| Physics for the Inquiring Mind [Phys 105] Fall 2005 |
[1] Pull one of your batteries out of the battery pack. Using your battery, light bulb, and any alligator clips that you may want to use, figure out a way to get the light bulb to light. Try different connections and different arrangements of the light bulb and battery.
[2] Sketch a picture of an arrangement that does not cause the bulb to light, even though the wires are connected to the bulb. Sketch also a picture of one that does cause the bulb to light. On the picture that causes the bulb to light, draw a set of arrows showing the complete path that the current makes around your circuit.
[3] For the arrangement that you drew that doesn't cause the bulb to light, explain why current doesn't flow through the bulb.
[4] Is either the bulb's brightness or its ability to illuminate affected by the direction that the current flows through it? Explain.
[5] Reinsert your battery into the battery pack, and figure out a way to get the bulb to light using both batteries. Is the brightness the same as it was with only one battery?
[6] Sketch the configuration that you used in part [5] to get the bulb to light. Be sure to indicate the path that the current takes, and show how it gets through both batteries. You may want to examine the battery pack closely to see how this happens.
[7] Examine your flashlight. Make a sketch of the flashlight, depicting with arrows the path that the current takes when the flashlight is on. Feel free to take it apart to examine its innards. Does current flow through the metallic outside case?