This week we have had our science hats on and have been creating simple series circuits. We looked at the function of each component such as what the battery does, the connecting wires and the light bulb. We then progressed this further by adding in switches and a propeller!
We understood that a series circuit is a type of circuit where devices are connected one after the other, like a chain. In a simple series circuit, only one path is available for the electricity to flow through. This means that if one device is connected in the circuit, it affects the whole circuit. If you turn on a light bulb in a series circuit, it will not work if the switch is not also turned on. If you try to connect another device, like a toy, it will not work either because the electricity has already been used up by the light bulb. The electricity flows through each device one after the other, so if any of the devices are faulty or broken, the whole circuit will not work. Series circuits are important because they help us understand how electricity flows and how we can use it to power our devices.
To finish of the week, we also looked at good conductors of electricity and insulators. We experimented with this idea through the use of different materials and objects and adding them into our circuits to see if they were a conductor or insulator!
