Teaching Electricity by Analogy
Nobody has ever seen an electron Electricity is an abstract concept If we teach a related concrete idea first, then
the abstract idea will be easier to understand
Drama is fun to use because it necessitates student engagement
Drama: Current Analogy Get three volunteers to each count the class
Oops! – ambiguity No need to recount Digits come in groups of 20 (normally) – called people
Electrons come in groups of about 6,250,000,000,000,000,000 called Coulombs
Electric Current Analogy using DramaDigits are electrons
People are CoulombsMinutes are secondsCounters are ammeters
A Power Pack is an electron “waver-on”
Measuring CurrentCurrent is the flow of electrons. Ammeters are
electron counters; they count electrons as they go past and that flow is measured in Coulombs per second OR C/s OR Cs-1 or Amperes or Amps.
A
The circuit symbol for an ammeter is a circle with an A in it
Series Circuit Analogy - Current
Concrete version of abstract idea
Electrons are not “used up”
A real circuit on a bench will be more understandable
Parallel Circuit Analogy – CurrentDrama is a concrete version of an abstract idea
A real circuit on a bench will be more understandable
A summary of the behaviour of current
Current in parallel is shared and
Current in series is the same
Energy Couriers continuedE, PE, EPE, EPED(or “Voltage” if you must)
Two tongued electron taster
or EPED meteror Voltmeter
Simple Circuit
The energy given to a circuit by the power pack is ……………….. the energy used up by the light-bulb
Simple Circuit
The energy given to a circuit by the power pack is the same as the energy used up by the light-bulb
Simple Circuit
The energy given to a circuit by the power pack is equal to the energy used up by the light-bulb
Energy Couriers
Electrons carry energyTherefore, so do CoulombsWe can model this with a person (or a “Coulomb”) carrying water in a beaker
The water represents energy. A full beaker is 12 Joules (for THAT Coulomb)
Parallel Circuit Analogy - Voltage
Concrete version of abstract idea
A real circuit on a bench will be more understandable
Series Circuit Analogy - Voltage
Concrete version of abstract idea
A real circuit on a bench will be more understandable
Series & Parallel: Voltage & Current Summary Version 1
Series Parallel
Voltage Shared Same
Current Same
Series & Parallel: Voltage & Current Summary Version 1
Series Parallel
Voltage Shared Same
Current Same Shared
Series & Parallel: Voltage & Current Summary Version 2
Parallel Series
Voltage Same Shared
Current Shared Same
Series & Parallel: Voltage & Current Summary Version 3
Series This will be left
for you to fill in.
Parallel
Series & Parallel: Voltage & Current Summary Version 3
Series This will be left
for you to fill in.
Parallel You will find the
Series & Parallel: Voltage & Current Summary Version 3
Series This will be left
for you to fill in.
Parallel You will find the
pattern works.