LED Blinking Using Arduino

1. Activity Name:

LED Blinking Using Arduino

2. Components Required:

Component	Quantity	Description
Arduino Uno/Nano	1	Microcontroller board to control the LED
LED (Light Emitting Diode)	1	Emits light when powered
Resistor (220Ω - 330Ω)	1	Limits current to protect the LED
Jumper Wires	2-3	For making electrical connections
Breadboard (Optional)	1	Helps in easy prototyping

3. Explanation:

This activity demonstrates the basic working of an LED with an Arduino board. The LED will blink ON and OFF at a fixed interval, controlled by the Arduino program.

Working Principle:

• The Arduino sends HIGH and LOW signals to the LED.
• When the pin is HIGH, the LED turns ON.
• When the pin is LOW, the LED turns OFF.
• The delay() function introduces a pause between ON and OFF states.

 

4. Circuit Connections:

Component	Arduino Pin
LED Anode (+)	D13
LED Cathode (-)	GND
Resistor (220Ω - 330Ω)	Between LED Anode & D13

Circuit Diagram:

 

(You can connect the LED to any digital pin, but here we use pin 13 as it has a built-in LED on most Arduino boards.)

Wiring Instructions:

1. Connect the longer leg (Anode) of the LED to Arduino digital pin 13 via a 220Ω resistor.
2. Connect the shorter leg (Cathode) of the LED to GND (Ground) of Arduino.

 5. Arduino Code for LED Blinking

 void setup() {
  pinMode(13, OUTPUT);  // Set pin 13 as an output
}

void loop() {
  digitalWrite(13, HIGH);  // Turn LED ON
  delay(1000);             // Wait for 1 second
  digitalWrite(13, LOW);   // Turn LED OFF
  delay(1000);             // Wait for 1 second
}

Explanation of Code:

1. setup() Function:
• Configures pin 13 as an OUTPUT using pinMode(13, OUTPUT);.
2. loop() Function:
• Turns ON the LED with digitalWrite(13, HIGH);.
• Waits for 1 second using delay(1000);.
• Turns OFF the LED with digitalWrite(13, LOW);.
• Waits for 1 second again before repeating the process.

 

6. Conclusion:

This basic LED blinking activity helps students understand:
✅ Basic circuit connections with Arduino
✅ How to control an LED using digital output
✅ Understanding of pinMode(), digitalWrite(), and delay() functions
✅ Introduction to microcontroller programming

This is a fundamental step in learning Arduino programming and can be extended to control multiple LEDs, motors, and sensors in advanced projects. 🚀