide-swich so as 1 LED is always on, whilst the other 2 are controlled by the slide-switch.

    Tip: You will also need to include a 1kΩ resistor.


    • When connecting the slide-switch, use one of the terminals (it doesn't matter which) and the common pin.

    • The switch will need to be after the first LED to control only 2 of the LEDs.

    If you are still stuck, use the answer button below.


    Tinkercad circuit with 3 leds in parallel connected to a resistor and 9V battery. The slide-switch is positioned after the first LED to control the other two.

  2. Insert multi-meters to measure the voltages across each of the LEDs when they are all turned on.


    • Voltmeters need to be connected in parallel to the component they are measuring the voltage across.

    The voltage across each LED should read 1.87 Volts.


  3. Now, open the switch and measure the voltage used by the lit LED.

    The voltage should now be 1.95 Volts.




Create a new circuit file on Tinkercad for this exercise.

New Diagram Symbol: For this exercise you will be using an RGB LED. This is a LED light that can be programmed to light up in a variety of different colours. This component has 4 connection pins as labelled in the below image.

An RGB LED showing the four pins and their labels. From left to right these are Red, Cathode, Blue, and Green

This component is represented in circuit diagrams with this:

A wire that forks into three prongs each with an LED symbol (without the circle) attcahed before terminating in a small circle.

The circuit diagram symbol shows the 4 seperate pins, labelling three with the relevant colour, with the fourth being the cathode.

  1. Recreate this circuit in Tinkercad:

    A circuit diagram showing a series circuit with a 9V battery, a 1kΩ resistor and a RGB LED wired to the cathode and the green terminal.

    • The cathode is the positive terminal on the RGB LED.

    • This circuit only requires the cathode and the green pin to be wired.

    If you are still stuck, use the answer button below.


    A Tinkercad circuit showing a series circuit with a 9V battery, a 1kΩ resistor and a RGB LED wired to the cathode and the green terminal.

  2. Change your circuit to make the RGB LED light up yellow instead.


    • You will need to add one more wire to the circuit.

    • Yellow light is made up of both green and red light.

    If you are still stuck, use the answer button below.


    A Tinkercad circuit showing a circuit with a 9V battery, a 1kΩ resistor and a RGB LED with the cathode connected to the negative terminal of the battery via a resistor, whilst both the red and green terminals are connected to the positive terminal of the battery.

Video Lesson:


Video Lesson:

Exercises:

This session looks at creating circuits in Tinkercad with an Arduino Uno.

All learners should start with the bronze level and work their way up as far as they can.

Click on each challenge heading to expand.


  1. Create a circuit with an Arduino Uno R3, a breadboard, a resistor and an LED. Have it wired so the LED is always on (does not require programming).

    Tip: Use the 5 Volt connection on the Arduino for this circuit.


    • Connect the negative row on the breadboard to one of the GND pins on the Arduino.

    • The positive row on the breadboard should be connected to the 5V pin on the Arduino.

    • We have created a circuit diagram to help:

      A circuit diagram showing a resistor and LED connected to the 5V and GND pins on the Arduino.

    • If the LED does not light-up, check that you have the cathode connected to the negative and the anode to the positive.

    If you are still stuck, please use the answer button below.


    The Tinkercad version of this circuit showing the LED lit up in the simulator.

  2. Connect another LED with a resistor to pin 2.

    Tip: This will not light up in the simulator as it does not have a program yet.


    • This LED will be connected to the GND (negative terminal) and Pin 2.

    • We have created a circuit diagram to help:

      The same diagram as for the previous stage with an additional circuit containing a resistor and an LED connected betwwen the GND and Pin 2 on the Arduino.

    If you are still stuck, please click on the answer button below.


    The Tinkercad version of this circuit using a breadboard.

  3. Program the Arduino (using blocks) to have the LED on pin 2 flash on and off using a wait time of 500ms between changes.

    Tip: Remember to include the wait after both turning the light on and off.


    • An LED is an output and the wait is a control block.

    • The wait block can be changed to milliseconds.

    If you are still stuck, please use the answer button below


    Inside the forever loop there is a 'set pin 2 to HIGH' followed by a 'wait 500 milliseconds', a 'set pin 2 to LOW', and a 'wait 500 milliseconds' block.



Before you start this challenge, please delete any code from your forever loop ready to create a new program.

  1. Add two more LEDS (with resistors) to your circuit. One should connect to pin 4, the other to pin 7 on the Arduino.


    • We have produced a circuit diagram which may help:

      A circuit diagram showing how the four LEDS and their accompanying resistors are coneected together.

    If you are still stuck, please use the answer button below.


    The Tinkercad version of the above circuit using a breadboard.

  2. In your program, create a variable called myNumber and in the forever loop have this variable set to a random number between 0 and 3. Have this value show on the serial monitor.

    Tip: The serial monitor can be opened by clicking on the serial monitor bar at the bottom of the code section.


