Series and Parallel Circuits

Construct series and parallel circuits to determine which is used in your home.

Important Dates

Registration Opens:
Wednesday, June 01, 2011, at 9:00 a.m.

Registration Closes:
Monday, April 23, 2012, at 5:00 p.m.

Program Starts:
Monday, September 12, 2011, at 9:00 a.m.

Program Ends:
Friday, June 29, 2012, at 3:00 p.m.

Contact Information

For more information about this program, contact:

Menzel Smith-Jones
Brookhaven National Laboratory
Bldg.400C – P.O. Box 5000
Upton, NY 11973-5000
631-344-4495 (phone)
631-344-7098 (fax)
slc@bnl.gov

Through experiments students will learn about electrical circuits and the differences between series and parallel circuits. Students will turn their mechanical energy into electrical energy to power the circuits using our hand crank generators.

Vocabulary

atom, electron, proton, neutron, current, knife switch, conductor, insulator, circuit, series and parallel

Audience for This Program

Elementary Level 4th, 5th, and 6th Grades

Program Benefits

Lesson Objectives

1) Identify that an electrical circuit is the path of electron flow and current electricity is the flow of electrons.

2) Discover the difference between open and closed circuits.

3) Construct a series circuit with and without a switch.

4) Construct a parallel circuit and observe that the placement of the switch effects which bulbs light up.

5) Identify examples of series and parallel circuits in the real world.