PHYSICS

Final Project

By

Wanwarisa Krittiyasrisumet

AP Physics 1201
Ms. Susana Alulod

Mahidol University International

Demonstration School
Semester 2 Academic year 2018-2019
Objective
The objective of this final project is to use and apply the knowledge from
class to produce a product. The main topic of this product is electricity, which the
circuit will be built to demonstrate the function and concept of electricity.

Introduction
Electricity is a form of energy, which we used in our daily life. One of the
most common used of electricity that we see everyday is lights. These lights are
connected in system known as electric circuit. Electric circuit is an interconnection
of electrical elements in which the electrons flow from the voltage or current
source into every components in the circuit. There are two forms of electrical
power which circuits use: direct current (DC) and alternating current (AC). Direct
current provides a constant voltage or current. It is described as unidirectional
flow of current because current only flows in one direction. However, alternating
current (AC) is more complicated. It is the flow of charge that changes directions
periodically, so there can be a reverse flow of voltage level along with the current.
This type of current is mostly used in providing power to house and other
buildings.
In a simple electric circuit, there consists of three main components;
resistors, wires and battery. This circuit can be connected into two main ways:
series and parallel. The difference between series and parallel circuit is that series
circuit has only one path for the current to flow, while parallel circuit has two or
more ways for the current to flow. In series circuit, since the current has only one
way to flow, the current stays constant throughout the circuit, but the voltage
drops every time it hits a resistor. In parallel circuit, when there is two separate
paths, the voltage of all of the parts remains constant, but the current of each
part is different (the total current is still the same), depending on the total
resistance of each paths. When connected with the same number of resistors
with the same amount of resistance, each of the resistor in parallel circuit
receives more voltage drop due to to the fact of parallel circuit has lower voltage
drop than series circuit. When there is more voltage in each of the resistor the
parallel circuit, more energy can be converted into other energies if the resistor is
a machine. In this case, the resistor is a light bulb and the light bulb in parallel
circuit will be brighter than the bulbs in the series circuit, using same number of
emf and resistors.

Materials
- Light bulbs
- Battery
- Wires
- Switch
- Fabric/ cloths
- Plastic
- Wooden pieces
- Paper
- Glue
- Scissors
- Cutter
- Ruler
- Instruction book
Procedure
1. Follow the DIY hand book
2. Start by making the bookshelf and books (use wooden pieces and paper
template provided)
3. Then create the decorating stuffs
4. Follow the instructions to create other furnitures and other parts of the
house
5. Put the light bulb into each lamp
6. Connect each bulb together in parallel to create a circuit
7. Connect the circuit to the battery and switch
8. Hide the wires and battery, so that they won’t make the house look messy

Results/ Product
Analysis
Because the pieces of the materials are very small as the product is meant
to be in mini size, it was hard to control and to build each pieces together.
Therefore, some pieces of furnitures might not be very accurate and perfectly
built. For the lighting, I connected the circuit in parallel to each bulb and then
connect all bulbs to the battery. The wires are not very well connected because I
didn’t use solder, but instead I only used tape to hold wires together in place.
Because of this, the circuit can be easily disconnected as wires can easily fall
apart.
Recommendation
In order to build a piece of furnitures, and to finish a part of the house, it
consumed a lot of time because those pieces are so small. Therefore, to get the
best shaped house and to finish the model on time, we should start building the
model early, so we don’t have rush at the end.
The wires and bulbs are also very small, so we should very careful in
connecting the circuit. If we missed or mistaken a part of the circuit, lights will not
be turned on like what we want. Also, to make sure that circuit will always
function and will not be disconnected, soldering method might be used, so that
wires are connected strongly and in place.

Conclusion
This project is demonstrating the idea of electricity as the bulbs are
connected in parallel to each other in the circuit. It also helps demonstrate the
concept of electricity, including switch, resistors, wires, and battery.

References
- Electricity - Electricity Explained. (2018). Retrieved from:
https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/index.php?page=electricity_home

- Brett, D. (n.d.). Electricity. Retrieved from:

https://www.studentenergy.org/topics/electricity

- Hymel, S. (n.d.). Alternating Current (AC) vs. Direct Current (DC). Retrieved from:
https://learn.sparkfun.com/tutorials/alternating-current-ac-vs-direct-current-dc/all

- BBC. (n.d.). Circuits. Retrieved from:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/science/add_edexcel/controlling_current/ci
rcuitsrev1.shtml