    • If the numbers are being produced to quickly, add a wait block to the forever loop.

    • We use the serial monitor to see readings, information, and to debug our programs.

  3. Now create a program that will light up the same number of lights as the value of myNumber.

    Tip: Tinkercad blocks do not include 'else if' statements. Instead, you can use if-statements stacked inside else-statments.


    • Here is an example of how you can stack the else and if-statements to recreate the same effect as using an 'else if' statement.

      A demonstration of how to stack the if and else statements together to recreate the effect of using 'else if' statements.

    • Don't forget to turn off the LEDS when they are not needed.

    • You will need to put a wait at the end of the forever loop to ensure the lights have time to turn the LEDs on or off.

    If you are still stuck, please use the answer button below.


    The forever loop now houses an if-statement that sets all the LEDS to LOW when myNumber = 0. Then a stacked if-statement inside the else for when myNumber = 1 with one LED set to HIGH, with another stacked if-statement for when myNumber = 2 with two LEDs set to HIGh, with a final stacked if-statement for when myNumber = 3 with all the LEDS set to HIGH.



Create a new circuit for this challenge.

  1. Create this circuit on a breadboard in Tinkercad:

    A circuit with an LDR (otherwise known as a photoresistor) and a resistor connected to the 5V, GND, and A0 pins.

    • In this case the LDR is connected to power all the time whilst the A0 pin allows us to collect data from the component.

    • Here is an example of how you could connect together the LDR with the Arduino:

      A magnified section of one way to connect the LDR to the Arduino in a breadboard. The negative row is connected to the GND pin whilst the positive to the 5V pin. a resistor is used to bridge the negative to line 29 on the breadboard where a wire connects to pin A0 and to the terminal of the LDR. The positive row is connected to line 28 with a wire, where the other LDR terminal is inserted.

      • If you are still stuck, please use the answer button below.


      The 5V pin on the Arduino is connected to the bottom positive row of the breadboard. The GND pin is connected to the bottom negative row. The LDR/Photoresistor is plugged into 4j and 5j. A resistor bridges from 4f to 4d whilst there are bridging wires from 5f to 5e, a4 to negative row, and 5a to the positive row.

  2. In the program, create a variable and set it to the anolog reading from the LDR/Photoresistor. Have these values printed in the serial monitor. Use this to determine the full range of values the LDR can generate.

    Tip: You can change the light level by clicking on the LDR/Photoresistor during the simulation and use the slider bar that appears.


    • Choose a suitable variable name, such as ldrValue.

    • Remember, you can open the serial monitor by clicking on the bar at the bottom of the coding window.

    If you are still stuck, please use the answer button below.


    The forever loop contains a 'set ldrValue to read analog pin A0' and a 'print to serial monitor ldrValue with newline' block.

    The range of values for the LDR/Photoresistor is 6 to 679.


  3. Add an LED to the circuit and connect it to pin 2. Program the LED to turn on when the LDR reading is less than the middle of its range.

    Tip: Remember to turn the LED off when the LDR value increases above the middle range value.


    • Use an if and else statement for the LED to make sure it turns off when the condition is no longer true.

    • The middle value can be calculated using (679 - 6) ÷ 2.

    If you are still stuck, please use the answer button below.





  1. Create a new circuit, using a breadboard, that takes readings from a temperature sensor.

  2. Add a blue, a red, and a white programmable LED to the circuit.

  3. Write a program for your circuit that has the blue light turn on when the temperature is below 0°C, the white light when the temperature is between 0 and 35°C, and the red light when the temperature is 35°C or more.

Video Lesson:

Exercises

This session looks at creating circuits in Tinkercad with an Arduino Uno.

All learners should start with the bronze level and work their way up as far as they can.

Click on each challenge heading to expand.



  1. Connect a potentiometer to an Arduino (using a breadboard), then write a program to print the values of the potentiometer into the serial monitor and work out its range.

  2. Add a RGB LED to the circuit using the analog output pins. In the program, map the potentiometer input to the red pin of the RGB LED. The higher the input, the brighter the red light.

  3. Add a second potentiometer and map it's values to the green pin of the RGB LED.

  4. Finally, add a third potentiometer mapped to the green pin of the RGB LED.

You now have a circuit that allows you to create any colour of light by adjusting the potentiometer values.


Create a new circuit for this challenge.

  1. Connect a push button to an Arduino using a breadboard. Write a to tell when the button is pressed.

  2. Add a piezo buzzer to the circuit and program it to sound when the button is pressed.

  3. Now add two more buttons and program them to play different tones using the buzzer.

You now have a simple musical instrument.




Create a new circuit for this challenge.

  1. Create this circuit:


  2. Write a program where pressing the button generates a different random number between 0 and 255 for each RGB LED colour pin.



  1. Create a new circuit with an Arduino, a breadboard, and a piezo buzzer.

  2. Program your circuit to play a tune using different tones on the piezo buzzer.


Video Lesson: