Unit 8 - Circuits

Circuit Diagrams Circuits: made up of wires and parts such as ________, light bulbs, _______, or switches. When diagramming circuits, use ________ to represent parts of the circuit.

Common Electrical Symbols Straight lines represent wires. Battery Resistor Light Bulb Switch NOTE: In many circuit diagrams, any electrical device is shown as a resistor. A resistor is an electrical component that uses energy. Sometimes when showing how a circuit works, light bulbs might be treated like resistors.

Open vs Closed Circuits Electricity _______ travel through an open circuit: path is broken. Electricity can travel easily through a ______ _______: there is a complete path. A short circuit is usually an accidental extra path for current to flow.

Series vs Parallel Circuits Parallel Circuits Current can take more than one path If multiple bulbs are in circuit, if one goes out, the others will __________ Homes are wired with ________ circuits Series Circuits Current can only take one ______ If multiple bulbs in circuit, if one goes out they all go out Series circuits would not work in the home because all electrical items would have to be on all the time to keep the circuit closed

Equivalent Resistance – Series Circuit For a series circuit you just ___ the resistance of each resistor to find the _____ ________

Equivalent Resistance - Parallel Circuit To find the resistance in a parallel circuit you add the _______ of each resistance