Two circuit diagrams share page 1 of this 4th grade science sheet on series and parallel circuits: one loop with two bulbs in a row, and one battery with each bulb on its own branch. Students count the paths in each circuit and say what happens to the other bulb when one is removed. Page 2 has a three-row comparison chart and a question about which circuit homes use. Page 3 is the answer key.
“Compare a series circuit and a parallel circuit by the number of paths for electricity.”
Questions 1 and 2 and the first row of the chart.
“Predict what happens to one bulb when the other is removed.”
Questions 3 and 4 and the second row of the chart.
“Explain why homes are wired with parallel circuits.”
The last chart row and question 6.
Side-by-side diagrams labeled Series Circuit and Parallel Circuit, each with a battery, Bulb 1 and Bulb 2. Questions 1 and 2 ask for the number of paths in each. Questions 3 and 4 ask what happens to the other bulb when one is removed or goes out.
A chart with one column for each circuit type and three rows: number of paths, what happens to the other bulb, and whether the circuit wires lights and outlets in homes, answered Yes or No.
Question 6 asks which kind of circuit homes use and why it suits a house. Four lines leave room for a short explanation.
One path for series and two for parallel, the finished chart, and a model answer about lights staying on when one bulb burns out.
After building both
Use it after students light two bulbs each way with real parts. They then write what they saw instead of what they remember being told.
String lights
Ask who has had a string of lights go dark when one bulb failed. That is the series circuit on the left of page 1, and students usually remember it.
Next-day recap
Give page 2 alone the following day as a recap. The Yes or No row is quick to mark.
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