Creating Virtual Circuits with PhET

Go to the PhET circuit construction kit virtual lab. Build the following circuits:

1. Build a simple circuit with one battery, one bulb, and however many wires you need. Notice the lines surrounding the bulb; these lines will get longer or shorter, depending on the type of circuit you design. Also, note the flow of electrons through the circuit. When you’re done, press the orange circular arrow button in the bottom right to clear the simulation.
2. Build a series circuit with one battery, two bulbs, and however many wires you need. Note that the lines surrounding the bulb are shorter than they were with the simple circuit you made previously. Do you remember why? If not, go back to the video in the previous lesson.
3. Add a third bulb to your series circuit. You can separate connections by clicking on any of the circular dotted lines and then clicking on the yellow scissors icon that appears. See how dim the bulbs are now?
4. Clear the simulation, and create a parallel circuit with one battery, two bulbs, and however many wires you need. Remember that electrons flow from positive to negative in circuits.
5. Add a third bulb to your parallel circuit. The brightness of the bulb should be unchanged from the first simple circuit you created.

Keep playing with creating circuits. Try adding additional batteries, switches, and using other materials (click the down arrow underneath the tools). There is even a virtual multimeter that you can use to measure the voltage of your circuits.