Electronic Circuits

1.  Explain and calculate the relationship of current, voltage, resistance and power in series and parallel circuits

2.  Students should understand conductivity, resistivity and resistance, so they can relate current and voltage for a resistor.

3.  Students should understand the behavior of series and parallel combinations of resistors, so they can:

• identify on a circuit diagram whether resistors are in series or in parallel.
• determine the ratio of the voltages across resistors connected in series or the ratio of the currents through resistors connected in parallel.
• calculate the voltage, current and power dissipation for any resistor in such a network of resistors connected to a single power supply.
• design a simple series-parallel circuit that produces a given current through and potential difference across one specified component, and draw a diagram for the circuit using conventional symbols.

4.  Students should be able to apply Ohm’s Law and Kirchhoff’s rules to direct-current circuits, in order to determine a single unknown current, voltage, or resistance.

5.  Students should understand the properties of voltmeters and ammeters, so they can identify or show correct methods of connecting meters into circuits in order to measure voltage or current.circuits in order to measure voltage or current.

Students will gain experience in a lab setting measuring voltage and current for a simple circuit consisting of a resistor and a battery.  They will use the data to determine that a single resistor demonstrates Ohm’s Law nicely as they plot Voltage (volts) vs. Current (Amps) and find the slope equivalent to the measured resistance of the resistor.  An internet-based activity will allow students to quickly construct several circuits and practice how to measure various quantities.

Length of time needed:  1 class period (60 min)

This lesson was written by Karin Foss.

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