Lesson 3: Current and voltage in an electrical circuit

Current is the number of electrons flowing through a single point in a circuit.

Predict whether the amount of current will increase, decrease or stay the same as it flows around a simple circuit.

Voltage is a measure of the push that drives electrons between two points in a circuit – for example, between the two terminals of a battery.

Predict whether you would expect the same voltage across the different components of the circuit.

Describe how current and voltage vary across the electrical circuit. Does this match your prediction?

Compare your voltage measurement across the battery to the voltage across the other components in the circuit.

In terms of the effect of resistance on electrons, explain why the voltage "drops" over components in the circuit.

Your classmate is trying to measure the current in the circuit shown to the left.

Predict what the current in the circuit will be.

The voltage and resistance of each component is the same as the circuit you created.