Department of Education

National Capital Region

Schools Division of Parañaque City
Self – Learning Module
Science 8 Quarter 1 Week 7
SERIES and PARALLEL

Learning Competencies (Essential Competencies)

• Explain the advantages and disadvantages of series and parallel connections in

household appliances/gadgets. (S8FE-li-31)
• Explain the functions of circuit breakers, fuses, earthing, double insulation and other
safety devices. (S8FE-li-33)

SCHEMATIC CIRCUIT DIAGRAM

Introduction

Appliances and gadgets run on electricity. For electricity to move from one point to
another, it needs a conducting path. A closed conducting path where electric current passes
through is known as Electric Circuit or Circuit. A circuit has parts or components namely, the
source, the load and the wire or connecting wire. A source is where the energy comes from,
an example is, a battery or a dry cell. A load consumes electricity, for example, a bulb. A
wire links all the component of a circuit. In your lower grade level, you had learned that
electric currents or currents are moving electric charges from one point to another point. This
movement is due to voltage. Voltage is the potential difference between one point to another
point. It is important to note that for a current to be steady, the circuit must be a complete or
a closed circuit. In the same line, if the circuit is incomplete, the current is not steady, thus,
it is called an open circuit.

Let’s Recall

Directions: Write the word TRUE if the statement is correct and write FALSE if the
statement is wrong on your paper.

1. A bulb is an example of a load.

2. A connecting wire is a source of energy.

Let’s Understand

A simple circuit is composed of a battery, a bulb and a connecting wire that can be
represented using schematic symbols. A group of schematic symbols that represents a
circuit is called Schematic Diagram Circuit. Table 1 shows the schematic symbol of these
three components.

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 Table 1. Schematic Symbols

COMPONENT SCHEMATIC SYMBOL

Source (Battery)

Load (Bulb)
Figure 1 Figure 2
Connecting wire Pictorial Schematic
Circuit Circuit
Diagram Diagram

Let’s Apply

Directions: Construct the schematic circuit diagram of the following circuits on your paper.

1. 2.

Let’s Analyze

Directions: Draw a schematic diagram of a closed electric circuit that uses three (3)
batteries, three (3) bulbs and connecting wires on your paper.

SERIES and PARALLEL CONNECTIONS

Introduction

Knowledge in the basic schematic symbols of the electric circuit will help in
understanding the concept involved in electric circuits. There are three components in a
simple circuit: the source (battery), the load (bulb) and the connecting wire. Each of these
components is represented by a schematic symbol and a combination of these schematic
symbols will construct a schematic circuit diagram.
In your previous electricity class, you had encountered the terms voltage, current
and resistance. In our last topic, current was described as the movement of charges from
one point to another point. This movement is due to voltage, a potential difference between
one point to another point. Resistance on the other hand is an obstacle that impedes current
flow in the circuit.

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 Let’s Recall

Directions: Draw the schematic symbol of the missing component to complete the
following schematic circuit diagrams on your paper.

1. 2.

Let’s Understand

A circuit may be composed of several components and may be connected in two

ways. These are series and parallel. Series connection is a type of circuit connection where
charges will pass through a single path. Parallel connection is a type of circuit connection
where charges may pass through more than one path.

Figure 1 shows the schematic circuit diagram of a series

connection. The arrow represents the path of the charges. The
movement of the charge is always from the positive terminal going to
the negative terminal of the battery because the positive terminal of
the source has a higher potential energy than in the negative terminal.
Remember that energy moves from a higher potential energy region
going to a lower potential energy region. In figure 1, there is only one
path for charges to move, thus, the current will be the same as it
Figure 1
passes through all the bulbs. When charges move from one bulb to
another, the voltage decreases, known as voltage drop. The total sum
of the voltage drops is equal to the voltage ratings of the power supply. Voltage rating is the
maximum voltage that a bulb or a load can carry without causing any damage. More bulbs
may be added in the connection. However, with the increase in number of bulbs, resistance
will also increase.

ADVANTAGES OF A SERIES CONNECTION

● Requires less amount of connecting wire.
● Longer lifespan of battery
● Simple method of electrical wiring

DISADVANTAGE OF A SERIES CIRCUITS

● If one component breaks, the rest of the components in the circuit will not work.
● If more bulbs will be added, voltage will be reduced equitably, thus, it will result to
lessening of the brightness or illumination of the bulb.
● Resistance increases when more loads are added. Loads are not limited to bulbs.
Other examples of load are electric fans, TV, radio, chargers, and other appliances
that can be added in a circuit.

