- On the Arduino board, remove the red wire from the 5V pin.
- Insert the red wire into pin 13 on the opposite side of the Arduino board.
STEM Connections
In this activity, another function of the Arduino board is introduced. It serves not only as a power source as noted by the power pins, but it can also be controlled by computer programs using the digital pins Before you move the red wire, notice that the LED is not blinking because the circuit is still connected through the 5V pin on the Arduino board. The 5V pin is a power pin. Power pins provide power, just like a battery. There are digital pins on the opposite side of the Arduino that can be controlled by computer programs that you uploaded to the Arduino board. The uploaded Blink program is controlling whether the voltage is HIGH or LOW on pin 13. So, when you move the red wire to pin 13 you should notice that the LED begins blinking.
We encourage teachers to ensure each team has a blinking LED before moving on to the next step.
We also encourage students to wait until we explain every section of the Arduino code before students change their code.
If you are using the Thinkabit Lab Notebook:
Have students fill in the blank on page 14:
To make the LED Blink, move the red wire to Pin 13