Elizabeth Buduen

Lab Activity: Electrical Systems

Strings of holiday lights can be designed in one of two ways. In some strings of lights, each light
is connected to the others along a single wire (in series). In others, each light is attached to its
own wire (in parallel).

1. Suppose a single light bulb burns out. How do you think this will affect lights that are strung

This will affect lights strung along a single wire in that since they are all connected, if one of them
along a single wire? _________________________________________________________
goes out, they all go out.

2. How will a single burned-out bulb affect the string of lights if each light is attached to its own

wire? ________________________________________________________________
A single burned-out bulb will not affect a string of lights if each light is attached to its own wire because the current
will still be able to flow through all the other bulbs.
Procedures

Using the link: https://phet.colorado.edu/sims/html/circuit-construction-kit-dc-virtual-lab/latest/circuit-

construction-kit-dc-virtual-lab_en.html

• Create a circuit as shown in the figure.

Question: What is the relationship between voltage, current, and resistance?

1. Form hypothesis: How do you think increasing the resistance in a circuit will affect the

current in the wire? _________________________________________________________

Increasing the resistance will decrease the current in the wire because the electrons passing through
the wire will be more limited in their flow.

2. Observe: Turn the light switch On to start the flow of current. An ammeter is a device that
measures current in Amperes (A). Drag the Ammeter ( ) to various parts of the circuit.

The current is the same throughout.

A. Is the current the same throughout, or does it change? _______________________

0.90 A
B. What is the current in the wire now? _______________________
3. Collect data: Measure the current in the circuit using the resistor and voltage combinations
given below.
With the same resistance and different voltage With the same voltage and different resistance

Trial Voltage Resistance Current Voltage Resistance Current

10 V 10 ohm 1A
1 9V 10 ohm 0.9 A

10 V 15 ohm 0.67 A
2 21 V 10 ohm 2.10 A

3 15 V 10 V 20 ohm 0.5 A
10 ohm 1.50 A

In a series circuit, there is only one path for charge to flow.

1. : Create a series circuit with a battery and four identical

resistors, as shown

.
2. Measure the current. 0.23 A

A. Based on the voltage and current, what is the resistance of the

circuit? (Hint: Use Ohm’s law.) _______________

R = V/I
R = (9.00 V)/(0.23 A)
R = 39.1 ohms
With the battery, set up the same voltage in the circuit, measure the current in a parallel circuit
with 1, 2, 3, and 4 light bulbs. (In each case, place the ammeter next to the battery.) Use Ohm’s
law to calculate the total resistance of the circuit. Record results below.

Number of light bulbs 1 2 3 4

Voltage 9 volts 9 volts 9 volts 9 volts

Current 0.90 A 0.90 A 0.90 A 0.90 A

Total resistance 10 ohms 10 ohms

10 ohms 10 ohms

1. Determine the total resistance of each of the following parallel circuits.

6.7 ohms
A. A parallel circuit with a 20-ohm resistor and a 10-ohm resistor. _________

5 ohms
B. A parallel circuit with two 20-ohm resistors and a 10-ohm resistor. _________

C. A parallel circuit with a 15-ohm light bulb and a 20-ohm resistor. _________
8.6 ohms