What’s Up!

Have you observed that in a series of Christmas Lights, once one bulb is busted the entire
series of lights will not light up? Compare it with the lights at home. Does it also follow when a bulb in
a room is busted, the bulbs in other parts of the house light up?
Christmas lights and light bulbs in your house have different kinds of circuits. One is a series
circuit and the other is a parallel circuit. Both circuits has its advantages and disadvantages, but it is
still dependable on the preference of the person using it.

Size Up!
You will be challenged to dig deeper into your prior knowledge and previous experiences about
the types of electric circuits. This phase will guide you in assessing yourself by answering questions
that relate with the types of electric circuits.
Part I. True or False
Directions: Write True if the statement is correct and False, if not. Write your answer on a
separate sheet or in your assignment notebook.
1. Copper has a high resistance to electrical flow.
2. Conductors are materials which do not allow electricity to pass through.
3. An electrical discharge happens when there is disruption in an electric circuit caused by
overloading.
4. A load opens and closes an electrical circuit.
5. Electricity is defined as the capacity to do work.
6. It is alright to replace worn-out cord or wiring on your own.
7. Conductance is the capacity of an object to allow the passage of electricity.
8. Current electricity is measured in amperes.
9. In a series circuit, the load are not connected in a row.
10. Resistors are connected in branches, making each branch independent from all other
connections in a parallel circuit.
Part II. True or False
Directions: Connect the bulbs, switch and dry cell to make a circuit. Identify which circuit is
series circuit and parallel circuit.

2. ___________________________ 1. ___________________________

After reading the introduction and carefully answering the pre-test, you might have ideas of
what you will be dealing with in this module.
Size Up!
This module is module is composed of one lesson:
Lesson 1 – Types of Electrical Circuits
Through this module, you are expected to:
1. differentiate series and parallel circuits;
2. illustrate series and parallel circuits; and
3. cite the advantages and disadvantages of series and parallel circuits.

Build It Up!
Types of Electrical Circuits
An electrical circuit is a closed path or loop around which an electric flows. For it to be a circuit,
the current must start and end at the same point. Electric Circuits

Look Up!
In the previous module, you have learned about the parts of the electric circuits. Answer the
following questions to refresh your mind on the things that you have learned.
Part I. Identify the names of the following electrical symbols.
1. 3.

2. 4.

Part II. Match column A with the correct answer in column B, write only the letter of the answer in your
activity notebook.
Column A Column B
1. It is a material that does not allow the flow of a. Load
electricity. b. Electricity
2. It is the rate of flow of electrons. c. Current
3. It allows the flow of electricity. d. Resistance
4. A form of energy resulting from the existence e. Voltage
of charged particles. f. Insulator
5. A circuit where electricity flows freely. g. Open Circuit
6. The element that consumes power. h. Circuit
7. A source of energy. i. Conductor
8. It is a material's tendency to resist the flow of j. Closed Circuit
charge (current). k. Battery
9. The difference in charge between two points.
10 . Complete path of electricity

Pair Up!
Activity 1 – Assembling a Simple Circuit
What you will need
Bulb, Battery and Connecting Wires
What to do
1. Connect the three materials together and see which arrangement would make the bulb light
up.
2. Draw the arrangement below using their corresponding symbols and label the parts
accordingly.

Bring Up!
An electrical circuit is a network that has a closed loop, giving a return path for the current.
There are two types of circuits, namely series circuit and parallel circuit.
A series circuit has two or more loads but current flows through a single conducting path. A
series circuit can be constructed by connecting light bulbs in such a manner that there is a single
pathway for charge flow; the bulbs are added to the same line with no branching point. As more and
more light bulbs are added, the brightness of each bulb gradually decreases. This observation is an
indicator that the current within the circuit is decreasing.

So for series circuits, as more resistors are added the overall current within the circuit
decreases. This decrease in current is consistent with the conclusion that the overall resistance
increases.
A final observation that is unique to series circuits is the effect of removing a bulb from a
socket. If one of three bulbs in a series circuit is unscrewed from its socket, then it is observed that
the other bulbs immediately go out. In order for the devices in a series circuit to work, each device
must work. If one goes out, they all go out.
Suppose that all the appliances in a household kitchen were all connected in series. In order
for the refrigerator to work in that kitchen, the toaster oven, dishwasher, garbage disposal and
overhead light would all have to be on. In order for one device in series to work, they all must work. If
current is cut from any one of them, it is cut from all of them. Quite obviously, the appliances in our
kitchen are not connected in series.

