Activity 23A Teacher Notes: Voltage in a Series Circuit PS-2826

Teacher Notes – Activity 23A: Voltage in a Series Circuit

Time Estimates Preparation: 20 min Activity: 30 min

Objectives
Students will be able to…
 use a Voltage Probe to measure the voltage across small light bulbs and the voltage source in a
series circuit
 compare the voltages across the light bulbs in a series circuit to the voltage of the voltage source
 describe the relationship between the brightness of light bulbs in a series circuit and the number of
bulbs in the circuit
 describe what happens to a series circuit when one of the light bulbs in the circuit is removed from the
circuit

Notes
 It is possible to combine this activity with 23B Voltage in a Parallel Circuit. Both activities
use the same equipment.
 Theoretically, the voltage of a simple circuit consisting of light bulbs and ‘D’ cells remains
constant. For light bulbs in series, the sum of the voltages across individual bulbs is the
same as the source voltage. The voltage across each light bulb in the circuit decreases as
more bulbs are added.
 You do not need to calibrate the Voltage Probe for this activity.
Background
An array of resistors will have different measured resistances depending on how they are
connected. If they are connected in series (end-to-end), their total resistance equals the sum of all
of their individual resistances. If light bulbs are connected in series to a voltage source, the
brightness of the individual bulbs diminishes as more and more bulbs are added to the “chain”.
The current decreases as the overall resistance increases. In addition, if one bulb is removed from
the “chain” the other bulbs go out.
If resistors are connected in parallel (side-by-side), their total
resistance is less than the sum of their individual resistances. In fact, 1 1 1 1
= + + + ...
the total resistance is related to the individual resistances as shown in R p R1 R2 R3
the equation where Rp is the total resistance:
If light bulbs are connected in parallel to a voltage source, the brightness of the individual bulbs
remains more-or-less constant as more and more bulbs are added to the “ladder”. The current
increases as more bulbs are added to the circuit and the overall resistance decreases. In addition,
if one bulb is removed from the “ladder” the other bulbs do not go out. Each bulb is
independently linked to the voltage source.

Introductory Physics with the Xplorer GLX © 2006 PASCO p. 83

Activity 23A Teacher Notes: Voltage in a Series Circuit PS-2826

Sample Data
The first screenshot shows a sample of voltage across a light bulb. The second shows voltage
across the D cells.

Voltage across light bulb Voltage across D cells

Introductory Physics with the Xplorer GLX © 2006 PASCO p. 84

Activity 23A Teacher Notes: Voltage in a Series Circuit PS-2826

Lab Report - Activity 23A: Voltage in a Series Circuit

Answers and Sample Data
Predict
1. How will the voltages in a series circuit change as more light bulbs are added to the
circuit?
The voltage across each light bulb in a series circuit decreases as more light bulbs are added to
the circuit.
2. How will the voltage across the voltage source compare to the voltage across the light
bulbs in a series circuit?
The voltage across the voltage source will be approximately equal to the sum of the voltages
across the light sources in a series circuit.
Data
1. How bright were the two light bulbs in series compared to the first light bulb?
The brightness of each of the two bulbs in series is about half the brightness of the first light
bulb.
2. How bright were the three light bulbs in series compared to the first light bulb?
The brightness of each of the three bulbs in series is less than the brightness of two bulbs and
much less than the brightness of the first light bulb.
3. What happened in the three-light bulb circuit when you removed the light bulb from the
middle lamp socket?
When the light bulb was removed from the middle lamp socket, the other two lights went out.
Data Table
One Light Bulb
Voltage Across Light Bulb: 2.72 V
Voltage Across Batteries: 2.88 V

Two Light Bulbs in Series

Voltage Across Light Bulb 1: 1.41 V
Voltage Across Light Bulb 2: 1.45 V
Sum of the Voltages Across Both Bulbs: 2.86 V
Voltage Across Batteries: 2.88 V

Three Light Bulbs in Series

Voltage Across Light Bulb 1: 1.01 V
Voltage Across Light Bulb 2: 0.87 V
Voltage Across Light Bulb 3: 0.95 V
Sum of the Voltages Across Three Bulbs: 2.83 V
Voltage Across Batteries: 2.87 V

Introductory Physics with the Xplorer GLX © 2006 PASCO p. 85

Activity 23A Teacher Notes: Voltage in a Series Circuit PS-2826

Questions
1. How did the voltage across the two D cells compare to the voltage across the first light
bulb?
The voltage across the voltage source is slightly more than the voltage across the light bulb.
2. How did the voltage across the two light bulbs in series compare to the voltage across one
light bulb? How did the sum of the voltages across two bulbs compare to the voltage
across the D cells?
The voltage across each light bulb was less than the voltage of the single light bulb. The sum of
the voltages was about the same as the voltage of the D cells.
3. What did you notice about the voltage across each light bulb and the total voltage across all
three light bulbs in the third part of the procedure?
The sum of the voltage across all three bulbs is about the same as the voltage across the D cells.
4. What can you say about the voltage in a series circuit?
The sum of the voltages across the light bulbs in a series circuit is approximately the same as the
source voltage.
5. What happened to the light bulbs when you removed the middle bulb from the socket?
Why?
When one light bulb is removed from the series circuit, the other two light bulbs go out. When
one part of the series circuit is removed, the circuit is “open”; the other parts do not receive
electric energy.
6. If all the lights in a house are connected together in series and they are all turned on, what
would happen to the lights when you turn one of them off (or it burns out)?
All of the lights connected in series will go off if one of them is turned off (or if it burns out).

Introductory Physics with the Xplorer GLX © 2006 PASCO p. 86