The Electric Circuit - Part 1

Hi, I'm Jared. Welcome to Fun Science Demos, and today we are going to turn the light on and show you how electricity flows to make a light bulb light up. We said the big idea is that electricity moves through a path to light up a light bulb. Let's see if we can follow that electricity as it moves through a path to light up a light bulb. Let's start with our energy source, this battery. Electricity is going to move out of the top of this little nub on the battery. It's going to move through this wire, and this wire actually touches this metal plate. The electricity is going to move from this metal plate to the bottom of this light bulb. And if you look really carefully on a light bulb, the electricity will move up, and there is a little metal thread inside the light bulb. Electricity will move through that thread back down the light bulb where it touches another metal plate. The electricity will move through this metal plate. It will then pick up onto this wire. The electricity is going to move through this wire back down to the bottom part of this battery. It kind of moves in a circle, and scientists call that movement of electricity in a circle a circuit. Okay, let's see if we can light up this bulb and watch electricity move. I am going to put one end of my wire onto that end of the battery, and when I touch this end of the wire to the battery, the electricity is going to move through my path. It is working. The electricity is moving through my path. Out of the top of the battery, through the wire, to the metal plates, up the light bulb, through the light bulb, down the metal plate, all the way through the wire, back to the battery. It is a circuit. It is a circle of electricity, and it is working. And believe it or not, this is exactly how a flashlight works. We took the battery from our little path, and we put it into this flashlight, which has the same thing. We are going to open up this flashlight and show you the circuit, the path of electricity that moves in this flashlight. Let's see if we can take a look at how electricity moves through this flashlight. Let's pull back the flashlight and take a look. I have my source of electricity, my battery, touching my light bulb, and behind the battery is a strip of metal that brings the electricity back down to the back of the battery. It flows in a circle, and scientists call it a circuit. So why isn't my flashlight working? Why isn't my light bulb lighting up? Let's take a look at the other side. Spin it around, and you can see that my metal strip is not touching the other part of my light bulb. What happens when I bring that up with my switch? My light bulb goes on. Electricity is moving in a path. Everything that uses electricity has to be plugged into a circuit. This lamp uses a light bulb, and it is plugged into a circuit. Let's unplug it and take a look at that circuit. Look at the end of this plug. There are two pieces of metal. Why two? Well, electricity moves out of one, through a bunch of wires that are in the walls, and then back down through this piece of metal. It is a circuit. It is a path that electricity moves through. Now, I know what you are thinking. Sometimes plugs have three pieces of metal. Well, that third piece is just another piece of metal that moves extra electricity away from the path. So the next time you use a flashlight, or really anything that uses electricity, remember, electricity moves in a circle, and scientists call that a circuit. Science is so cool, especially electricity. Thanks for watching. If you want to learn more about electricity, check out our links in the video description.