A series circuit has its advantages and disadvantages as shown below.

Advantages
Current in all parts of the circuit is the SAME.
This causes the bulbs to light up with the same
brightness.
The current in the circuit increases if more
cells are connected.
Damage of electrical appliance and short
circuit can be prevented by connecting the
fuse in series with the mains as well as the
electrical appliance.
Disadvantages
There is only one path for the flow of electric
current. If bulb or lamp is burnt' other bulbs will
not light up.
Cells in series do not last long.
If the electrical appliances are connected in
series, the applied voltage is divided and the
appliance cannot give the light efficiently
because of less voltage.

A parallel circuit has more than one path for current to flow. The electrical devices are
connected in a branched manner making each one independent from all other connections in the
circuit. The effect of the number of resistors upon the overall current and the overall resistance can be
investigated. The diagrams below depict the usual means of constructing the circuit with parallel
connections of light bulbs.
One will note that a study of the overall current for parallel connections requires the addition of
an indicator bulb. The indicator bulb is placed outside of the branches and allows one to observe the
effect of additional resistors upon the overall current. The bulbs that are placed in the parallel
branches only provide an indicator of the current through that particular branch. So if investigating the
effect of the number of resistors upon the overall current and resistance, one must make careful
observations of the indicator bulb, not the bulbs that are placed in the branches. The diagram below
depicts the typical observations.
 It is clear from observing the indicator bulbs in the above diagrams that the addition of more
resistors causes the indicator bulb to get brighter. For parallel circuits, as the number of resistors
increases, the overall current also increases. This increase in current is consistent with a decrease in
overall resistance. Adding more resistors in a separate branch has the unexpected result of
decreasing the overall resistance!
If an individual bulb in a parallel branch is unscrewed from its socket, then there is still current
in the overall circuit and current in the other branches. Removing the third bulb from its socket has the
effect of transforming the circuit from a three-bulb parallel circuit to a two-bulb parallel circuit. If the
appliances in a household kitchen were connected in parallel, then the refrigerator could function
without having to have the dishwasher, toaster, garbage disposal and overhead lights on. One
appliance can work without the other appliances having to be on. Since each appliance is in its own
separate branch, turning that appliance off merely cuts off the flow of charge to that branch. There will
still be charge flowing through the other branches to the other appliances. Quite obviously, the
appliances in a home are wired with parallel connections.

A parallel circuit does not necessarily require an indicator bulb, like the illustration below an
indicator bulb was not added. Thus, adding an indicator light is for study and observation purposes
only.

The

Like the series circuit, a parallel circuit has its advantages and disadvantages as well.
Advantages
If any fault happened to the circuit, then also
the current is able to pass through the circuit
through different paths.
Parallel circuits provide the same voltage to
every source and appliance in the circuit, thus
all appliances work efficiently.
It becomes easy to connect or disconnect a
new element without affecting the working of
other elements.
Disadvantages
It requires the use of lot of wires.
Parallel connection fails at the time when it is
required to pass exactly same amount of
current through the units.
Even if we have several power sources, the
voltage across a parallel circuit will remain the
same. This is because the potential difference,
which is the source of voltage, is split across
the circuit as a whole; so increasing the power
will not alter the voltage.

To fully understand the types of electrical circuits, the table below shows the differences
between the two.
 Points of Comparison
Number of paths
If more loads are added, what
happens to the brightness of
the bulbs?
Effect of removing a load
If more loads are added, what
happens to the voltage drop
across each load?
If more loads are added, what
happens to the total resistance
in the circuit?
Current
If more loads are added, what
happens to the total current
coming out of the source?
Is electrical energy (voltage)
from the source shared
between loads?
Is the amount of current from
the source shared between
loads?
Series Circuit
Only one path; current passes
through components one after
another.
Lights become dimmer (less
voltage and current)
Circuit is opened; electric
current cannot flow through the
circuit, the remaining bulb will
not light up.
Voltage drop decreases (more
sharing).
Total resistance increases.
Same throughout the circuit.
Current decreases as more
loads are added.
Yes, voltage is shared between
loads
No, current is the same
throughout circuit
Parallel Circuit
Two or more paths; current
splits up and passes through
each brance at the same time;
paths are independent of each
other.
Lights stay bright.
Circuit is closed; electric
current can still flow through
the other path and the other
bulb still lights up.
Voltage drop stays the same.
If more loads are added, what
happens to the total resistance
in the circuit?
Current though the paths will
change depending on the
resistance of the path.
If more loads are added, what
happens to the total current
coming out of the source?
No, voltage at each load equals
voltage at battery
Yes, current splits between
paths.

