Q1.

Fo
llo
w
me
...

(a) A wooden pencil is sharpened at both ends. It is connected to two bulbs and a battery as shown. The
two crocodile clips are connected to the wooden part of the pencil. Why do the two bulbs not light up?
A: The battery is connected the wrong way round.
B: The bulbs are connected the wrong way round.
C: The wood is a conductor.
D: The wood is an insulator.
1 mark
(b) The two crocodile clips are now connected to the 'lead' (graphite) of the pencil as shown. The two
bulbs light up dimly. Why do the two bulbs light up?

1 mark
They light up because graphite is a conductor of electricity - not a good one, but it does conduct. That
means we now have a complete circuit.
The reason why the bulbs are only dim is that graphite is a poor conductor.
(c) One crocodile clip is connected to the pencil 'lead' (graphite) and the other one is connected to the
wood. Which of the bulbs, if any, lights up?
Neither will light up
1 mark
Maximum 3 marks
Q2
Nikki tries to set up four electric circuits.
(a) In this diagram the ammeter reading is zero. What is wrong with this circuit?

There is a wire missing between the battery and the bulb

Accept 'there is a wire missing' or 'the bulb is not connected to the battery'
Accept 'it is not a complete circuit'
1 mark
(b) In this diagram the ammeter reading is zero. What is wrong with this circuit?

Both wires are connected to one end of the battery cell so the battery cell is not in the circuit.
Do not accept 'there is an incomplete circuit'
1 mark
(c) In this diagram the ammeter reading is zero. Why is this not a complete circuit?

1 mark
The bulb is broken or blown or the filament of the lamp is broken.
Do not accept 'the circuit is not complete'
The circuit is not complete is too vague - say where the break occurs.
(d) In this diagram, why is there a reading on the ammeter?

There is a complete circuit, so a current is flowing.

1 mark
Maximum 4 marks
Q3.

(a) The drawing below shows the parts of a torch.

(i) Paul closed the switch. Why did this turn on the torch?
That action completed the circuit so a current could flow in the bulb.
1 mark
(ii) Draw a labelled series circuit for the torch. Use the correct symbols for the bulb, battery of two cells
and the switch and clearly label each one.

one for each correct labelled symbol

one for the series circuit - no gaps between symbols!

4 marks
(b) The drawings below show two other torches. In both torches, the bulbs will not light even when Paul
closes the switches. Look carefully at the drawings.

(i) Why is the circuit of torch A not complete?

The filament of the bulb is broken, causing a gap within the bulb itself.
1 mark
(ii) What could you do to torch B to get the bulb to light?
Turn one of the cells round
connect to a negative.

- the positive terminals are connected together the positive should

1 mark
(c) When Paul bought his torch there was a paper strip between the contacts of the switch as shown
below. Paul had to remove the paper strip before he could turn the torch on. Give the reason for this.

Paper is an insulator so it prevents the current flow.

1 mark
maximum 8 marks
Q4. Alice connects four light bulbs for her model house, as shown. She puts the bulbs into the holes in
the back wall.

(a) When Alice turns the switch on, the bulbs do not light up. The batteries are not flat. None of the
bulbs is broken. Why do the bulbs not light up?
There is not a complete circuit. She needs to add a wire to connect the top left bulb to the bottom left
bulb.

1 mark
(b) Alice makes the circuit work. When she turns the switch on, the bulbs are not very bright. What must
Alice add to the circuit to make the bulbs brighter?
Add another electric cell to the battery

OR connect the bulbs in parallel instead of in series.

1 mark

(c) The four bulbs in the circuit are the same. Which statement is correct?
A: Each bulb is the same brightness
B: Each bulb is of a different brightness
C: The bulbs at the top are brighter
D: The bulbs at the bottom are brighter
1 mark
The diagrams show two ways to wire the model house.

(d)
(i) In circuit 1, bulb B breaks and goes out. What happens to the other bulbs in this circuit?

They all go out

If there is a break in a strand of a circuit no current flows in the whole of that strand.
1 mark
(ii) In circuit 2, bulb C breaks and goes out. What happens to the other bulbs in this circuit?
There is no change in their brightness, they all stay lit.
Each of the bulbs is independently connected across the battery. It therefore has the full potential
difference across it to make a current flow.
1 mark
(e) In circuit 2, Alice adds another switch so that she can turn bulb A off while the other bulbs stay on.
Write the letter 'S' on circuit 2 to show where Alice should add the switch.
The letter S must drawn onto or close to the wire in the top part of the circuit 1 anywhere between the
two junctions.

