Elenco Circuit Maker Sound Plus 200 - Manual (Page 20)

-19-
Project #22 Capacitors in Series Project #23 Capacitors in Parallel
Turn on the slide switch (S1), then press and release the press switch (S2). The
LED (D1) becomes bright when the 100mF capacitor (C4) charges up with the press
switch on, then the LED slowly gets dim after you release the press switch.
Now turn off the slide switch. Repeat the test with the slide switch off; you’ll notice
the LED goes out much faster after you release the press switch. The much smaller
10mF capacitor (C3) is now in series with the 100mF and so reduces the total
capacitance (electrical storage capacity), and they discharge much faster. (Note
that this is opposite to how resistors in series work).
Turn off the slide switch (S1), then press and release the press switch (S2). The
LED (D1) becomes bright when the 10mF capacitor (C3) charges up with the press
switch on, then the LED slowly gets dim after you release the press switch.
Now turn on the slide switch and repeat the test; you’ll notice the LED goes out
much slower after you release the press switch. The much larger 100mF capacitor
(C4) is now in parallel with the 10mF and so increases the total capacitance
(electrical storage capacity), and they discharge much slower. (Note that this is
opposite to how resistors in parallel work).
Project #20
Parallel Resistors
Project #21
Series Resistors
Turn on either or both
switches (S1 & S2) and
compare the LED (D1)
brightness.
This circuit has the 100W
resistor (R1) and 1KW
resistor (R2) arranged in
parallel. You can see that
the smaller 100W resistor
controls the brightness in
this arrangement.
Turn on either or both
switches (S1 & S2) and
compare the LED (D1)
brightness.
This circuit has the 100W
resistor (R1), the 1KW resistor
(R2), and the photoresistor
(RP) arranged in series. You
can see that the larger
photoresistor controls the
brightness in this
arrangement (the resistance
of the photoresistor will be
much higher than the others,
unless the light is very bright).
+
+
CM-200_Manual_031914.qxp_CM-200_Manual_031914 4/2/14 12:04 PM Page 20