Explore the Arduino board - LED Circuit - AgTech

1. Notice the different types of pins and the numbers and symbols next to them on the Arduino board.

2. Find the USB connector on the board.

3. Find the pale-yellow reset button.

STEM Connections

An Arduino board is a tool that professional engineers as well as beginners can use. An Arduino board is a circuit board that contains a microcontroller, or a small computer, that can be used to control electrical and electronic devices. There are different brands and models that function in the same way as the Arduino board. An Arduino board can often be thought of as the brain of a device.

Components are connected to the Arduino board by plugging wires into holes on the board called pins. Pins that are similar to each other are located together. There is a set of pins called power pins that are located on one side of the Arduino board. These pins are like the ends of batteries; forming an electrical circuit using these pins can cause electric current to flow through the circuit and make things happen. There is a set of pins on the other side of the Arduino board that are called digital pins. These pins can be used to control electronics and make the electronics behave in different ways. The analog pins (A0-A5) on the power side of the board are not used in this activity. 

At the Thinkabit Lab, we use the GIF that accompanies this component to show the students what the Arduino Uno board looks like. The Arduino board can also be placed on a projector to show the different parts. We point out the specific pins that will be used throughout LED Circuit, LED Blink, and Servo activities because we implement all three activities in one day. 

The important components of the Arduino Uno are listed below:

• 5V – Stands for 5 volts. It’s the positive side of power and it is always 5 volts, so long as the voltage supplied to the board is at least 5 volts
   
• Vin – Stands for Voltage Input. It is the positive side of power (the voltage input equals whatever voltage is supplied to the board)
   
• GND – Stands for Ground. It’s the negative side of power
  • Notice there are a total of 3 GND pins on the board
  • All GND pins are the same
• Digital Pins 2-13 – these pins can be programmed to control different electrical components
  • The pins with the ~ next to the number are called PWM pins (3,5,6,9,10,11). PWM stands for Pulse Width Modulation. We refer to the PWM pins as bilingual because they speak more than one language. All the pins on the digital rail give a digital output, but the PWM pins can also give analog output. Digital has only 2 options: on or off, high or low; like a light switch. Analog has many options, or a range of values, like a dimmer on lights like you might see at the movies.  

My Arduino Uno doesn't look exactly like that

1. Arduino Uno boards can look different.
2. There are different models of Arduino. Does it say "Arduino Uno?"
3. There are also different brands that function the same as the Arduino Uno. 

There’s a wire stuck in the Arduino

1. An instructor can carefully use a box cutter or pliers to get it out.
2. Or, replace the Arduino.

Can’t find a particular pin

1. All boards have the pin name next to the black strip and some boards also have the pin name on the outside of the black strip.
2. A magnifying glass can help in reading names and numbers.