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Formative assessment questions for teaching physics

A2L Item 224

  • Description: Identify the consequence of connecting a second bulb in series in a circuit.
  • Goal: Hone understanding of series circuits.
  • Source: 283-575 Two bulbs in series
  • Keywords: Power, Electromagnetism, Circuits

The question for students:

A light bulb is connected to a battery as shown in Figure A below. When a second bulb is connected as shown in Figure B, what happens to the brightness of the original bulb?

Item224_fig1.gif

  1. Increases
  2. Decreases
  3. Stays the same
  4. Bulb goes out
  5. Can’t determine

Commentary for teachers:

Answer

(2) Depending upon the bulbs and battery, the bulbs could appear to go out.