Section outline

  • You’ve learned about electricity and power — now let’s connect everything. Breadboards and wires act like roads in your robot city, guiding electricity to where it’s needed!

    • 🧠 What is a Breadboard?

      A breadboard lets you build circuits without soldering. Just plug in wires, sensors, LEDs, or an Arduino.

      Tip: It’s reusable — perfect for learning and testing!

      🧃 Why the Name?

      Early inventors used wooden bread-cutting boards with nails to build circuits. That’s how it got the name! 🍞

      🛣️ How It Works

      • Top/Bottom Rows: Power (+) and Ground (–)
      • Middle Columns: Connect components

      🧪 Try It!

      Place an LED and resistor on the breadboard, connect a battery — watch it glow!

    • 🔌 What are Jumper Wires?

      Jumper wires are colorful wires with metal ends that help you connect different parts on a breadboard.

      Types of jumper wires:

      • Male-to-Male (most common)

      • Male-to-Female

      • Female-to-Female

      🎮 It’s like connecting puzzle pieces — each wire connects one idea to the next.

      While not mandatory, most people use these colors for clarity:

      Color Used For
      Red Power (+)
      Black Ground (–)
      Yellow Signal wires
      Green Extra connections

       

    • ⚠️ Common Mistakes

      • Connecting both LED legs to the same row
      • Skipping the resistor — can burn the LED!
      • Mixing up power (+) and ground (–)
      • Loose wires — double-check before turning on

      🤖 Tiny Tech!

      Some breadboards are coin-sized — used in fingertip-sized robots. Small but smart!

      🧪 Challenge: Light It Up

      You need: Breadboard, LED, 220Ω resistor, 2 jumper wires, battery/USB power

      1. Place LED on the board
      2. Short leg → Resistor → Ground (–)
      3. Long leg → Power rail (+)

      🌟 See the LED glow!

      Component Connected To
      LED (long leg) Power (+)
      LED (short leg) Resistor → Ground (–)