ELECTRIC CIRCUITS

WNA Physics

Experiment 1.1

Obtain one battery, one bulb, and one wire. Connect these
in as many ways as you can. Sketch each arrangement in
your notebook. On one side of the page, list arrangements
in which the bulb lights. On the other side of the page, list
arrangements in which the bulb does not light.

You should have sketches of at least four different

arrangements that light the bulb. How are they similar?
How are they different from arrangements in which the bulb
fails to light?

State what requirements must be met in order for a bulb to

light.

Exercise 1.2

An arrangement of a bulb, a battery, and a

wire that allows the bulb to light is said of
be a closed electric circuit. The terms
complete circuit or just circuit are also
used. The word circuit was originally used
to mean a circular route or course.

Why is a circuit an especially suitable

name for an arrangement of bulb, battery,
and wire in which the bulb is lit?

Exercise 1.3

Examine a flashlight. Make a sketch of

the flashlight showing the circuit that
exists when the bulb is lit. How many
wires are used to make this circuit?

Exercise 1.4

Write an operational definition of an

electric circuit.

Experiment 1.5

Using a bulb, battery, and two wires,

set up an electric circuit in which the
bulb is lit. Does it matter which part of
the bulb is connected to the end of the
battery with the plus sign in it?

Conductors and Insulators

Substances can be divided into

categories based on their effect on an
electric circuit. In the following
experiment, we classify some common
substances.

CAUTION!

Do not leave any circuit connected

longer than necessary to observe bulb
brightness. Leaving a circuit connected
for too long can ruin the battery (and is
not environmentally friendly).

Experiment 1.6

Use a battery, a bulb, and two wires to

make a circuit in which the bulb lights.
Obtain objects made out of several different
materials such as copper, paper, steel,
porcelain, plastic, glass, aluminum, rubber,
and pencil lead. Insert one of these objects
into the circuit.

Does the bulb continue to glow brightly or

does it dim or go out?

More Experiment 1.6

Classify your materials into different categories

according to their effect on the bulb. Make a list of
the objects in each category.

What do most objects that let the bulb light have in

common?

An object that allows the bulb to continue glowing

brightly is called a conductor. An object that makes
the bulb go out is called an insulator. Some objects,
like pencil lead, fall between the two categories.

Exercise 1.7

Suppose you have a closed box from

which two wires protrude. Explain how
to use a battery and a bulb to find out
whether there is an electrical connection
between the two wires inside the box.

Experiment 1.8

Carefully examine a bulb. Use a magnifying glass

if possible. You may also find it helpful to look at a
broken bulb. Make a careful sketch of the inside of
the bulb.

Use your test circuit from Experiment 1.6 to determine

whether each part of the bulb is a conductor or an
insulator and label it on your sketch. Describe what
you believe is the purpose of each part.

Note the two wires coming up from inside the base

of the bulb. Use your test circuit to determine where
in the base each of these wires originates.

Experiment 1.9

A. For convenience, light bulbs are usually placed in

sockets. Carefully examine a socket. Identify the
conducting and insulating parts, and label these on a
careful sketch of the socket. Use the method you
invented in Exercise 1.8 to determine which of the
conducting parts are connected to one another and
show the connections in your sketch.

If there is more than one type of socket available,

repeat this experiment for each type. Identify which
parts of one type of socket correspond with which
parts of other types.

More Experiment 1.9

B. Repeat the experiment for a battery

holder and switch. Try the switch both
open and closed. What do you thing is
the function of the switch?

More Experiment 1.9

C. Using a battery, a holder, a bulb, a

socket, and two wires, set up a circuit
that lights the bulb. Trace the path of
conductors around the circuit. Draw a
sketch of the circuit in which you show in
detail the conducting path through the
socket.

Circuit Diagrams

We will start with simple circuits,

combining one battery and one bulb.

Circuit Diagrams

Battery

Bulb

Wire

Switch

Circuit Diagrams

How can we tell if the wires are

electrically connected?

Circuit Diagrams show electrical

connections, NOT physical layout.

Circuit Diagrams

Carefully view the four circuits at the

back of the class.

Draw a simple picture of each circuit.

Draw a circuit diagram for each circuit.

Compare diagrams with your group.

Electric Current Model

Scientific Model:
A set of rules that applies to a particular system that

makes it possible to explain and predict the behavior

of that system.

As we learn more, we can change our

model.

What are our assumptions?

Exercise 2.2

A. In section 1, you found that a

complete circuit was necessary for a bulb
to light.
Does this observation suggest that the flow in

an electric circuit is one way or round trip?

