Charge & Energy
Circuit Detectives
Derek's Details
Safe & Surprising
What Would Happen?
100

What form of energy do batteries store?

Chemical energy.

100

How many routes does a simple series circuit have?

One route.

100

What color was Derek’s backpack?

Teal.

100

Who did Derek tell about the water near the power cord?

Mr. Lee.

100

A battery has energy, but a wire disconnects from a simple bulb circuit. Will the bulb light?

No. The disconnected wire breaks the circuit’s path.

200

What is electric current?

The rate of flow of electric charge.

200

What happens to both series bulbs if their only route opens?

Both go out because the complete path is broken.

200

What shape was Derek’s sandwich?

A star.

200

Why does a wire have plastic covering?

Plastic insulation resists current and helps prevent contact with the conductor.

200

You replace a conducting connection with plastic. What happens to the current in this classroom circuit?

It stops, or becomes too small to light the bulb, because plastic is an insulator.

300

Name two forms of energy produced by a glowing bulb.

Light and heat.

300

Two bulbs have separate branches across a battery. What type of circuit is this?

A parallel circuit.

300

What two small objects did Derek find while searching, besides the keychain?

A red pencil and a toy dinosaur.

300

What can rubbing a balloon on a cloth transfer?

Electrons.

300

Two bulbs are in series. One bulb fails with a break inside it. What happens to the other?

It goes out too because the only route is broken.

400

Does a working bulb use up electric charge? Explain.

No. It transfers energy to light and heat while charge continues around the circuit.

400

One branch opens in a parallel circuit. Why can the other bulb stay lit?

Its own branch still has a complete path to both battery terminals.

400

What room held the lab, and what color ink did Mia use to record the result?

Room 12 and green ink.

400

How is a short circuit different from an open circuit?

An open circuit breaks the path. A short circuit creates an unintended low-resistance path that can allow too much current.

400

Two bulbs are on separate parallel branches. A shared wire at the battery disconnects. What happens?

Both go out because neither branch has a complete path through the battery.

500

Why can a charged balloon attract a wall that has no overall charge?

It shifts the wall’s charges slightly, producing attraction.

500

With the same battery, why did adding an identical bulb in series make each bulb dimmer?

The total resistance increased, so less current flowed.

500

Where was the lightning keychain, and what topic was Derek’s library book about?

Under Mia’s green notebook. His book was about sharks.

500

Why can a short circuit cause overheating?

Its low resistance can allow excessive current, which produces heat.

500

Two bulbs are connected in parallel. One bulb goes out when its branch opens. The other stays lit. If these bulbs were connected in series instead, what would happen when the circuit opens?

Both bulbs would go out because a series circuit has only one path for current.

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