8.05 Parallel Circuits

• Introduction
• Learn
• Try It
• Task

Introduction

Have you ever turned off the lights in one room of your house (such as the kitchen or living room) and then had the lights in the entire house go off ?!?!

I hope you answered “NO” to that question because I’m sure you know that when you turn off the lights in one room of the house, the other lights remain on. This is because your house is not wired in a series circuit. If it were, turning off the lights in one room would affect the rest of the lights.

Instead, your house is wired using a parallel circuit, which we will discuss this lesson.

 

Lesson Objectives

Following successful completion of this lesson, students will be able to... Identify and describe parallel circuits. Construct basic parallel circuits. Describe what happens when resistance is changed in a parallel circuit. Enduring Understandings Electricity is a form of energy that can be transformed by moving electric charges doing work in various devices. The above objectives correspond with the Alabama Course of Study: Physical Science standards: 10.