The potentiometer

Principle

The students should first recognize from the model that a given voltage can be divided with a potentiometer (voltage divider), and that the dividing function is based on the law for the series connection of resistances U₁/R₁  = U₂/R₂  = ... = U_n/R_n. For a homogenous wire, we accordingly have l₁/R₁  = l₂/R₂  = ... = l_n/R_n. The potentiometer must hereby not be under load. The students should then use a technical potentiometer, so that they can clearly understand how it functions by working with it.

Benefits

• No additional cable connections between the building blocks needed - clear arragned and quick setup
• Contact saftey due to puzzle blocks system
• Corrosion-free gold plated contacts
• Doubled earning sucess: Electric circuit diagram on top, real components can be seen unterside

Tasks

How does a potentiometer function?

Determine the working principle of a potentiometer from a model of a potentiometer and subsequently use a technical potentiometer to vary the brightness of a filament lamp.