Demonstrations

Series and Parallel Light Bulbs

Code Number :	5F20.50
Disclaimer:	Reprinted by permission of Dick Berg, University of Maryland, for use on this website. The demonstrations contained and referenced herein are listed for the purposes of cataloging and describing physics demonstrations which should be conducted only under the direction of a trained instructional support professional or physicist. These demonstrations are not presented for the purpose of being conducted by persons unconnected to this Facility and/or persons not consulting with or being supervised by the recognized instructional support professional or physicist and his/her staff. The University is responsible only for those demonstrations carried out using its own equipment using established safety and scheduling policies, and bears no responsibility for those choosing to use this source material for their own purposes. All demonstrations described and contained herein are public domain, and can also be found in reference materials in libraries, bookstores, and electronic sources. Further information regarding legal liability in use of demonstrations and labs will be found on the web site Injuries in School/College Laboratories in USA. The University of Iowa Disclaimers: University of Iowa Disclaimer All Rights Reserved..
Condition :	Fair
Principle :	Series and Parallel Circuits
Area of Study :	Electricity and Magnetism
Equipment :	Demo Stand with Bulbs (4) and Conducting Rods (2), Variac, 0 to 150 VDC Power Supply, Circuit board, 12 volt lights, Batteries or 0 to 20 VDC power supply, 12 volt battery, Iron "rabbit ears", light bulbs with magnetic connectors.
Procedure :	The circuit board demo is an easier and less lethal version of the older demo. Place the two iron "rabbit ears" into the outer banana connections on the battery. Connect the light bulbs with the magnetic connectors across the ears to show parallel bulb connections. Series connections can also be made with this apparatus. Connect the Variac to the demo stand. Turn on the circuit switch. The light bulbs may be arranged as desired or removed and replaced with the metal conduction rods. CAUTION: The metal stand is the electric conductor of this demo. It is un-insulated. Unpleasant and possibly lethal conditions may occur if this is touched while the voltage is turned on. Use of a DC power supply in place of the Variac may be preferable.

References

Martha Lietz, "Make a Mystery Circuit with a Bar Light Fixture," TPT, Vol. 45, # 4, April 2007, p. 244.

Tony Minich, "Conceptualizing Series and Parallel Circuits Through 3-D Modeling", TPT, Vol. 43, # 7, Oct. 2005, p. 448.

Hans Pfister, "Illustrating Electric Circuit Concepts with the Glitter Circuit", TPT, Vol. 42, # 6, Sept. 2004, p. 359.

"Figuring Physics", TPT, Vol. 42, # 3, March 2004, p. 180.

Dean Livelybrooks, " "Feel" The Difference Between Series And Parallel Circuits," TPT, p. 102, Vol. 41, # 2, (Feb. 2003).

Kavork Spartalian, "Rectangles in Physics," TPT, Vol. 41, # 7, Oct. 2003, p. 390.

Thomas B. Greenslade Jr., "Additional References," TPT, Vol. 41, # 7, Oct. 2003, p. 380

Art Hovey, "Nomographs," TPT, Vol. 41, # 1, p. 4, Jan. 2003.

"Figuring Physics", TPT, Vol. 40, # 3, Mar. 2002, p. 184.

Thomas B. Greenslade Jr., "A Nomograph for Resistors in Parallel," TPT, Vol. 40, # 8, p. 458, (Nov 2002).

Tom Russell, "In Praise of Simple Physics," TPT, Vol. 38, # 5, p. 306, (May 2000).

Dean Baird, "Males, Females, and Wrong Answers", TPT, Vol. 37 # 2, Feb. 1999, p. 67.

Camille L. Wainwright, "Gender Indifference", TPT, Vol. 37 # 3, Mar. 1999, p. 131.

Thomas R. Brown, Timothy F. Slater, and Jeffrey P. Adams, "Gender Differences with Batteries and Bulbs", TPT, Vol. 36 # 8, Dec. 1998, p. 526.

Walter R. Steger and Suk R. Hwang, "A Series-Parallel Demonstration", TPT, Vol. 33, # 9, Dec. 1995, p. 590.

Clifton Keller and Yimin Wang, "A Golden Oldie - A Black Box Circuit", TPT, Vol. 32, # 4, Apr. 1994, p. 222.

Richard Forrest, "An Apparatus for Teaching Series and Parallel Circuits", TPT, Vol. 30, # 2, Feb. 1992, p. 84.

John W. Jewett, "Get The LED Out", TPT, Vol. 29, # 8, Nov. 1991, p. 530.

Robert P. Baumann and Saleh Adams, "Misunderstandings of Electric Current", TPT, Vol. 28, # 5, May 1990, p. 334.

Clifton Keller, "Mysterious Light in Series and Parallel", TPT, Vol. 18, # 6, Sept. 1980, p. 464.

Norman Fredette, John Lochhead, "Student Conceptions of Simple Circuits", TPT, Vol. 18, # 3, Mar. 1980, p. 194.

Harry G. Miller, "Try a Socket", TPT, Vol. 18, # 5, May 1980, p. 336.

"Figuring Physics", TPT, Vol. 26, # 5, May 1988, p. 314.

James Evans, "Teaching Electricity with Batteries and Bulbs", TPT, Vol. 16, # 1, Jan. 1978, p. 15.

Eh-1: Freier and Anderson, A Demonstration Handbook for Physics.

Robert Ehrlich, "Light Bulbs in Series and in Parallel," Turning the World Inside Out, p. 149-150.

Mail Questions and Comments to: Dale Stille