TINKER PiEDESIGN IN INDIA

Series and parallel circuitsTinkerPieCircuit tutorial 3 of 24 · Beginner · 15 minutes

Compare two bulbs in series (one path) with two bulbs in parallel (two paths).

Open this circuit in TinkerPieCircuit (free, runs in your browser)

What you will learn

Parts

1 battery (4.5 V)1 slide switch2 bulbs

Steps

  1. Build the series circuit

    Open Series circuit. The bulbs are joined one after the other. Both glow dimly because they share the voltage.

  2. Remove one bulb

    Select a bulb and press Delete. The other bulb goes out too, because the only path is broken.

  3. Open the parallel circuit

    Press Examples and choose Parallel circuit. Each bulb has its own path to the battery.

  4. Compare

    Both bulbs are bright. Delete one: the other stays on.

This circuit needs no code. It runs by itself when you open it.

How it works

In a series circuit the same current goes through every part and the voltage is shared. In a parallel circuit each branch gets the full battery voltage, so the bulbs are bright and work independently. House lights are wired in parallel.

Challenge: Add a third bulb to each circuit. What happens to the brightness in series? In parallel?

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