Simple Circuits

The ability to use electrical energy to do work has significantly changed the way we live. Controlling
electrical energy has given us the ability to light our homes with the flip of a switch, talk to relatives
hundreds of miles away, and launch a spacecraft to the moon and return it safely back to Earth, among
other things. The first step to understanding electricity is by studying the behavior of simple circuits. These
laboratory experiments will familiarize you with how simple series and parallel circuits operate.

Concepts
• Series circuits • Parallel circuits • Circuit diagrams

Background
Work in an electrical system is done by moving negatively charged particles called electrons. The
movement of electrons in an electrical system is called electric current. Electric current can not be seen
because electrons are too small to be viewed, but its effect can be observed and measured. The motion of
electrons traveling down a wire can be compared to the movement of water in a hose. Just like with
water flowing through a hose, energy must be supplied to the electrons before they will move in a wire
and provide energy to do work. The energy can be supplied by chemical means, such as with a battery, or
by mechanical means, such as with a waterwheel in a river turning a generator. The amount of energy
supplied to each electron passing through the electrical system is called voltage. Voltage can be compared
to the potential energy (stored energy) of water that is contained in a water tower. Work is done on water
to lift it into a water tower, giving water potential energy. When the water is released from the tower, it
will provide the same amount of energy that was initially put into it. The water can not provide additional
energy above its initial potential energy. The potential energy is directly related to the height of the
water tower. The taller the water tower, the more energy the running water can supply at the bottom.
Voltage in an electrical system is similar to the height of the water tower. The negative terminal of a
battery can be considered the top of a water tower where all the electrons have accumulated and are
ready to flow down a wire. The positive terminal can be considered the bottom of the water tower. The
negative electrons are attracted to the positive terminal, according to the fundamental principle that
unlike electric charges attract each other. In order for the electrons to move from the high point (negative
terminal) to the low point (positive terminal) and do useful work, there must be an unbroken path
between the terminals of the power supply that will allow the electrons to flow. This unbroken path is
called a circuit. When the path is broken, the circuit is open, and no electricity will flow.
In a simple direct current (DC) circuit, a load (also called appliances or resistors, e.g., lightbulbs, motors, clocks,
etc.), is con- nected between the terminals of a power supply with conductive wires. The electrons travel from
the negative terminal through the load, providing energy to operate it, and stop at the positive terminal. For an
incandescent lightbulb, the energy from the flowing electrons causes the tungsten filament to heat up and
produce visible light. The amount of work done on each load is determined by the voltage drop across it. The
voltage drop is the energy removed from the electrical system per unit of charge passing through the load. The
total voltage drop of all the loads in an electrical circuit will always be equal to the total voltage provided by the
electrical power source. If a 9-V battery is connected to a circuit, the voltage drop through the entire circuit will
always be 9 volts—no more, no less. For this to occur, it means that one load in a multiple load circuit cannot
consume all the energy from the power source. The energy distributes itself throughout all the loads depending
upon how many loads there are and how they are connected in the circuit. The voltage drop across an individual
load in a circuit depends on its resistance and the amount of current that travels through it. Resistance is a
measure of how difficult it is for the electrons (current) to travel through a load. Generally speaking, the
resistance of load is constant. Therefore, since the total voltage and resistance of each load are constant in a
simple DC circuit, the total current through each load (and therefore the voltage drop through each load) will
depend on how the loads are connected in the circuit. There are two ways to connect loads in simple DC circuits
—in series and in parallel. Table 1 shows common symbols used in circuit diagrams to represent components in a
circuit.
 Symbol Circuit Component

Load or resistor (general)

Lightbulb

Battery; multiple

Switch
Ope Close
n d

Table 1.
In a series circuit (see Figure 1), all of the loads are connected together in a line from the negative
terminal to the positive terminal of the electric power supply. There is only one path for the current to
travel and therefore the current is the same through each load. The total current in the circuit, and
therefore the current flowing through each load, depends on the total resistance of the entire series
circuit. The more loads that are connected in series, the higher the total resistance. The higher the
resistance, the lower the total current traveling through the circuit and through each load. Since every load
in a series circuit will receive the same current, the voltage drop across each load in a series circuit
depends on its resistance.

R1

V
R2

Figure 1. Resistors in series

In the following experiments on series and parallel circuits, observe how the brightness of the
lightbulbs varies as the number of lightbulbs increases, and as the connections with the batteries change.
The brightness of the lightbulb is a quantitative measure of the amount of current traveling through the
lightbulb.

Materials
Batteries, 3- to 6-V equivalent in battery holder Miniature lightbulbs, 3
Connector cords with alligator clips, 8 Pins (coupler for parallel
circuit), 2 Lamp receptacles, 3

Safety Precautions
Please follow normal laboratory safety guidelines.

Procedure
Series Circuits
1. Refer to the circuit diagrams shown in Figure 3 below.
2. Connect the connector cords, lightbulb and batteries together according to Figure 3a. The alligator clips connect directly
to the lamp receptacle terminals and the terminals of the battery holder.
 3. Observe the lightbulb. Does it glow? How brightly? Record your observations in the Simple Circuits Worksheet.
4. Open the circuit by disconnecting one clip from a battery terminal.
5. Add another lightbulb to the circuit according to Figure 3b.
6. Reconnect the battery and observe both lightbulbs light up. Does either one glow as brightly as the original single
light- bulb? Record your observations in the worksheet.
7. Open the circuit by disconnecting one clip from a battery terminal.
8. Add a third lightbulb to the circuit according to Figure 3c.

Figure 3. Lightbulbs in Series.

9. Reconnect the battery and observe the three lightbulbs. Do the lightbulbs light up? How bright are the bulbs compared
to the first experiment (one bulb) and second experiment (two bulbs in series)? Record your observations in the
worksheet.
10. Disconnect one alligator clip from the second lightbulb to create an open circuit. What happens to the lightbulbs?
Record your observations in the worksheet.

Simple Circuits Worksheet

Three Lightbulbs:

Open Circuit:

Post-Lab Questions
1. Which circuit design produced the brightest lightbulbs? Relate this to the amount of current flowing through each lightbulb.

2. What happened when all three lightbulbs were connected in series? Why did this occur?

3. What is one advantage of a series circuit? What is one disadvantage?

4. What is one advantage of a parallel circuit? What is one disadvantage?