Activity 1: Series Circuits

1. Create a circuit with a battery, light switch,

light bulb, and wire as shown.
In a series circuit, there is only one path for
charge to flow
What happens when the switch is turned on?
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2. Add additional light bulbs, what do you observe?
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3. Create a break in the circuit, what do you observe?
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An ammeter is a device used to measure current in Amperes (A). In order
work an ammeter must be connected in series so that the current flows
through it.
4. Use the Ammeter to measure the current in various parts of the circuit. Is the
current the same throughout, or does it change
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5. Form a hypothesis regarding how you think total resistance of a series circuit
is calculated.
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6. Create a circuit with a 5volt battery, light
switch, and 3 x 10ohm resistor, and wire as
shown. Measure the current in the circuit and
use ohms law to determine the resistance in
the circuit
7. Test your hypothesis by measuring the
resistance of the circuit by removing the
battery and connecting an ohmmeter circuit
as shown.

An ohmmeter is a device used to measure the

resistance, in ohms (). Unlike voltmeters or
ammeters, ohmmeters must contain their
own power sources so that the component
under test may be supplied with a small
amount of current, in order to measure how
hard it is for current to go through. Therefore
to measure the resistance the batter must be
removed and the ohmmeter connected to the
ends of the circuit.
What is the resistance of the circuit?
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8. Was you hypothesis correct? Make a rule to calculate the total resistance of a
circuit in series
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9. Test your rule with other combinations of resistance and voltage. Modify the
equation if necessary
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