Mission 04 · Lesson 13

Electricity

Electronics & Robotics

35–50 min + optional 15 min

Work at your pace. Take a break between stages; there is no countdown.

You need: paper, a pencil and this lab. A helper is welcome for reading and discussion.

Connect to what you know

Your helper explained a circuit. Now test what a complete electrical path actually does.

Battery, wires, switch and bulb connected in a loop. Generated teaching illustration. Shapes and relative sizes are simplified; this is not a construction plan.

Understand it, step by step

1
A battery supplies energy. Wires connect its two terminals through a component such as a bulb. A closed circuit is a complete conducting loop.
2
An open switch makes a gap. In this simple series circuit, a gap anywhere stops the current throughout the loop and the bulb goes out.
3
The bulb transfers electrical energy into light and heat. Current is not “used up” at the bulb. Our on-screen model ignores resistance changes and battery wear.

Watch a worked example

Battery → wire → closed switch → bulb → return wire → battery: the bulb lights. Disconnect the return wire: it goes out even if the switch is still closed.

Pause and predict

Will closing the switch help if a wire is missing?