Lesson Plan: Parallel Circuits Physics • 9th Grade

This lesson plan includes the objectives, prerequisites, and exclusions of the lesson teaching students how to calculate the potential difference, current, and resistance at different points within simple parallel circuits.

Objectives

Students will be able to

  • recall that two components being in parallel means that they are placed on separate paths around the circuit,
  • recognize whether two parallel circuits are equivalent based on diagrams that are drawn slightly differently,
  • use 𝑉=𝑉=𝑉… for components in parallel,
  • use 𝐼=𝐼+𝐼…total for components in parallel,
  • use 1𝑅=1𝑅+1𝑅…total for components in parallel.

Prerequisites

Students should already be familiar with

  • potential difference,
  • current,
  • resistance,
  • the symbols for basic circuit components: a cell, a battery, a bulb, a resistor, a variable resistor, a thermistor, an LDR, a diode, and an LED.

Exclusions

Students will not cover

  • any of Kirchhoff’s laws by name,
  • conservation of energy in circuits,
  • energy dissipation by electrical components.

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