Investigate Building Simple Circuits

In this worksheet, students will answer questions about what happens when the components in a simple battery circuit are changed.

Key stage: KS 2

Year: Year 4 Science worksheets

Curriculum topic: Electricity

Curriculum subtopic: Simple Circuits

Difficulty level:

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Worksheet Overview

Electrical energy travels around a simple battery circuit from the battery to the device - a buzzer, bulb or motor.

If the electrical energy in the circuit is too strong, it can damage the device. For example, a bulb may 'blow'. This means that the bulb will no longer work.

Simple circuits could look like this:

1 cell/1 lamp 1 cell/2 lamps in series

Bulbs may also glow very brightly because a lot of energy is being turned into light and heat.

Light bulb

If the electrical energy is not enough to power the device(s) in the circuit, we will also see the effects. For example, bulbs may be dim, or not produce any light at all.

Dim light bulb

The length of the wires in the circuit can also affect the brightness of the bulb. Very long wires make the bulb dim.

long wires

We're going to use this information to help us as we circulate through the questions in this activity!

Are you ready to begin?

children thinking

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