Electrical Circuit
Electricity and Magnetism

Adding batteries to the circuit - a practical activity

Classroom Activity for 11-14 Supporting Physics Teaching

What the Activity is for

Throughout this practical activity, the pupils will establish that when an extra battery is added to a simple electric circuit, the current around the circuit increases in value and the bulb gets brighter; or the buzzer/bell sounds louder; or the motor turns more quickly.

What to Prepare

  • batteries
  • bulbs
  • buzzers/bells/motors
  • ammeters
  • connecting leads
  • support sheet: Adding batteries to the circuit


Support sheet

What Happens During this Activity

The pupils work in pairs to measure the current in the bulb circuit and buzzer/bell/motor circuit with one, two and possibly three batteries and observe what happens.

Resources

Download the support sheet / student worksheet for this activity.

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