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Arizona STEM

Acceleration Project

Circuits Scrutiny - Part 1

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Circuit Inquiry Lab

Series & Parallel Design - Part 1

A HS Physics STEM Lesson

Sara Howell

June 2024

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Notes for Teachers

This lesson takes place in a classroom for 60 minutes.
Students may work in pairs or small groups (you know your classroom best).
Creative graphics to support the “tweets” are encouraged (possible partnership with fine arts/ela teachers).
Facilitate discussions about real-world examples in the classroom and/or at home.
A general prior understanding of series and parallel circuits, and Ohm’s Law, is essential for successful exploration and statement creation.
The level of guided inquiry that is executed should be based on prior inquiry activities (again, you know your classroom best).

List of Materials:

Small Group Presentation Platform

Whiteboards w/ markers
Google Slides & Projector
Poster board w/ markers

General Lab Supplies

Rulers, Protractors, Pencils, etc.

Multimeters

Circuit Kits

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Arizona Science Standards

Science Standards:

HS.P4U3.9: Use mathematics and computational thinking to explain the relationships between power, current, voltage, and resistance.

Science and Engineering Practices

Develop & use models
Analyze and interpret data
Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information
Engage in argument from evidence
Use mathematics and computational thinking

Arizona Ed Tech Standards

9-12.4.a Students know and use a deliberate design process for generating ideas, testing theories, creating innovative artifacts or solving authentic problems.

9-12.3.d Students exhibit a tolerance for ambiguity, perseverance and the capacity to work with open-ended problems.

9-12.5.b Students collect data or identify relevant data sets, use digital tools to analyze them, and represent data in various ways to facilitate problem-solving and decision-making.

9-12.6.a Students choose the appropriate platforms and tools for meeting the desired objectives of their creation or communication.

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I can describe how potential difference changes across resistors connected in series.

I can describe how potential difference changes across resistors connected in parallel.

I can collaborate and communicate effectively with my peers about potential difference changes across resistors in parallel and series circuits.

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Circuit Exploration

Potential Difference in Series

Potential Difference in Parallel

Show What You Know!

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Let’s Explore!

Using your circuit kit & multimeters, create a closed circuit with different resistors and qualitatively describe how the brightness of at least one bulb changes.

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Potential Difference in Series Circuits

Your goal: assess how potential difference changes across resistors connected in series.

Then, create an “old school tweet” (140 characters or less) to share with your classmates about what you discovered.

Exploration Activity #1 (15 minutes)

With their partners, students should create a circuit that has 2 resistors in series with each other and a battery. Students should then investigate the potential differences across each resistor. Students should make a qualitative assessment about how potential differences change across resistors in series circuits & support this with quantitative data. They should create an “old school tweet” with their qualitative assessment to share with their classmates at the end of class. “Old school tweets” should be 140 characters or less. Students may include an image with their “tweet” if they would like.

Teacher notes: circulate the room while students are working & considering posing the following questions:

What happens to the potential difference if the resistors are the same vs. if the resistors are different?
What do you notice about the voltage readings when you flip-flop the position of the probes on the multimeter?
What happens if you add a third resistor?
How do individual voltages compare to the total voltage of the circuit?

Provide students with materials to visually create a graphic that will explain their assessment. This might be poster board and markers, white board and markers, computers for Google Slides or Canva, etc. Encourage students to be creative!

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Potential Difference in Parallel Circuits

Your goal: assess how potential difference changes across resistors connected in parallel.

Then, create an “old school tweet” (140 characters or less) to share with your classmates about what you discovered.

Exploration Activity #2 (15 minutes)

With their partners, students should create a circuit that has 2 resistors in parallel with each other and a battery. Students should then investigate the potential differences across each resistor. Students should make a qualitative assessment about how potential differences change across resistors in parallel circuits & support this with quantitative data. They should create an “old school tweet” with their qualitative assessment to share with their classmates at the end of class. “Old school tweets” should be 140 characters or less. Students may include an image with their “tweet” if they would like.

Teacher notes: circulate the room while students are working & considering posing the following questions:

What happens to the potential difference if the resistors are the same vs. if the resistors are different?
What do you notice about the voltage readings when you flip-flop the position of the probes on the multimeter?
What happens if you add a third resistor?
What happens if you add a resistor in series (creating a combination circuit)?
How do individual voltages compare to the total voltage of the circuit?

Provide students with materials to visually create a graphic that will explain their assessment. This might be poster board and markers, white board and markers, computers for Google Slides or Canva, etc. Encourage students to be creative!

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Show What You Know!

Let’s Share!

What “tweet” did you create for potential difference changes across resistors connected in series?

What “tweet” did you create for potential difference changes across resistors connected in parallel?

What quantitative data supports your statements?

If you used images and/or drew a schematic, how does that support your “tweet”?

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Differentiation Notes

Offer students who are having trouble getting started some examples from previous years.
Ask students leading questions or to create a hypothesis if they struggle to start their “tweet.”
Offer a video resources for students who struggle understanding the differences between series & parallel circuits.

Remediation

Extension/Enrichment

Students can create a schematic to support their “tweet” if they have extra time and haven’t already done so.
Students can create more complex circuits by combining resistors in series and parallel.
Students can find examples in the classroom around them of series and parallel circuits similar to those they’ve created and use these to support their statements when sharing with the class.