Always remember that changing the number or type of components in any type of circuit will
affect the total performance of a circuit.

Tune Up!
Build a Circuit.
Materials
 Two (2) 1.5 V AA batteries
 Four (4) pieces 6 V bulbs
 Copper wire or connector wires
 Electrical tape
 Two (2) knife switches or toggle switches
Procedures
Note: Be careful in handling your materials especially the bulbs.
 Setup A
1. Design a series circuit using the materials that you have and illustrate the circuit in your
activity notebook.
2. What are the conditions necessary to light up the bulb?
Setup B
1. Design a series circuit using the materials that you have and illustrate the circuit in your
activity notebook.
2. What happens if the connection between two bulbs in a parallel circuit is cut?
Questions:
1. What will happen in each circuit if one bulb is removed?
2. Which circuit requires the most number of wires?
3. What happened if you add a battery on set up A? On set up B?
4. Compare the brightness of the bulbs of the two types of circuits.

Sum Up!
Circuits provide continuous pathway for electricity to travel. Circuits are composed of
sources, loads and connecting wires, which are considered to have negligible resistance.
Circuit connections can be series or parallel. In a series circuit, there is only one path of
electricity and elements connected in this way have the same current. In parallel circuit, there
is more than one possible path for electricity to flow. Elements connected in parallel have the
same voltage.
Questions
1. Give instances when a parallel circuit it used and when a series circuit is used. Write your
answers in you notebook.
2. Differentiate series and parallel circuits.

Challenge Up!
Part I.
Direction: Based on what you have learned, try to connect the bulbs, switch and dry cell in
series and parallel circuits.
 Part II.
Direction: Make an illustration of a series circuit and a parallel circuit using symbols and label
each symbols accordingly.

Series Circuit Parallel Circuit

Part III.

Part III.
Directions: Fill in the blanks with the correct answers and write it on a separate sheet.
1. __________ has two or more loads but current flows through a single conducting path.
2. __________ is a network that has a closed loop, giving a return path for the current.
3. If more devices are connected in a series circuit, the current electricity __________.
4. In a series circuit, if one of the bulbs is removed or the pathway is __________ the other
bulb will not light up.
5. __________ has more than one path for current to flow.
6. In a parallel circuit, if one of the bulbs were to be removed, the other bulbs would still
function if the pathway is in __________ state.
7. In an electrical circuit particularly a parallel circuit, components are arranged
____________ with each other.
8. The symbol for the switch is ____________.
9. The symbol for the load is ____________.
10. An electric circuit provides a complete ____________ path for current to flow.
Part IV.
Directions: Write TRUE if the statement is correct, if FALSE, change the underlined word/
words to make the statement correct.
1. In a parallel circuit, when one bulb is burned out, the other bulbs will still light up.
2. A parallel circuit has only one path of electricity.
3. A television running in the house will not be affected if the radio is turned off in a parallel
connection.
4. In a series circuit, when one bulb is burned out, all other bulbs will not light up.
5. In a series circuit, electricity can still flow through other pathways.

Move Up!
Using the same set-up of series and parallel circuits that you have constructed, add five (5)
additional bulbs to each type of circuit. And answer the following questions:
1. What happened to the bulbs on the series circuit? Parallel circuit?
2. What do you think is the effect of having more loads in a series circuit generated by a single
1.5 V AA battery? How about in a parallel circuit?
Wrap Up!
The main difference between series and parallel circuits is that, in series circuits, all
components are connected in series so that they all share the same current whereas, in parallel
circuits, components are connected in parallel so that they all have the same potential difference
between them.
In series circuits, there are no junctions between components. Then, according to the law of
conservation of charge, they have the same current flowing through them. If the circuit breaks at any
point, current stops flowing through the circuit altogether.
In parallel circuits, a loop can be traced between two components without encountering other
components along the loop. Then, according to the law of conservation of energy, they have the
same potential difference across them.

Finish Up!
Part I.
Direction: Answer the following questions.
1. What is an electrical circuit?
2. What are the types of an electrical circuit? Define each type.
3. What are the differences between series and parallel circuits?
4. Give at least 3 examples of the things that you have at home where series and parallel
circuits are observable.
Part II.
Direction: Illustrate series and parallel circuits.