(see diagram)
1 mark
Maximum 6 marks

Q5. A pupil makes some electrical circuits. Each circuit contains a motor and a buzzer.
The motor and the buzzer can be switched on or off by three switches, A, B and C.
For each circuit diagram, state whether:
(i) the motor is on or off
(ii) the buzzer is on or off.
(a)

(i) the motor is on

(ii) the buzzer is on

1 mark
(b)

(i) the motor is off

(ii) the buzzer is off.

1 mark
(c)

(i) the motor is on.

(ii) the buzzer is off.

1 mark
(d)

(i) the motor is off

(ii) the buzzer is on.

1 mark
(e)

(i) the motor is off

(ii) the buzzer is off.

1 mark
Maximum 5 marks
Q6. Shrek bought two sets of lights to put on a tree in his garden. Circuit diagrams for the two sets of
lights are shown below.

(a) What name is given to circuits in which components are connected as in circuit A?
Series circuits
(b) What name is given to circuits in which components are connected as in circuit B?
Parallel circuits
(c) If one of the bulbs 'blows' in circuit A, what would you observe happen to the other bulbs in the
circuit?
All of the other bulbs would go out

because there would no longer be a complete circuit

(because there is a break in a filament thread).

(d) If one of the bulbs 'blows' in circuit B, what would you observe happen to the other bulbs in the

circuit?
The other bulbs would remain on

- they would still be at the same brightness as before.

Q7.The diagram shows a circuit for controlling an electric motor. This circuit can make the motor
turn forwards or backwards.

Complete the table to show which lamp, if any, is lit and in which direction, if any, the motor turns.
Switch A

Switch B

Which lamp, if any, is lit? Motor direction (forwards or backwards)

up

down

Lamp 1

forwards

up

up

None lit

Not moving

down

up

Lamp 2

backwards

down

down

None lit

Not moving

1 mark for each correct row

I have redrawn the circuits for you with the switches in each position to show you that the table is
correct. A thick red line marks out the complete circuit in each case.

This is the sample one. It shows you which way the current has to be flowing for the motor to move
'forward'.

No battery in the circuit - so no current will flow.

No current here either - no battery in the circuit.

The current flows the opposite way now - so the motor will be in reverse.

3 marks
Q8. John connects up the circuit shown below.

The bulb is not bright enough. His friend suggests four circuits which could be used to make the bulb

brighter.

(a) Which is the correct circuit to use: A, B, C or D?

Circuit A
1 mark
Next John sets up circuit E and notes the reading on the ammeter.

He then places another bulb in the circuit, to make circuit F.

He notes the ammeter reading in circuit F.

(b) How will the ammeter reading in circuit F compare with that in circuit E? Explain your answer.
The reading in circuit F will be lower than that of circuit E.
be

The voltage from the power supply will

shared by the bulbs in circuit F. The current flow will thererfore be lower.

OR the resistance in the

strand has increased - therefore the current

will be less.
The current would only 'halve' if the resistance of a bulb was constant. The filament in a lamp gets hotter
as
the current through it increases. This means that as you increase the voltage across a bulb the current
will
increase but not by as much as you might expect - this means it has an increased resistance.
A 'dim' bulb has a lower resistance than a brightly lit one. See here for more detail.
2 marks
(c) Draw a circuit diagram in which two bulbs are lit as brightly as the bulb in circuit E, and the ammeter
reading is the same as in circuit E.

To light two brightly in series you need an additional power supply as they will share the voltage from

the battery.
In parallel an additional strand will have the full voltage from the power supply. Make sure you put the
ammeter in a position that measure the current through one bulb - do the combinattion current as shown
below.

1 mark
Maximum 4 marks

Q9. Pressure pads can be used to set off burglar alarms. The alarm is set off when someone steps
on the pad. The alarm works by sounding a buzzer or switching on a lamp or both.
The symbols for a pressure pad is:

Here are five circuit diagrams. Look carefully at the five circuit diagrams.

Tick the correct box in the table below to show what is happening in each circuit.
Circuit
Diagram

The buzzer is on
and the lamp is
off

The lamp is on
and the buzzer
is off

Both the buzzer

The buzzer and
and the lamp are the lamp are both
on
off

A
B
C
D
E
5 marks
Q10. In the circuit above, both the bulbs light up. Suddenly they both go out. The two bulbs are
tested. Bulb A works but bulb B is broken.

(a) Bulb A was not broken but it went out. Why did it go out?
Bulbs A and B are in series. The break in the filament of bulb B serves as a break in the circuit. You
need a complete conducting loop for a current to flow. The break means than no current flows so the
lamp A goes out too.
1 mark
In the circuit below, only bulb B is broken.

(b)
(i) Does bulb A light up? Yes
1 mark
(ii) Does bulb C light up? Yes
1 mark
Maximum 3 marks