Series Circuits

1. Series Circuits • A closed circuit in which all parts are connected end to end to provide a single path for the current. • Charges flow from the battery to the first bulb, from the first bulb to the other, then back to the battery. • If one bulb goes out or is removed, the circuit is not complete, and the bulb that remains will not light up. • This is like a slow cafeteria line, where if one person is slow, the entire line slows down. • An example of this is decorative holiday lights / Christmas lights. • Lights are brighter than parallel circuits.

2. Parallel Circuits • A closed circuit in which the current provides two or more paths before recombining to complete the circuit. • Both bulbs are attached directly to the battery. Both bulbs have their own pathway to the battery. • When one pathway is broken, the other pathway still provides a complete circuit. • Lights are LESS bright than a series circuit. • This is like the lights in Ms. Lambert’s classroom. Notice the light above the beakers table is often flickering, but the rest aren’t affected?

3. What is a Generator? • Remember how I said that Michael Faraday proved that a magnetic field can create an electric current? This is an example of how! • A generator works by a magnetic field inducing a voltage into a coil of wire • A generator transforms mechanical energy into electrical energy. • You can make a generator using the motion of a magnet inside a coil of wire. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7Sz8oT8ou0

4. Electrochemical Cells?? • A device that generates electrical energy using chemical reactions inside a small enclosed space. (Cell) • Two more ELECTROCHEMICAL CELLS connected together is called a battery. • Batteries are not the most efficient means of producing electric current. They produce electric current that only moves in one direction, from the negative terminal to the positive terminal. This is called a DIRECT CURRENT. • In an alternating current, the current constantly reverses direction. The type of current in wall outlets of homes in the U.S. is AC. • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iDH-RiDxqE4 • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZjMuIHoBeg

5. More to Know! • Turbines are machines with a series of spinning blades in which the kinetic energy of a moving fluid (water, air or steam) is transformed into kinetic energy of the turbine. Turbines transfer energy to generators and the energy leaves the power plant through power wires. • A transformer can increase or decrease the voltage of an AC current. • A circuit breaker is a switch that opens a circuit when electric current reaches an unsafe level. • A blackout is a temporary cutoff of electrical energy in a region.

6. http://www.superteachertools.com/jeopardy/usergames/Jan201304/game1358874031.phphttp://www.superteachertools.com/jeopardy/usergames/Jan201304/game1358874031.php