Group Members: Letaba, Pedraza, Grata, Saludario, Rebita
Grade & Section: Grade 10 STE - Pythagoras
Group Name: Kadawan
Subject: Basic Electronics and Robotics
PERFORMANCE TASK #1
STEM ENGINEERING CHALLENGE: Circuit Builder Challenge
I. Objective
● To build and investigate a series circuit using PHET Construction Kit and observe
how voltage, current, and resistance affect the circuit.
II. Materials
● PHET Colorado
● Laptop
● Internet Connection
III. Procedure
1. Build a working series circuit.
2. Record the current (A).
3. Measure the voltage (V).
4. Observe the brightness of the bulbs.
5. Remove the bulb from the circuit.
6. Explain what happened to the circuit.
7. Add another battery to the circuit.
8. Predict what will happen before testing.
9. Compare your prediction with your actual observation.
IV. Screenshots:
1. Build a working series circuit
1. Build a working series circuit.
Voltage: 3 V
Current: 0.30 A
Bulb Brightness: Low
2. Remove one of the bulbs from the circuit
Voltage: 0 V
Current: 0 A
Bulb Brightness: Not emitting light
What happened to the circuit?
The circuit completely stopped working because removing one bulb opened the circuit. A
series circuit only has one path for electric current, so breaking that path prevented current
from flowing, causing all the bulbs to turn off.
3. Add another battery to the circuit
Voltage: 6 V
Current: 0.60 A
Bulb Brightness: High
Prediction: We guessed that adding another battery will increase the voltage and the current
flow of the circuit.
Actual Result: The bulbs became brighter, then the voltage rose to 18 V and the current rose
to 0.60 A.
Data Table:
Trial Voltage Current Brightness Observation
1 9V 0.30 A Low All three bulbs
lit equally at the
same time.
2 9V 0A None The entire
circuit stopped.
3 18 V 0.60 A High The circuit
voltage and
current doubled
from the first
trial.
STE ENGINEERING CHALLENGE EXTENSION:
JUSTIFICATION:
The reason why this circuit produces the brightest light is because we used only one bulb,
which lowers the resistance and the lower the resistance the brighter the light bulb is. When
measuring and recording the voltage and current, the light bulb takes all the voltage produced
by the battery, hence making the recorded voltage 9 V, and measured current 0.90A.
Now with the same logic, we can make a circuit that can produce the brightest bulbs with the
same 3 bulbs, by lowering all bulbs resistance to 1 ohm—as you can in PHET Colorado.
And the same as the first circuit with only one bulb, we were able to make a circuit that
produced the brightest bulbs with 3 bulbs by just lowering the bulbs resistance.
Recorded Current: 0.30 A
Measured Voltage: 3 V
Bulb Brightness: High
GUIDE QUESTIONS:
1. Why did all the bulbs turn off after removing one bulb?
- All the bulbs turned off because removing one bulb opened the circuit.
Since a series circuit has only one path for electricity, the current could no
longer flow.
2. How did electric current travel through the circuit?
- The electric current traveled from the battery through each bulb one after
another before returning to the battery. It followed only one continuous
path.
3. What evidence shows that electricity has only one path in a series circuit?
- The evidence is that when one bulb was removed, all the other bulbs also
turned off. This shows that the current has only one path to follow.
4. If resistance increases, what happens to the current? Explain.
- If the resistance increases, the current decreases because greater resistance makes
it more difficult for electric current to flow through the circuit.
5. Would firefighters rely on this type of circuit for emergency lighting?
- No. Firefighters would not rely on a series circuit for emergency lighting because
if one bulb fails or is removed, the entire circuit stops working and all the lights go
out.
6. What evidence supports your answer? Are there situations where series circuits are
advantageous?
- The evidence is that removing one bulb caused every bulb to turn off, showing
that the whole circuit depends on each component. However, series circuits are
advantageous in simple devices such as flashlights, some toys, and small electronic
projects because they are easy to build and require fewer wires.