PHYSICS Name Adam Mourad

________________________
PhET Circuits Lab May 5, 2022
Date__________Hour_____

Procedures:

Open the Simulation titled Circuit Construction Kit (DC only) on the computer. If
doing this from home, go to the following site to Run the simulation:

http://phet.colorado.edu/simulations/sims.php?sim=Circuit_Construction_Kit_DC_Only

Part 1 - Series Circuit:

• Construct the circuit as shown in figure 1 (back page) using the Circuit
Construction Kit (DC Only) simulation at the PhET site.
• Make the light bulbs have different resistance values (right click on the bulb to
adjust) and record the value of each light bulb in the table below.
• Change the voltage of the battery to a value that makes sense for your circuit.
• Calculate the total resistance of your circuit using appropriate “rule.”
• Move the ammeter over wire A, to find the current going to bulb A. Repeat for
bulb B and bulb C.
• Use the voltmeter to take voltage readings. To do this you will need to place the
leads at opposite ends of each bulb. For total voltage, place them across the
battery.
• Calculate the total current passing through your battery by using the equation:

ITOT = VTOT
RTOT

• Note the comparison between that value and what the ammeter reads when
placed over a wire near the battery…

• Note the comparison between that value and what the ammeter reads when
placed over a wire near the battery…
• Calculate Power (P=IV) for each light bulb.
• Rank your light bulbs in order of brightness (1 being the least bright).

Resistance Voltage Current Power Brightness

(Ω) (V) (A) (W) Ranking (1-3)
A 38.00Ω 9.12V 0.24A 2.19W 2

B 21.00Ω 5.04V 0.24A 1.21W

3

43.00Ω 10.32V 0.24A 2.48W

C 1

Total 102.00Ω 24.48V 0.24A 5.88W

Questions:

1. What do you notice about the total current in comparison to the current to each
resistor?
The current remains the same even when it passes through each resistor.
 Why do you think this is so?
This occurs because there is only a single pathway for the current to travel.

2. What do you notice about the total voltage in comparison to the voltage at each light
bulb?
If you were to add up all of the voltages at the three lightbulbs you will get the sum 24.48V, which
is the total voltage.

Why do you think this is so? (Remember that voltage is the energy each charged
particle STARTS with in the circuit)
When electrons pass through the circuit they distribute a varied amount of electrons to each load until
they return with 0 electrons (each bulb obtains a certain amount of electrons based on their resistance).

3. Which bulb is the brightest? Why do you think that is?

Bulb C is the brightest. It's the brightest due to having the highest resistance, which makes it have the highest
voltage (there are more electrons flowing through bulb C than bulbs A and B.

Part 2 - Parallel Circuit:

• Construct the circuit as shown in figure 2.

• Make the light bulbs have different resistance values and record the value of
each light bulb in the table below.
• Change the voltage of the battery to a value that makes sense for your circuit.
• Calculate the total resistance of your circuit using appropriate “rule.”
• Move the ammeter over wire A, to find the current going to bulb A. Repeat for
bulb B and bulb C.
• Use the voltmeter to take voltage readings. To do this you will need to place the
leads at opposite ends of each bulb. For total voltage, place them across the
battery.
• Calculate the total current passing through your battery by using the equation:

ITOT = VTOT
RTOT

• Calculate Power (P=IV) for each light bulb.

• Rank your light bulbs in order of brightness (1 being the least bright).

Resistance Voltage Current Power Brightness

(Ω) (V) (A) (W) Ranking (1-3)
A 61.00Ω 25.00V 0.41A 10.25W 3

B 27.00Ω 25.00V 0.96A 24.00W 1

C 40.00Ω 25.00V 0.63A 15.75W 2

12.50Ω 2.00A 50.00W

Total 25.00V
Questions:

4. What do you notice about the speeds of the charges through the different loops?
Relate these speeds to the amount of resistance in each of these loops.
The smaller the resistance, the faster electrons flow through the branch. This means the electrons in
the 27.00Ω bulb's moving faster than the ones moving in the 61.00Ω bulb.

5. What do you notice about the total current in comparison to the current to each light
bulb?
The total current is all of the circuits currents added together. The brighter the bulb, the faster the current
flows through that specific bulb.

Why do you think this is so?

Because to calculate the total current you must add all recorded currents together meaning the total
will be larger than each individual bulb.

6. What do you notice about the total voltage in comparison to the voltage at each light
bulb?
The total voltage remains the same at each lightbulb, which means no matter where you look on the
circuit, the voltage will remain the same.

Why do you think this is so? (Remember that voltage is the energy each charged
particle STARTS with in the circuit).
It's voltage always remains the same due to the total voltage splitting at each branch in the circuit to
equally fill the load there, then when they leave that branch they add up again.

7. Why are the brighter bulbs those with the least resistance? Explain.
Due to each branch receiving the same voltage they all consume the same amount of electrons, yet the
resistance varies on each load so the power and brightness of each bulb with increase with a lower resistance
(it resists power less).
 Figure 1: Series Circuit

A
C

Figure 2: Parallel Circuit

C A
B
C B A