Learning Outcomes for Electric Circuits

 

Lesson Plans || Learning Outcomes and Activities || Teacher Notes || Labs

The list below displays sample learning objectives for the unit on Electric Circuits. The various activities from the Lesson Plans have been organized by objective. This format of organizing The Physics Classroom's activities may be more useful to some teachers than the Lesson Plan format. It is worth noting that the activities identified below only include those activities included on the Lesson Plans and in the Pre-Built Task Tracker courses. Additional activities are referenced on the Teacher Notes page.


 

1. Electric Potential and Electric Potential Difference

Relate electric potential to the energy per charge and the electric potential difference between two locations to the change in energy per charge moved between the two locations; identify the units of electric potential and distinguish between high and low potential locations.
 

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2. A Model of Charge Flow in a Circuit

Identify the two requirements of an electric circuit; describe charge as marching together through the circuit loop at the same rate at every location, never accumulating nor being used up; describe the conducting components (wires, bulbs, batteries, etc.) of the circuit as being the source of charge and describe the battery as being the energy source that is used to pump the charge uphill from low energy to high energy to establish an electric potential difference across the two ends of the external circuit..
 

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3. Current

Define current and identify its unit; mathematically relate current to the quantity of charge and the time; identify the direction of conventional current and compare the current near the + terminal of the battery to the current at all other locations within the circuit.
 

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4. Resistance

Define resistance and identify the unit of resistance; describe the dependence of wire resistance upon wire length and cross-sectional area; explain the effect of increased resistance upon the current in a circuit.
 

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5. Voltage-Current-Resistance Relationship

Relate the current in a simple circuit to the resistance of the circuit and the voltage (electric potential difference accross) of the battery.
 

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6. Comparing Series and Parallel Circuits

Describe the fundamental differences between series and parallel circuits in terms of resistor arrangements and charge pathways; describe the difference in terms of the effect that adding resistors has upon the overall resistance and current.
 

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7. Series Circuits - Concepts and Mathematics

Discuss the meaning of equivalent resistance (R_eq) and calculate the R_eq value for a series circuit. compare the current and the electric potential at the various locations and relate the battery voltage to the individual voltage drops of each resistor; use ∆V=I•R to conduct a complete analysis of a series circuit.

 

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8. Parallel Circuits - Concepts and Mathematics

Discuss the meaning of equivalent resistance (R_eq) and calculate the R_eq value for a parallel circuit; compare the current and the electric potential at the various locations and relate the battery voltage to the individual voltage drops of each resistor; use ∆V=I•R to conduct a complete analysis of a parallel circuit.

 

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Review Activities

 

Also Available ...

Physics teachers may find the following for-sale tools to be useful supplements to our Lesson Plan and Pacing Guide section:

 

1. Task Tracker Subscription (annual purchase)
   A subscription allows teachers to set up classes, add students, customize online assignments, view student progress/scores, and export student scores. Task Tracker accounts allow your students to begin assignments in class or at school and to finish them at home. View our Seat and Cost Calculator for pricing details.
    
2. The Solutions Guide
   We publish a free curriculum with >200 ready-to-use Think Sheets for developing physics concepts. The Solutions Guide is a download containing the source documents, PDFs of source documents, and answers/solutions in MS Word and PDF format. An expanded license agreement is included with the purchase. (Cost: $25 download)
    
3. Teacher Presentation Pack
   This is a large collection of downloadable content packed with nearly 190 Microsoft PowerPoint slide decks, the corresponding Lesson Notes (as PDF and fully-modifiable MS Word format), about 170 animations (in .gif, .png, and .mp4 file formats), a countless number of ready-to-use images (including the original source documents that would allow for easy modification of those images), and a license that allows teachers to modify and use all the content with their classes on password-protected sites (such as course management systems).  (Cost: $40 download)
    
4. Question Bank
   We distribute a Question Bank that includes more than 9300 questions neatly organized according to topic. The Question Bank is the perfect tool for busy teachers or new teachers. Even if you don't use the website with your classes, the Question Bank will assist you in quickly putting together quizzes, tests and other documents with high-quality questions that target student's conceptions of physics principles. And if you do use The Physics Classroom website, the Question Bank is the perfect complement to the materials found at the website. (Cost: $25 download)