Download Chapter 20, Section 3 - Sts. Peter And Paul Elementary School

Chapter 20, Section 3
Series and Parallel Circuits
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Pages 662 -- 665
Objectives
Describe and construct a series circuit
Describe and construct a parallel circuit
Vocabulary Words
Series circuit
Parallel circuit
Series Circuit
 The parts of an
electric circuit are
connected one after
the another.
 There is only one
path for the current to
take.
Series Circuits
Advantages and Disadvantages
 Advantages
Simple to design and
build
 Disadvantages
If one part of the series
is not working, the
entire series won’t
work.
Bulbs in the series will
get dimmer as more
bulbs are added
(resistance goes up,
current goes down).
Parallel Circuits
 Different parts of the
circuit are on
separate branches.
Each bulb has its own path from one terminal of
the battery to the other.
Parallel Circuit
 Understanding Parallel Circuit
If one bulb burns out in a parallel circuit, the current
can still move through the other branches.
Switches can be replaced along the branch without
affecting the others.
Additional branches will decrease resistance.
 Electric current has more paths to follow so the total
resistance is decreased.
Household Circuits
Circuits in your home are parallel circuits.
Lines that carry electricity have very low
resistance.
Voltage in homes is 120 volts.
Switches are located in places where one
branch of the circuit is controlled at a time.
Homework
Workbook 20.3 (due 1/21)
Worksheet 20.3 (due 1/21)
Vocabulary quiz (1/21)