Mississippi Science PHY.5.6
The Standard
- PHY.5
- Students will investigate the key components of electricity and magnetism.
Use schematic diagrams to analyze the current flow in series and parallel electric circuits, given the component resistances and the imposed electric potential.
2026 Mississippi College- and Career-Readiness Standards for Science · Electricity and Magnetism
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students read a circuit diagram to tell which resistors share one path and which sit on separate branches. They use battery voltage and resistor values to calculate current through each resistor and the battery.
What Mastery Looks Like
- A student can mark the same current through each resistor in series and the same voltage across each parallel branch. They calculate branch currents and check that those currents add up to the battery current.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may split current equally between parallel branches even when the resistances differ. They may give each series resistor the full battery voltage or say current gets used up as it passes through a resistor.
How to Assess It
- On an exit ticket, draw a 12 V battery with a 2 Ω resistor in series with 3 Ω and 6 Ω resistors in parallel. Ask students to label the current through each resistor and the battery.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Build series and parallel circuits with two 100 Ω resistors and a 3 V battery, then measure current through each resistor with an ammeter.
Show a schematic with 3 Ω and 6 Ω resistors in parallel on a 12 V battery. Ask why their currents differ.
Give pairs four schematic cards with 6 V batteries and 2 Ω and 4 Ω resistors. Have them label every current.
Sketch two 6 Ω car headlights in parallel on a 12 V battery. Calculate each headlight's current and the total battery current.
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Printable PHY.5.6 Worksheet
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