Integrated Science 2014
Series and Parallel Circuits Lab
Name ___________________
Electricity is the flow of electrons through a conductor. What are we using as the conductor in this
experiment? ___________________________ The plastic coating around the wire is called an
_______________________________. An electric circuit consists of at least one closed loop through
which electric current can flow. Every circuit has a voltage source such as a battery and a conductor such
as metal wire. A circuit may have other parts as well, such as lights and switches. In addition, a circuit may
consist of one loop or two loops. In this experiment, we are going to build 2 types of electric circuits;
series and parallel.
Series Circuit:
•
Electricity flows through the circuit along a single conductor path.
•
If one bulb goes out, the circuit is broken and all the bulbs go out.
Parallel Circuit:
•
The electricity has more than one path through the circuit. A typical two-cell (battery) flashlight
has the cells connected in series. .
•
In a parallel circuit, if one light bulb burns out, the other light bulbs will stay on because the
current can bypass the bad bulb.
Purpose: To build, diagram and compare series and parallel circuits.
Procedure:
Materials: 1 battery holder, 1 1.5 volt battery, wire, 3 bulbs, 3 sockets
Part 1
1.
Build a series circuit with 1 battery and 3 bulbs. Record your observations.
2.
Unscrew one bulb and record what happens.
3.
Join with your neighboring lab group and combine your batteries and bulbs to make one
………….larger circuit with 2 batteries and 6 bulbs. Record any observations. Are all the bulbs equally
………….bright?
Part 2
1.
Build a parallel circuit with 1 battery and 3 bulbs. Record your observations.
2.
Unscrew one bulb and record what happens.
3.
Join with your neighboring lab group and combine your batteries and bulbs to make one
………….larger parallel circuit with 2 batteries and 6 bulbs. Record any observations. Are all the bulbs
………….equally bright?
O’Ryan
Integrated Science 2014
Data:
Series Circuits
Parallel Circuits
Conclusion:
1. What is the advantage to connecting flashlight bulbs in…
• series? _________________________________________________________________
•
parallel? _________________________________________________________________
2. Why are electrical circuits in homes connected in parallel?
3. What would be the effect of adding another bulb to the…
• series circuit? ________________________________________________________________
•
parallel circuit? _______________________________________________________________
O’Ryan