Electric House Project
This is my electric house that we had to complete to show our understanding of circuits. We also had to identify a problem and fix it with a 3D-printed object. Our original idea was to create a Hogwarts-themed house but unfortunately, it didn’t look like it.
Project Questions:
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- You have three lights bulbs. All have the same intensity when lit. Explain how you can prove to a classmate that they are connected in series by unscrewing one light bulb. Support your answer.
When unscrewing one light bulb from a series circuit, all of the light bulbs will turn off too no matter how many light bulbs you have. The reason behind it is because the same current runs through all parts of the circuit, screwing a bulb would block the current from flowing through it. In order to flow back to the positive side of the battery, the electrons have to pass through all the loads. Unlike in the parallel circuit, the electrons only have on path to flow, unscrewing one light bulb would block the flow of electrons and make it an open circuit.
- You have three light bulbs. All have the same intensity when lit. Explain how you can prove to a classmate that they are connected in parallel by unscrewing one light bulb.
Light bulbs in a parallel circuit have multiple pathways for the electrons to flow therefore unscrewing one light bulb won’t affect the 2 others. The 2 other light bulbs will still work because electrons trying to get to the positive side of the battery flow through another path if the load is unavailable.
Note: you may need to play around with practice circuits to determine the answers for #3 and #4. You can do this using real circuits or the PhET Circuit Builder.
- You have three light bulbs. Two are connected in parallel. This parallel combination is connected in series with the third light bulb. Describe the relative intensity of each bulb. Support your answer.
The light bulb in the series circuit is brighter than the other two, its voltage is 6.00V and its current is 0.60 A. The total voltage from the load is 9.00V and the current is 0.60 V. Both the light bulbs in parallel have voltages of 3.00V and 0.30A currents. The voltage in series is 6.00V instead of 3.00V like the parallel circuits because the voltages add together to equal the voltage from the battery which is 9.00V. The voltage is the same throughout in a parallel, so the two light bulbs have the same voltage. The voltage from the series light bulb and the two light bulbs from parallel add together to form the total voltage provided by the battery. The light bulb in series is brighter because the current is bigger due to the increase in voltage that is pushing it compared to the smaller voltage pushing the current in parallel.
- In Question 3, describe the relative intensities of the two remaining lit bulbs if one of the bulbs in parallel was unscrewed. Support your answer.
The remaining to light bulbs has the same voltage (4.50V) and amperes (0.45V) leading to the same brightness. When one of the light bulbs from parallel is removed, the pathway for electrons is removed too. This means that removing a light bulb from parallel turns the circuit into a series circuit.
- Outline a step-by-step method that could be used to determine the resistance of the light bulbs in one of your circuits. Feel free to include a circuit diagram of your set-up.
- Using your method outlined in Question 5, determine the resistance of the bulbs in one of your circuits.
When unscrewing one light bulb from a series circuit, all of the light bulbs will turn off too no matter how many light bulbs you have. The reason behind it is because the same current runs through all parts of the circuit, screwing a bulb would block the current from flowing through it. In order to flow back to the positive side of the battery, the electrons have to pass through all the loads. Unlike in the parallel circuit, the electrons only have on path to flow, unscrewing one light bulb would block the flow of electrons and make it an open circuit.
1) Define a problem in your electric house that could be solved by technology.
When testing out the circuits we found that we need two people to do it. One person to hold up the battery so one person could go in to check the switches and light. This problem emerged because we used short circuits and needed something to hold up the battery. At first, we wanted to just tape the battery to the house but the battery was too unstable for that. We realized we needed something with a more rough surface for the tape to stick on. 
2) Dream possible solutions to the problem
As I stated, we could’ve just taped the battery to the house but it was inconvenient to take off because it took the cardboard off with it. It also wasted too much tape and didn’t last long before it hit the desk with a loud thud. At first, I suggest that we had a batter stand/table where we would prop/hold up the battery and balance the wires but we realized it was a horrible idea. What was supposed to a like a highchair for the battery was even more unstable and capacious. In the end, we agreed upon a battery holder to secure the battery onto the house.
3) Deliver a solution to the problem. Print your design. Document the process.
We were pretty happy with how the 3D print turned out. The printing only took 2 hours which was less than I expected since it was my first time using a 3D printer. We had to make the holder a bit bigger because there might be a possibility something might go wrong and the battery won’t fit.
4) Debrief the quality of the process you went through
This project to me was like a roller coaster, one moment I liked it, and one moment I don’t. The designing process was very fun because I liked drawing and me and my partner were good at drawing circuits. the 3D printing process went smoothly and the only slight problem we had is that we didn’t know how to use Tinkercad. However, the actual circuit building causes many headaches on my part. The circuits were unstable and very finicky, one mistake or wiggle would make you wonder if it was the lights or the wires.