Connect the Red Wire

1. Plug one end of the red wire into the pin on the Arduino board labeled 5V on the power rail.

2. Plug the other end of the same red wire into any hole in the red row of the breadboard.

3. Use the red marker to mark this on your schematic as shown in the video. Note: the schematic does not actually show the breadboard. Remember, the breadboard is just a device used to connect different components.

STEM Connections

Engineers use breadboards to design electrical circuits. Plugging the red wire into the breadboard electrically connects all the other pins in the red row of that breadboard to the red wire. With the red wire plugged in, electric current can be accessed from the Arduino board’s 5V pin using any of the four remaining pins in the red row of the breadboard.

The 5V pin is attached to the positive terminal of the power source. Remember, electric current flows through a circuit beginning at the positive terminal of the power source. You are building your electrical circuit beginning from the positive terminal.

The label 5V stands for 5 volts. Volts are a measurement of the voltage, or how much force the power source takes to move the electric current through the circuit.  

At the Thinkabit Lab, we model how to connect the red wire to the Arduino board and the breadboard, as follows:

1. The color coding of breadboard and wire ensure students connect positive to positive.

2. Use the red marker to mark the schematic from the positive side of power to the resistor is a way to visualize which row in the breadboard those components go into. Tell students that they have not yet added the resistor, and they may write breadboard above the resistor symbol if that helps them to visualize the connections they are making.

3. Write out the instruction of “Red Wire: 5V – Red Row” so the students have multiple ways of sensing what to do next, i.e. visually (schematic), verbally, and in writing.

4. Ask students to double check that the red wire is in 5V and not pin 5 on the digital side.

5. Remind students that any of the 5 holes in the red row of the breadboard will work.

If you are using the Thinkabit Lab Notebook:

Have students fill in the blank on page 13 after “Red Wire” with “5V to red row" and color their schematic.

Red Wire:   5V to red row   

I don't have a red wire

1. While the actual color of the wire does not matter, red is typically used to indicate the positive side of a power source and it makes it easier to use for instruction.

There’s a wire stuck in 5V

1. An instructor or adult can use a box cutter or pliers to remove the wire

2. Or, replace the Arduino

3. Or, use Vin

Explanation: Vin stands for volts in, or voltage input. A computer's USB port provides about 5 volts of electricity, therefore using the Vin should have the same effect as a 5V.

Wire doesn't fit in the breadboard or Arduino

1. Use 22-gauge wire

2. Use a different hole in the same row on breadboard

Wire doesn't have enough exposed metal to connect to the Arduino or breadboard

1. An instructor or adult can use the wire cutters to strip the plastic coating off the end of the wire