Name Date Class Lab 32: Series and Parallel Circuits
Purpose
To build series and parallel circuits and study the differences between them Background
Electricians are called upon whenever new buildings need electrical
work. The electrician surveys the site and determines what kind of
currents and voltages are required to satisfy the client’s needs.
Sometimes the circuit requires components to be connected like you
would in plumbing so the water could flow. This is called a series
circuit. Sometimes the components need to be connected in parallel,
like the rungs on a ladder. Each type of circuit has its advantages.
In this lab, you will study the advantages of and the differences
between series and parallel circuits. Skills Focus
Classifying, inferring, comparing and contrasting, drawing conclusions Procedure Series and Parallel Circuits Series and Parallel Circuits 1. Start Virtual Physics and select Series and Parallel Circuits
from the list of assignments. The lab will open in the Circuits
laboratory.
2. The laboratory will be set up with a function generator set to 12
V DC already on the engineering paper, which is the schematic or
plan of the circuit built on the breadboard. In this assignment,
you will have to add resistors to create a circuit. To add resistors,
simply click on the resistor symbol at the top of the engineering
paper and drag it onto the paper. You may move resistors around
by clicking them on the middle blue dot. You can also extend their
leads by clicking on the end red dots and dragging them to where
you want to connect them to other components. The line will be
green if it is in an allowable location. You will notice that the
breadboard will automatically populate with the resistors that you
add to the schematic.
3. You need to build a circuit that has only one path for the current to follow.
This is called a series circuit. Use only resistors to make this circuit. On the
engineering paper, place five resistors in series using the resistor symbol at
the top. First start by connecting the first resistor to an open end of the
function generator. Then drag out a new resistor and place it next to the
open end of the last placed resistor. Follow the same process until you have
five resistors in series. Complete the circuit by connecting the last resistor
you added to the other side of the voltage source.
4. Make sure that that there is only one path for the current to flow
through the resistors you connected in Step 3. After you have placed
the resistors on the circuit, you will need to change the resistance of
each of the resistors as specified in Step 5. You can do this by Name
Date
Class
clicking on the number next to the resistor. A small box will pop up
where you can adjust the value of the resistor. Name Date Class 5. Change the value of each resistor to the match the values found
in Data Table 1. Assume that resistor 1 is the one connected to the
positive side of the voltage source and resistor 5 is the one
connected to the negative side of the voltage source. Data Table 1
Resistor Number
1 Resistor Value (
)
120 2 500 3 200 4 135 5 10,00
0
6. Using the multimeter to measure the current and the voltages
across each resistor. The symbol for the multimeter has a DMM in
the middle of it. Click and drag the red lead to one side of the
resistor. It should lock into place. Then click and drag the black
lead to the other side of that same resistor to measure the drop in
voltage across the resistor. You can read the voltage and current
from the yellow multimeter display. To measure the current
passing through the resistor, change the multimeter from VDC to
IDC, which changes the variable being measured from voltage to
current. Record your measurements in Data Table 2.
NOTE: For the ammeter to measure current, it should be placed
with both leads on one side of the resistor. This is because the
current must flow through the ammeter to measure it. However,
the voltmeter needs to compare voltages at two points, so it
should be hooked up across the resistor. Data Table 2
Resistor Number Voltage (V) Current (A) 1
2
3
4
5
Series and Parallel Circuits Series and Parallel Circuits 7. Now, using the same resistors as before, you will build a parallel
circuit. This is done by creating multiple paths for the current to Name
Date
Class
follow. To do this, first move all the resistors to the bottom half of
the paper, but don’t delete them. Name Date Class 8. First add a new resistor in series to the
beginning of the function generator. Change its
resistance to equal 1 .
9. Drag and set the other five resistors back onto the
lines so that the circuit looks like a ladder with the
resistors as the steps. Your final schematic should
look like the picture on the right.
10. Using the same technique as Step 6, measure the
voltage and current across each of the five resistors
listed in Data Table 1. Remember that it is a DC
source, so you must use the DC Voltmeter and DC
Ammeter. Record your results in Data Table 3 below. Data Table 3
Resistor Number Voltage (V) Current (A) 1
2
3
4
5 Analyze and Conclude
1. Classifying What are the variables in this experiment? 2. Inferring
Which variables stay the same, and which change
in the series circuit? Series and Parallel Circuits Series and Parallel Circuits 3. Which variables stay the same, and which change in the parallel circuit? 4. Comparing and Contrasting How do parallel and series circuits differ? Name Date Class 5. Drawing Conclusions
In what way does a series circuit
look like it would have the same current throughout? 6. In what way would your answer to question 4 above be
important for an electrician to know? Going Further
7. Now go back to the circuits and replace the resistors with light
bulbs. The symbol for a light bulb is a white circle with an X in
the middle. Place them on the engineering paper. Create a series
circuit and a parallel circuit like the ones you made earlier. Then
try removing one of the light bulbs. Record below what happens
in each case. Also, record the relative brightnesses of the bulbs in
each circuit. Series and Parallel Circuits Series and Parallel Circuits

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