Download Comprehensive Science

IPS - Home: Chapter 2 - Activity 1
name _____________________
“What is a Circuit” - Lighting a Light Bulb
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
 What is meant by a circuit? _____________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

What parts are needed to make a circuit? ___________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
FOR YOU TO DO.
Use a single “D” battery, a single bare wire and a light bulb. Find four different ways to light the
light bulb using only a battery, one wire and the bulb. Sketch the four different ways on the battery
drawings shown below.
1. What are the two important parts of a battery that must be used in order to make the bulb
light? Label them on the battery drawn below.
2.
What are the two important parts of a light bulb that
must be used in order to make the bulb light?
________________ and _________________
3. Using the light bulb to the right, show the parts and how
the filament is wired.
4. What causes the filament to glow? _________________
_______________________________________________
5. Rub your hands together fast, they get hot. How might this
be similar to what causes a filament to glow? __________
_____________________________________________
IPS - Home: Chapter 2 - Activity 1.5
Page 1
5/15/2017
6. What is a load? _____________________________________________________________
7. Give 3 examples of a load:
_________________________Why is it a load? ______________________________________
_________________________Why is it a load? ______________________________________
_________________________Why is it a load? ______________________________________
8. What is a source? ____________________________________________________________
9. Give 3 examples of a source:
_________________________Why is it a source? ______________________________________
_________________________Why is it a source? ______________________________________
_________________________Why is it a source? ______________________________________
10. Use the battery drawing at the right to sketch a way to light
the light bulb using a "D" battery, two wires and the bulb.
This time the light bulb may not touch the battery. Use
your definition of a circuit and what you just wrote about
the parts of a battery and a light bulb to first predict how to
wire the circuit. Then show your drawing to your teacher,
get another wire and test your hypothesis.
11. Explain how you must set this up in order to get the light to light up, be thorough. __________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
12. Read Section 32.4 “Conductors and Insulators” in the Conceptual Physics Book- p.508-509
13. What is a conductor? What materials are conductors made out of? _______________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
14. What is an insulator? What materials are insulators made out of? _________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
15. What is a switch? _____________________________________________________________
16. How does a switch work? ______________________________________________________
IPS - Home: Chapter 2 - Activity 1.5
Page 2
5/15/2017
17. When you run a circuit in gym what do you do? _____________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
18. Write your own description of an electrical circuit using the terms that were just defined.
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
19. As a class write a complete definition of a circuit. ____________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
20. Wire a complete circuit using a battery, wires, switch, and 3 light bulbs. Draw this circuit
below.
Instead of drawing a diagram, we have developed schematic symbols to illustrate different circuits.
11. Make a table of the schematic symbols for a battery, light bulb, open switch, closed switch,
wire, and junction. (The rest of these will be revealed in a later activity)
battery / source
ammeter
light bulb/ load
voltmeter
switch - open
wire
switch - closed
junction (wires connected)
resistor / load
rheostat
IPS - Home: Chapter 2 - Activity 1.5
Page 3
5/15/2017
12. Draw a schematic drawing of the circuit that you wired and sketched in #20 with the switch
closed.
13. Draw a schematic drawing of the circuit that you wired and sketched above with the switch
open.
14. So, in your own words describe in detail what you need to do to get a light to turn on in your
house. You must use the words load, source, conductor, insulator, wire, and electricity. Then
box the word. __________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Physics words: Write these in your composition book and define them. This way you can
reference the definitions of words in the future.
Load
Insulator
Source
Resistor
Current
Ammeter
Voltage
Voltmeter
Conductor
Circuit
IPS - Home: Chapter 2 - Activity 1.5
Page 4
5/15/2017
Reflection Questions:
1. Look at each of the following pictures. Circle two things: a) Is the bulb “lit” or “not lit”? b) Is
there current “flowing” or “not flowing”?
Bulb is:
lit
Bulb is:
not lit
Why_________________
_____________________
Current is:
flowing
not flowing
Why_________________
_____________________
lit
not lit
Why_________________
_____________________
Current is:
flowing
not flowing
Why_________________
_____________________
Current is:
flowing
not flowing
Why_________________
_____________________
Bulb is:
lit
Bulb is:
lit
not lit
Why_________________
_____________________
Bulb is:
not lit
lit
Bulb is:
not lit
lit
not lit
Why_________________
_____________________
Why_________________
_____________________
Why_________________
_____________________
Current is:
flowing
not flowing
Why_________________
_____________________
Current is:
flowing
not flowing
Why_________________
_____________________
Current is:
flowing
not flowing
Why_________________
_____________________
IPS - Home: Chapter 2 - Activity 1.5
Page 5
5/15/2017