Circuits Galore

B Block discussed the nature of series circuits today, building on yesterday's general overview. We looked at features of series circuits and the patterns of current and voltage for each load in the circuit. For series circuits, the equivalent resistance is the sum of the resistors, the current is the same through each resistor and the potential difference across each resistor varies based on size of the individual resistance. Tomorrow, we'll compare this with parallel circuits and see something quite different.

C Block and F Block began a discussion of circuits today, getting a taste for the structure and function of circuits, the usefulness of schematic diagrams, the difference between open and closed circuits, the danger of short circuits and how functions, circuit breakers and GFI's act as emergency switches to open a circuit in a dangerous situation. Tomorrow' we'll break apart the basic types of circuits to study individually. We'll begin with series circuits, then move to parallel. Finally, we'll combine the types to look at more complex circuit configurations.

E Block worked on their series and parallel circuit lab. Both configurations were built and patterns for current and potential difference across resistors was examined. For series circuits, folks had some predictions based on yesterday's work in class, but parallel circuits won't be covered until tomorrow, so brain power had to be expended to evaluate those results for meaningful patterns. We'll go over these in class before hitting the details of parallel circuits tomorrow in class.