What a learner can do afterwards
- Describe the pattern: more cells (or higher voltage) = brighter bulb / louder buzzer
- Explain that more cells provide more energy to the circuit
- Predict the effect of changing the number of cells on a component's behaviour
The lesson
Every circuit needs energy to make things happen. A battery, or cell, is what pushes that energy around the circuit. Use one cell, and you send one push of energy to the bulb. Add a second cell in a line with the first, and you send two pushes at once.
Zara connects one cell to a bulb and it glows softly. She adds a second cell in the same line. The bulb jumps to a much brighter glow, because two cells are now pushing energy into it together.
Cells can also be strong or weak. This strength is called voltage. A higher-voltage cell pushes more energy than a lower-voltage one, even if you don't add any extra cells.
The same idea works for a buzzer. More cells, or higher-voltage cells, push more energy through the buzzer, so it sounds louder.
More cells, or higher voltage, means more energy pushed through the circuit, so the bulb shines brighter and the buzzer sounds louder.
Watch it
Where it sits
Where this leads
Jobs that lean on this skill. Follow one to see everything it is built on.
8 questions wait behind this lesson, each with its answer explained. Every answer feeds the sky: stars light as they are learned, and dim when it is time to come back.