Welcome to the Voltage Circuit Simulator

Welcome to The Exploding Lamp Seminar

Parents--Don't panic! It's a virtual light explosion.

You can return to this page by clicking "Light Explosion" in the menu.

This exercise will help you determine the relationship between voltage (V), current (I) and resistance (R). This relationship is called Ohm's Law. Remember that more voltage means more current, and more resistance means less current. If you increase the voltage and the resistance by the same amount (like double both) the current will remain the same. Dropping the resistance in a circuit will make the current increase and may damage something, cause a fire, or make something explode.

This experiment consists of modifying a circuit to light a lamp without destroying the lamp, we hope! You must be careful, if you let too much current flow through the lamp it will blow out.

All circuits have at least three parts, and most have four.

A voltage source, in this circuit we use a battery. A battery has a positive and negative terminal. Inside, the battery separates electrons and protons by a chemical reaction. The terminal that has the most electrons on it will be the negative terminal of the battery. The other terminal is the positive terminal. You probably remember that the electron has a negative charge and the proton has the positive charge. We say that batteries have a potential difference or a voltage (V) and the unit of measurement is called volts. Voltage is the push or pull that causes current to move through a circuit. The higher the voltage, the harder the push to move electrons.
A connecting path which is usually a wire, that lets electrons pass from the negative side of the battery (voltage source) through the resistance of the circuit and back to the positive terminal of the battery.
A Load. In this circuit the Load is the lamp.
A switch to turn the circuit on and off. A switch will allow the current to flow or stop the current from flowing. Switches are like drawbridges. If the drawbridge is open, the cars can not get over the river. When the drawbridge is closed, both sides of the road are connected and the cars can pass from side to side.

In this circuit we will add resistance (R) in the circuit to keep the current through the light bulb low enough to keep it from getting too hot and blowing out.

Resistance holds back the flow of electrons and decreases the amount of current flowing through a circuit. The greater the resistance, the lower the current. The less resistance in the circuit, the more current.

A light bulb is the load for this circuit. If a lamp is going to give off the proper amount of light, it must have the proper amount of current passing threw it. In the pretend circuit below, the lamp will not light properly until you have adjusted the voltage and resistance in the circuit to get the perfect amount of current. In a real light bulb circuit, the lamp would light up dimly with low current passing through it and if you put too much current through it the lamp will burn out.

Current is measured in amperes or amps for short. The symbol used for current is the (I) which stands for the Intensity of current flow. Current is the flow of electrons passing through a circuit in a given amount of time.

This problem consists of two parts:

Discover how to use Ohm's Law to find the mathematical relationship between voltage (V), current (I), and resistance (R).
Determine the proper amount of current that the lamp needs to operate.

Just play with the circuit until you find the proper amount of resistance by adding resistors to the circuit. You will then turn on the switch, allowing current to flow through the circuit. If the resistance is too low, the light bulb will receive too much current, and will explode. If you put too much resistance, the light bulb will not have enough current flowing through it, and will not light. If the resistance is just right, the light bulb will light up.

If the light bulb explodes or fails to light, turn off the switch (which automatically replaces the light bulb if you blow it) and try again.

Each battery and resistor has a value printed on it which reflects the objects voltage and resistance. There are many combinations that will light the lamp and allow the correct amount of current to flow. See how many combinations you can find.

To add batteries to the circuit, use the mouse to drag a battery from the toolbox and drop it onto the larger battery on the circuit.
To add resistors to the circuit, drag a resistor from the toolbox onto the top wire and drop it into the empty box located on the circuit. Multiple resistors may be added to the circuit.
To remove resistors, simply drag the resistor you wish to remove from the circuit and drop it anywhere outside of the resistor box.
To turn the circuit on and off, click once on the switch.

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Now that you know Ohm's law, you can use apply it to the circuit. Using Ohm's Law, calculate the correct current in the circuit by dividing the battery voltage by the resistance. With the switch turned off, see if you can use Ohm's law to find other values of voltage and current to produce the correct current through the lamp.

Next Circuit

In this next circuit, the light bulb has a different current requirement than in the previous experiment. This lamp requires 3 amps of current. See if you can light the lamp without blowing the bulb this time. Click Email and let me know if you did it correct the first time!

Warning! When you get the kit and start hooking up real circuits, you can damage the components or even Injure Yourself by not hooking up the circuit correctly, putting in the wrong resistor, or not following directions. Always read the caution statements on this website before following the directions in the book. Follow all cautions statements and directions and never just hook up circuits on the breadboard.

Welcome to The Exploding Lamp Seminar

Parents--Don't panic! It's a virtual light explosion.

You can return to this page by clicking "Light Explosion" in the menu.

This experiment consists of modifying a circuit to light a lamp without destroying the lamp, we hope! You must be careful, if you let too much current flow through the lamp it will blow out.

All circuits have at least three parts, and most have four.

A connecting path which is usually a wire, that lets electrons pass from the negative side of the battery (voltage source) through the resistance of the circuit and back to the positive terminal of the battery.

A Load. In this circuit the Load is the lamp.

In this circuit we will add resistance (R) in the circuit to keep the current through the light bulb low enough to keep it from getting too hot and blowing out.

Resistance holds back the flow of electrons and decreases the amount of current flowing through a circuit. The greater the resistance, the lower the current. The less resistance in the circuit, the more current.

Current is measured in amperes or amps for short. The symbol used for current is the (I) which stands for the Intensity of current flow. Current is the flow of electrons passing through a circuit in a given amount of time.

This problem consists of two parts:

Discover how to use Ohm's Law to find the mathematical relationship between voltage (V), current (I), and resistance (R).

Determine the proper amount of current that the lamp needs to operate.

If the light bulb explodes or fails to light, turn off the switch (which automatically replaces the light bulb if you blow it) and try again.

Each battery and resistor has a value printed on it which reflects the objects voltage and resistance. There are many combinations that will light the lamp and allow the correct amount of current to flow. See how many combinations you can find.

To add batteries to the circuit, use the mouse to drag a battery from the toolbox and drop it onto the larger battery on the circuit.

To add resistors to the circuit, drag a resistor from the toolbox onto the top wire and drop it into the empty box located on the circuit. Multiple resistors may be added to the circuit.

To remove resistors, simply drag the resistor you wish to remove from the circuit and drop it anywhere outside of the resistor box.

To turn the circuit on and off, click once on the switch.

Next Circuit

In this next circuit, the light bulb has a different current requirement than in the previous experiment. This lamp requires 3 amps of current. See if you can light the lamp without blowing the bulb this time. Click Email and let me know if you did it correct the first time!