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 Figure 2 shows parallel connection. The arrow
represents the current and the direction of its movement. 1.2
The current passes through a path called branch. At point
1, the main branch is divided into sub-branches 1.1 and 1.1
1
1.2. This shows that in a parallel connection, there are
more than one path for the current to flow. The splitting of
the main branch causes the distribution of the current into
these sub-branches as shown by the separation of the
arrow at point 1. This will result to unequal amount of
current that passes through each of the sub-branch.
Moreover, the sum of all the current in each sub-branch is Figure 2
equal to the current in the main branch. The voltage drops
whenever voltage passes through a bulb as discussed above; in this case, however, the
voltage will only pass through one bulb per sub-branch, thus, the voltage will be the same
throughout all the circuit. Bulbs may be added to the parallel connection and for every
additional bulb, resistance decreases because the relationship between current and
resistance is inversely proportional since in every increase of resistance there is a decrease
of current.

ADVANTAGES OF A PARALLEL CONNECTION

● Each of the loads is independent from each other. Thus, if one load of the circuit
breaks, the rest of the load will still work.
● Voltage will be the same, therefore, adding more bulbs in the circuit will not reduce
its brightness/luminosity.
● Additional loads will decrease the overall resistance.

DISADVANTAGES OF PARALLEL CONNECTION

● Longer connecting wire is required.
● Battery life is shorter.
● Wiring is complicated.

Let’s Apply

Directions: Compare series connection and parallel connection in terms of voltage,

current and resistance in each load. Copy and fill up the table with your answers on your
paper.

SERIES PARALLEL
VOLTAGE (V)
CURRENT (I)
RESISTANCE (R)

Let’s Analyze

Directions: Answer the question. Write your answer on your paper.

What type of circuit connection does our house wiring have? Explain your answer.

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 SAFETY DEVICES
Introduction

Electricity is double bladed. It makes life convenient and at the same time, it poses
danger. It can cause electrocution and in a worst-case scenario, this could lead to death. To
avoid the risk of being electrocuted, safety devices are installed in our homes and/or within
electrical appliances. Here is the list of some safety devices that you or you may not be
familiar with; Circuit breaker, fuse, earthing and double insulation.

Let’s Recall

Directions: Write YES if the statement is agreeable and NO if the statement is disagreeable
on your paper.

1. Earthing is a safety device.

2. Some connections in the house are parallel.

Let’s Understand

Here are common electrical safety devices used in our homes.

1. Circuit breaker is a switching mechanism that automatically trips when there is a
large amount of current that passes through it. Trip means the switching off of the
breaker when there is unusually high amount of current. This incident happens
when a short circuit occurs in one of the components connected in the circuit.
When the cause of the incident is cleared or fixed, the circuit breaker can be switched
on.
2. Fuse is a small thin conductor that melts and splits into two whenever excessive
current passes through it. The idea is like that of a circuit breaker, but, if the wire
inside the fuse melts, then the fuse must be replaced.

3. Earthing or grounding refers to transferring of the electrons to the ground or earth.

A non-carrying current wire is then connected to the ground. This kind of mechanism
is found in washing machines, toasters, microwaves, and other household
appliances.

4. Double insulation consists of both the basic insulation and supplementary

insulation to make sure that the wire will not make in contact with other conductors
and are used in appliances that does not use earthing, like hairdryers and transistor
radios.

Let’s Apply

Directions: Identify which electric safety device is being described. Write your answer on
your paper.

1. Also known as grounding.

2. The reason why a large amount of current is produced.

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 Let’s Analyze

Directions: Write your explanation on your paper.

Why are safety devices necessary? Explain your answers using one of the safety
devices described above. Explain your answers in not more than 5 sentences.

ASSESMENT and PERFORMANCE TASK

Let’s Try

Directions: Choose the correct answer to the following questions. Write your answers on
your paper.

1. What is a closed conducting path where current flows?

A. Circuit C. Resistance
B. Electricity D. Voltage
2. Which of these does NOT describe a series connection?
A. It requires less amount of connecting wires.
B. When more bulbs are added, resistance decreases.
C. It is a type of connection where charges pass through a single path.
D. Voltage in the circuit drops with the increase of the number of bulbs.
3. Which of the following schematic circuit diagrams represents parallel connection?

A. C.

B. D.

4. Which of the following is NOT a safety device?

A. Fuses C. Circuit breakers
B. Double insulation D. Series connection
5. Which of the following is the other name for earthing?
A. Breaking C. Grounding
B. Fusing D. Insulating

Let’s Create

Directions: Draw on your paper, 3 appliances that utilized safety devices. Identify and
describe the safety device that is used by these appliances.
SCORING RUBRICS
5 PTS 4 PTS 3 PTS 2PTS 1PT
Drawn 3 Drawn 3 Drawn 2 Drawn 2 Drawn 0-1
appliances appliances appliances appliances appliance
Labeled and Labeled and Labeled and Labeled and No label
identified all identified 2 safety identified 2 safety identified 1 safety
safety devices devices devices device
Colored 3 Colored 3 Colored 2 Colored 2 Colored 1
illustrations illustrations illustration illustrations illustration