Explain.
What does your answer above suggest is a
major difference between the flow in an
electric circuit and the flow of water in a
river?
Can you tell from your observations so far
the direction of the flow through the circuit?

Exercise 2.2 continued

B. Base your answers to the following

questions on the assumptions about the
flow in an electric circuit.
If 2 identical bulbs are equally bright, what

does this indicate about the electric flow

through them?
If one bulb is brighter than another identical
bulb what does this indicate about the flow
through the brighter bulb?

Flow of Current
Reasoning?

Student 1 When the bulb is lit, there is

a flow from the battery to the bulb.
There is also an equal flow from the bulb
back to the battery.

Student 2 The flow is only from the

battery to the bulb. We know this is so,
because a battery can light a bulb, but a
bulb cant do anything without a battery.

Electric Current Model

We cannot see anything flowing

We will use the term electric current to
refer to this flow
Current tells us nothing about the
nature of what flows.
A good scientific model is as simple as
possible and includes the fewest features
necessary for making correct predictions.

Experiment 2.4

Set up a 2 bulb circuit with the bulbs connected one

after another as shown.

2 bulbs connected one after another are said to be

connected in series.

A. Compare the brightness of each of the bulbs with

the brightness of an identical bulb in a single-bulb
circuit.
Remember our assumptions. How does the current through

a bulb in a single-bulb circuit compare with the current

through the same bulb when it is connected in series?
What does this imply about current through the battery?

Experiment 2.4 cont.

B. Compare the brightness of the two bulbs in

the two-bulb series circuit with each other.
What can you conclude from this observation
about the amount of current through each bulb?

Pay attention to the large differences you may

observe, rather than minor differences that may
occur if two identical bulbs are, in fact, not
quite identical.
(How can you test whether minor differences
are due to manufacturing irregularities?|)

Experiment 2.4 cont.

C. On the basis of your observations and the

reasoning you used above, respond to the
following questions:

Is current used up in the first bulb, or is the

amount of the flow the same through both bulbs?

Do you think the order of the bulbs in this circuit

might make a difference? Verify your answer by
switching the bulbs.

Experiment 2.4 cont.

Do you think the distance between the battery

and the bulb makes a difference? Verify your
answer.

Can you tell the direction of flow through the

circuit?

How does the amount of the flow through the

battery in a single-bulb circuit compare with the
flow through the battery in a circuit with two bulbs
connected in series?

Exercise 2.5

Student 1: In this circuit, the flow is from the

battery to the first bulb, where some of the current
gets used up. Then the rest flows to the second
bulb, where all the remaining current gets used up.

Student 2: We know that the current flows back

through the battery since we know that we need a
complete circuit in order for bulbs to light. If current
were used up, there wouldnt need to be a path
back to the battery. Furthermore, the bulbs are
equally bright so both must have the same amount
of current through them.

Experiment 2.6

A. Set up a two-bulb circuit with 2 identical

bulbs so that their terminals are attached
together as shown.

Two bulbs with their terminals attached together

in this way are said to be connected in parallel.

Compare the brightness of each of the bulbs

with the brightness of an identical bulb in a
single-bulb circuit.

Experiment 2.6 cont

A cont: Recall the assumptions we

have made in developing our model for
electric current. How does the current
through a bulb in a single-bulb circuit
compare with the current through the
same bulb when it is connected in
parallel with a second bulb?

Experiment 2.6 cont

B. Compare the brightness of the two bulbs

in the two-bulb parallel circuit with each
other. What can you conclude from this
observation about the amount of current
through each bulb?

Concentrate only on any large differences

you may observe, rather than the minor
differences that may occur if two identical
bulbs are, in fact, not quite identical.

Experiment 2.6 cont

C. On the basis of your observations and the

reasoning you used above, respond to the
following questions:

What makes the difference? Do you think it is

the physical layout of the or the electrical
connections? You can investigate this question
by comparing what happens:
1. When the two bulbs are both on the same side of

the battery and when they are on different sides.

2. When each bulb has separate leads to the battery
and when they terminals of the bulbs are connected
together and then connected to the battery.

Experiment 2.6 cont

D. Describe the flow around the entire

circuit for the two-bulb parallel circuit.
What do your observations of bulb
brightness suggest about the way
current through the battery divides and
recombines at the junctions where the
circuit splits into the two parallel
branches?
Use a diagram or picture to support your

answer.

Experiment 2.6 cont

E. What can you infer about the relative

amounts of current through the battery in a
single-bulb circuit and in a circuit in which
two identical bulbs are connected in parallel
across the battery?

F. Does the amount of current through a

battery appear to remain constant or to
depend on the number of bulbs in a circuit
and how they are connected?

Section 3