SERIES CIRCUITS continued

Let's add a lightbulb so that we can see our radio in the dark.  The circuit will look like this:

The light bulb and the radio are in series.  They come on together when the switch is closed.  They go off together when the switch is opened. Part of the energy of the battery is used in the lightbulb and part in the radio.  The electrons go through the lightbulb and then through the radio. This is called a series circuit.  To run the demonstration above, click the red button.

What would happen if the bulb burned out?  Professor please tell us.

  



 Suppose we want the bulb but not the radio. Can we do that with this circuit? 

 

Is there any way we could have the bulb but not the radio or the radio but not the bulb?

 

In this parallel circuit we now have two switches.  One for the lightbulb and one for the radio. We could turn on the bulb but not the radio or we could turn on the radio and not the bulb or we could turn on both.    In this demonstration we will turn the light bulb on first and then after awhile we will turn on the radio.  Notice that the green electrons are following two different paths.  In the series circuit  they follow just one path.  Do you understand the difference?  Click the red dot to run the demonstration.

If you would like to visit a website about series and parallel circuits click here.   Ready to talk about magnetism and compasses?  Click here for more about magnetism.

TOC