Teacher Resources

The Physics Classroom has been devoted to helping students, teachers, and classrooms since the 1990s. We are as passionate about that mission now as we have ever been. If you are a teacher of Physics or Physical Science, we encourage you to use our Video Tutorial with your students. And we also encourage you to consider the use of other resources on our website that coordinate with the video. We have listed a few below to help you get started.


Curriculum Corner, Electric Circuits Section 

Our Curriculum Corner is composed of a collection of Think Sheets. Each one makes for a great component of any Lesson Plan. They work great for both independent practice exercises and cooperative group exercises. The following Think Sheets are a good starting location:

Parallel Circuits

Circuit Analysis
 


Teacher Toolkits: Circuit Concepts

Try a Teacher Toolkit ... you might be very glad that you did. Each toolkit includes annotated links to vetted resources from across the web that we feel reliably support the specific topic. Give one of these a try:

Circuit Concepts || Series Circuits || Parallel Circuits
   


Physics Interactives, DC Circuit Builder

This simulation has loads of uses. We have five classroom-ready, easy-to-use exercises that accompany it. You might be interested in using one of the following activities with your class:

Parallel Circuits

Voltage Drop Analysis

  

  Minds On Physics, Electric Circuits Module, Mission EC8
This MOP mission is a perfect follow-up to the video. It touches on just about every key relationship identified in the video. And like any MOP mission, it makes certain a student understands before rewarding them the trophy. Use it with a Task Tracker subscription and unlock the ability to view student progress records.


Science Reasoning Center: Series and Parallel Circuits
This downloadable PDF from our Science Reasoning Center includes a reading passage followed by a collection of questions. The passage pertains to an experiment similar to the one described early in the video and the questions focus students' efforts on reasoning from data to appropriate conclusions. 


Concept Builders, Electric Circuits section, Parallel Circuits - ∆V=I•R
This Concept Builder has three difficulty levels. It starts with a simple circuit and builds up to a 3-resistor circuit. Students analyze several situations at each level using the mathematical relationships discussed in the video. 
 


Physics Classroom Tutorial, Electric Circuits Chapter

The written tutorial on our website forms of the basis of our video tutorials. They are still a good reference, especially if students want quick access to information for review purposes. This page matches the content of our video tutorial. Consider linking to the page from your course page.

Parallel Circuits