Inquiry Physics Objectives

Links:

Content Standard III (State PASS Standard 1):
Forces and Motion
(electricity and magnetism section)

Topic:

12. Circuits (local standard)
    The flow of charges in a wire is described by the concepts of current, voltage, and resistance, which are related by Ohm’s Law for many devices. Series, parallel, and complex circuits have different current, voltage, and resistance.

Time Range:
12 weeks for E & M section

Suggested Teaching Strategies:

• The core labs have students construct simple circuits and make measurements of voltage and current, discover Ohm’s Law, etc. They use dry cells and small light bulbs or high power resistors to eliminate problems of electric shock.
• Complex circuits are namely series-parallel combinations of sources and users. Kirchoff’s Laws are NOT introduced, but students instead simplify a series-parallel combination as needed.

Aligned Resources:

• Inquiry Physics Investigation 15 includes some additional labs and worksheets which are most useful
• Core Lab 11: Ammeters
  Inquiry Physics Investigation 15, Lab A – Basic Circuitry is a good introduction; core lab is Lab B - Current
• Core Lab 12: Ohm’s Law
  Inquiry Physics Investigation 15, Lab C – Ohm’s Law
• Core Lab 13: Resistors and Series Circuit Properties
  Inquiry Physics Investigation 15, Lab D – Resistors and Lab E – Series Circuits
• Core Lab 14: Parallel Circuit Properties
  Inquiry Physics Investigation 15, Lab F – Parallel Circuits

Revision Date:
June 2004