Chapter 17 Section 4

 Name the 3 essential parts of a circuit

 Compare series circuits with parallel circuits

 Explain how fuses and circuit breakers

protect your home against short circuits and
overloads
 An electrical circuit is like a closed pathway;
always forms a loop

 Electric circuit: a complete closed path

through which electrical charges flow

 Need 3 basic parts:

 Energy source (ex: battery)
 Wires (ex: copper wire)
 Load (light bulb, radio) – change electrical
energy into other forms of energy
 Sometimes a circuit contains a switch

 Switches open and close circuits

 Made of 2 pieces of conducting material

 Examples: light switch, buttons on radios,

keys on calculators…
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 Loads in a circuit can be connected in
different ways

 There are 2 types of circuits:

 Series Circuit

 Parallel Circuit

 The difference between circuit types is the

way in which the loads are connected
 All parts are connected in a single loop

 There is only one path for the charges to

follow; charges have to flow through each
part of the circuit

 All loads share the same current

http://www.electronicsandyou.com/circuit/series_Circuit.jpg
 With any break in the circuit, charges will
stop flowing

 Negative: Christmas tree lights (when 1 bulb

is out they all go out)

 Positive: Wiring burglar alarms (if a problem

occurs somewhere in the circuit, an alarm
will sound)
 A circuit in which loads are connected side
by side

 Charges have more than one path in which

they can travel

 Loads do not have the same current

 Each load uses the same voltage

http://www.electronicsandyou.com/circuit/parallel_circuit.jpg
 Each branch of the circuit can work by itself

 If one load is broken, the charges will still

flow through the other branches

 Wiring in your home uses parallel circuitry

 TV, stereo, lights, refrigerator all operate

independently
 Circuits branch out from a breaker box (fuse
box)

 “Electrical headquarters”

 Each branch receives standard voltage: 120V

in the US
  Circuit failure
 Broken wires or water can cause a short circuit
 R decreases, I increases, wires heat up, fire?
 Overloads
 Fuses
 Safety feature
 Thin strip of metal, if it gets too hot it melts,
circuit is broken, charge stops flowing
 Circuit breakers
 Automatically opens if current is too high
 Strip of metal heats up, bends, opens switch
 GFCI: Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter

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 Read warning signs

 Make sure insulation on cords is not worn

 Do not overload circuits with too many plugs

 Do not plug things in when your hands are

wet

 Never put objects other than a plug into an

electrical outlet
 If a switch is closed, charges will flow
through the circuit. (T/F)

 The loads in a parallel circuit do not

necessarily all have the same amount of
current in them. (T/F)

 When a short circuit occurs, resistance is

increased and current decreases. (T/F)