How to Construct a Parallel Circuit
- 1). Draw a diagram of your parallel circuit. The battery should be on the left, Bulb One should be to the right of the battery, and Bulb Two should be to the right of Bulb One. This is the standard orientation for a parallel circuit diagram.
- 2). Draw a line from the positive battery terminal that branches out to one terminal of each bulb, and draw a line from the negative battery terminal that branches out to the unused terminal of each bulb. The lines represent wires.
- 3). Screw your bulbs into the sockets. The screw terminals on these sockets provide an easy way to attach wires to the bulbs.
- 4). Place your battery and bulbs on a table, and arrange them according to the symbols on your diagram. This will help you to visualize the wiring configuration.
- 5). Attach a wire from the positive terminal of the battery to a terminal on Bulb One, then attach a wire from this same terminal on Bulb One to a terminal on Bulb Two.
- 6). Attach a wire from the negative terminal of the battery to the unused terminal on Bulb One, then attach a wire from this same terminal on Bulb One to the unused terminal on Bulb Two. Both light bulbs should now be lit.
- 7). Remove one of the light bulbs from its socket (be careful, it may be hot). The other bulb should still be lit. This proves that you constructed a parallel circuit. If the bulbs were in series, removing one bulb would create an open circuit, causing the other bulb to go out.
