Bomb Diffusing

Bomb Diffusing is an activity in JumpStart Adventures 5th Grade: Jo Hammet, Kid Detective. It is intended to teach adding and subtracting decimals at a fifth grade level.

Description
In order to deactivate the bombs set by Dr. X, a small robot must be maneuvered around the circuits. Each bomb is powered by a series of batteries, and the power can be overridden by adjusting the voltage of the circuit. The robot can be moved around the circuit with the arrow keys. When the robot is on top of a switch for a battery, pressing the spacebar will turn that battery on or off. Each battery has a certain voltage, which is indicated by the number on it. Turning a battery on will add that voltage to the total voltage, and turning a battery off subtracts that battery's voltage from the total. In order to diffuse the bomb and complete the activity, the total voltage must be made to match the target number, which is displayed in dark blue beneath the total voltage number.

The robot must also avoid the defense androids, which will move along the circuits of the bomb and try to follow the robot. If one of the defense androids touches the robot, it will cause the bomb to blow, and the activity must be restarted. A defense android can be stopped if the power is cut from the loop that it is currently on.

Difficulty level differences
Skill Difficulty Game Play Difficulty
 * Level one: Working with numbers with up to two places after the decimal point.
 * Level two: Working with numbers with up to four places after the decimal point.
 * Level three: Working with numbers with up to four places after the decimal point.
 * Level one: There are two defense androids.
 * Level two: There are three defense androids.
 * Level three: There are three defense androids.

Help file description
Now we've got to stop the bomb from exploding! We've got to be quick. The bombs are powered by a series of batteries. If we can adjust the voltage of the circuit to match the target meter, we'll override the power and the bomb will not detonate. If we can't, it's kablooey for me and youey!


 * The target meter is the bottom number. The top number is the current voltage, or the total of the activated batteries.
 * YELLOW is the activated state of batteries; BLUE is the deactivated state.
 * The batteries have different voltages. Connect and disconnect wires between the batteries to reduce or increase the power in the circuit.
 * Use the arrow keys to move the robot around the circuit.
 * When you are over a battery or a wire switch, press the space bar to turn the battery on or off.


 * Careful! There are other menacing robots in here, trying to stop us. Trap a robot by activating certain switches. Then they'll leave us alone.

Deactivate the bomb and you've helped me save one of six sites Dr.X has targeted. But it's not over yet-we're off in search of the next location. Detective's Note: What happens if the bomb goes off, you ask? Don't worry, there's no such word as harm in educational software. We'll just start over.