Basic Electrical Circuits Principles of EngineeringTM Unit 4 - Lesson 4.4 – Electrical Systems Forging new generations of engineers Project Lead The Way, Inc. Copyright 2007

Basic Electrical Circuits Any arrangement of components that allows an electrical current to flow

There is only one path for the electrons to flow A Basic Circuit Battery A Source Battery Wire A Conductor Wire Lamp A Load Lamp Switch A Control Switch There is only one path for the electrons to flow

Create our own Basic Circuit You need Base (what we are calling a bread board) experimental circuits are called breadboarding Using a actual kitchen breadboard is ideal because it is a non-conductive surface nails could be used to create elecrical connection points for electrical components

Create our own Basic Circuit You need Straws Cut into 1/3rds Place support straws for the battery at (1,11) & (2,10) & (2,12) & (6,12) & (6,10) & (7,11) Make battery holder Using cut straws AA AA

Create our own Basic Circuit You need Wire We will make our own Folded foil wires Fold the foil to make a thin ribbon Wrap the foil around strip of card board foil

Create our own Basic Circuit You need Cut folded foil wires into 2 sections 2 ½ in. long Wrap the folded wires around the straws at the end of the batteries Add more support straws (1,1) & (1,7) & (6,1) & (1,7) & (6,7) Wrap folded foil around the additional straws Add christmas bulb with wires by Wrapping the wires around folded wire ends Now try your switch AA Christmas light Switch Straws

A Series Circuit Battery A Source Battery Wire A Conductor Wire 2 Lamps A Load 2 Lamps Switch A Control Switch Electrons can only flow along one path, and MUST go through each component before getting to the next one.

A Parallel Circuit A Source Battery A Load 3 Lamps A Conductor Wire A Control Switch Two or more components are connected so that current can flow to one of them WITHOUT going through another

A Series-Parallel Circuit A combination of components both in Series and in Parallel