Many students cannot identify reliably when two different circuit diagrams are/are not showing the same circuit
Misconception
Diagnostic Resources
The following worksheets may help to identify whether students hold this particular misconception.
For more information, see the University of York EPSE website.
This question may be useful to identify pupils who think the position of the components in a circuit diagram (e.g. bottom or side) is important.
EPSE Circuit Diagrams Q1Q4 is designed to probe pupils' ability to recognise equivalent ways of drawing a circuit with two parallel branches. All the circuit diagrams here are correct representations of it.
EPSE Circuit Diagrams Q4No circuit drawings are used in the following questions. Instead, they use different methods to test pupils' ability to recognise circuit diagrams that are equivalent ways of representing the same circuit.
EPSE Circuit Diagrams Q5The final two questions test pupils' ability to 'translate' in the other direction - from circuit diagram to actual circuit.
EPSE Circuit Diagrams Q9Resources to Address This
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Describing Parallel Circuits (11-14)
This resource discusses how best to describe the behaviour of parallel circuits in the classroom, and talks about ways of exploring different (but physically equivalent) circuit layouts with students.
View Resource -
Circuits from circuit diagrams (11-19)
Students of all ages sometimes struggle to relate 2D circuit diagrams with 'real' circuits. Examples and scaffolding will help.
View Resource
References
- Millar, R. and King, T. () Students’ understanding of voltage in simple series electric circuits. International Journal of Science Education, 15 (3), 339-349.