Student Name: _______________________________ Date: ______________________ Class: _______
Electricity- Graphic Organizer
S8P5. Students will recognize the characteristics of gravity, electricity, and magnetism as
major kinds of forces acting in nature.
b. Demonstrate the advantages and disadvantages of series and parallel circuits and how
they transfer energy.
1. What is electricity? Electricity is the energy caused by moving electrons within an atom.
(Electrical energy is the energy of electric charges.)
2. What is the Law of Electrical Charges? Two particles that have the SAME charge REPEL each
other. Each object exerts a force on each other pushing them apart.
Two particles that have DIFFERENT charges ATTRACT each other. Each object exerts a
force on each other that pulls them together.
3. How can an atom be charged? Atoms have EQUAL numbers of protons and electrons.
Because an atom’s positive and negative charges cancel each other out, most atoms do not
have a charge. So, how can anything made of atoms be charged? An object becomes
positively charged when it LOSES electrons. An object becomes negatively charged when it
GAINS electrons.
4. Different materials are used because electric charges move through some materials more easily than
they move through others. Most materials are either conductors or insulators based on how easily
charges move in them.
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An electrical conductor is a material in which charges can move easily.
An electrical insulator is a material in which charges cannot move easily.
Static electricity is the electric charge at rest on an object.
Charges that build up as static electricity on an object eventually leave the object. The loss of
static electricity as charges move off an object is called electric discharge.
9. Sometimes, electric discharge happens quickly. It may happen with a flash of light, a shock, or
a crackling noise. Lightning is an electric discharge.
10. An electric current is the rate at which charges pass a given point. The higher the current is,
the greater the number of charges that pass the point each second. Electric current is
expressed in units called amperes, which is often shortened to amps.
11. There are 2 types of electric currents: AC (alternating current) and DC (direct current).
12. VOLTAGE is a measure of how much work is needed to move a charge between two points.
The greater the voltage is, the greater the electric current.
13. A roller-coaster car follows a fixed pathway. The ride’s starting point and ending point are the same
place. This kind of closed pathway is called a circuit.
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The 3 parts of an electric circuit are: an energy source, wires, and loads
A switch controls an electrical circuit.
There are two types of electrical circuits. They are series circuits and parallel circuits.
A SERIES CIRCUIT has all parts connected in a single loop. There is only one path for
charges to follow.
18. A PARALLEL CIRCUIT is a circuit in which loads are connected side by side. Charges in a
parallel circuit have more than one path on which they can travel.
Series Circuits
Advantages
You can add more power sources, like
batteries, and increase the force of the output
which grants you more power.
Disadvantages
It is impossible to control the bulbs individually.
If someone wanted to read the newspaper or
watch television, he would have to turn on a
switch that would put on every light and
electrical appliance in the whole house. if a bulb
were broken or the pathway broken in any way,
the other bulbs would go out too. The more
output devices you add the slower the current
becomes s that if a bulb were broken or the
pathway broken in any way, the other bulbs
would go out too.
Parallel Circuits
Advantages
If it were light bulbs that were the output devices
linked in parallel, if one bulb broke the others would
continue going. Also, the brightness of the bulbs
would be greater than the brightness of bulbs in
series.
Disadvantages
There could be a risk of fire in some cases.
Another would be that, if you have multiple
power sources, the power stays at the same
voltage as that of the single power source.
In parallel, increasing the number of output
devices does not increase the resistance
like it does in series.