‘the unipolar model’ – the view that only one wire is actually needed between the battery and the light bulb for there to be a current in the circuit.These have been described by researchers as: Four simple circuit models ![]() There are four models that are commonly used by students to explain the behaviour of a simple circuit containing a battery and a light bulb. These have been described by researchers as: Specifically, students often see current as being the same as voltage, and think current can be stored in a battery, and that current may be used up or transformed into a form of energy, like light or heat. Some everyday language, for example about ‘charging batteries,’ may also be a source of conceptual confusion for students. Whichever label students use, they are likely to see electric circuits as involving ‘flow’ and something being ‘stored’, ‘used up’, or both. ![]() This is unsurprising given that all these labels are frequently used in everyday language with unclear meaning. ![]() They tend to think of electric circuits as involving something they call ‘current’ or ‘energy’ or ‘electricity’ or ‘voltage’, all labels which they often use interchangeably. They very likely have developed a sense that you need a battery or power switch to be turned on to make things ‘work’, and that batteries can go ‘flat’. Students have plenty of experience using everyday household appliances that rely on electric circuits for their operation ( torches, mobile phones, iPods). Contrasting student and scientific viewsĬontrasting student and scientific views Student everyday experiences.
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