Series and Parallel Circuits Computer Lab

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7 Οκτ 2013 (πριν από 4 χρόνια και 9 μήνες)

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Series and Parallel Circuits




Log on to your computer


Go to the following website:


Click the bu
tton that says “Play with sims…”


Click on the application that says Circuit Construction Kit (

AC & DC).


Click “Run now.”

You now have the raw material to create a circuit. Take a moment to look over the site and find all
the different materials. To bui
ld a circuit you will need several wires, a light bulb, a voltage source,
a voltmeter, and a non

contact ammeter. Play with it to see how to grab and manipulate these

Click the reset button.


Series Circuits

Build a simple series circuit that c
onsists of 6 pieces of wire, 1 light bulb, and 1 battery (voltage
source). In order to complete the circuit, the red circles at the end of each must overlap. Please
note that the light bulb also has TWO circles.
Your circuit is complete and working when th
e light
comes on and the blue dots begin moving.

Draw a diagram

of your circuit here.

What do you think that the moving blue dots represent?

In which direction do the blue dots flow?

Are the wires in your circuit insulators or conductors
? How do you know?

Use the tools at the side to get a voltmeter and a Non
contact ammeter. Put the voltmeter near the
battery and place the red tab at one end and the black at the other.

What is the voltage? __________

Place the ammeter crosshairs over

the moving blue dots. What is the reading? _______

Based on 2 values you just found, calculate the resistance within the circuit. Use Ohm’s Law and
show your work!

On the circuit you have just made, add 1 resistor to the circuit. You will need to rem
ove a wire by
clicking the wire and hitting remove. After you have removed a wire, replace it with a resistor
and re
insert your wire so that the circuit is complete once again.

After the addition of your resistor, did your voltage change?

d you current change? If so, what was the new current?

How was it possible to keep the same voltage while lowering the current?

Add 1 additional battery to your circuit. Use your voltmeter to determine the voltage within the
circuit. What is the ne
w voltage? Why did it increase?

What happened to the brightness of your light bulb?

What happened to the speed of the little blue dots within the circuit?

Raise your hand and let your teacher check off your working series circuit.

Click the reset
button to begin working on a parallel circuit.

Parallel Circuits

Parallel circuits provide more than one path for electrons to move. Sketch below a parallel circuit
that includes 10 wires, 2 light bulbs and 1 voltage source.

this using the simulator tool.
The blue dots will be moving and both lights will be on once
the circuit is complete. Raise your hand so that your teacher can check off your parallel circuit.

Use the voltmeter and non
contact ammeter to measure electron f
low and push.


Current (using non
contact ammeter)

How does this compare with your observations in the series circuit? Is this surprising? WHY or

Now right click on one of the wires connected to a light bulb. Remove

the wire and record your

Does this affect the voltage, amperes, or visually change the appearance of the light bulb?

Replace the wire. Now remove one of the wires touching the voltage source. What happened?

What is the differenc
e between removing the first wire and the second? Why is this significant?

Use your “grab bag” to substitute certain materials for the already given wires. Try them all. Which
materials in your grab bag are conductors and which are insulators?

You may use the tool to play around. Create a circuit using a switch. Diagram your circuit below
and show your working circuit to the teacher to receive extra credit points.

Record any observations below.