Data Sheet

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63. Failures in Series Circuits
Build the circuit as shown on the left, turn the
hand crank generator (94 & 99) clockwise
and you will light up all the LEDs at the same
time. Note that if you were to remove any
one of the LEDs from the circuit (e.g. remove
the star LED (70)), this opens the circuit
and both of the other LEDs turn off. This is
a disadvantage of series circuits: if one light
goes out then they all go out (remember
those old Christmas tree lights?).
64. Failures in Parallel Circuits
Build the circuit as shown on the left, turn the
hand crank generator (94 & 99) clockwise
and you will light up all the LEDs and the
lamp (76) at the same time. If you
turn the hand crank generator (94 &
99) counter-clockwise, then only the
bi-directional LED (71) and the lamp (76)will
light.
Note that if you were to remove any one of
the LEDs or lamp (76) from the circuit (e.g.
remove the star LED (70)), this does not
affect the rest of the circuit and both of the
other LEDs and lamp (76) stay on. This is an
advantage of parallel circuits: if one light goes
out, it doesn’t affect the rest of the lights.
1st level