Will the Bulb Light? is a free printable Grade 4 science worksheet on evidence that an electric current carries energy only around a complete loop, aligned to NGSS performance expectation 4-PS3-2. It prints 7 questions with an answer key on its own sheet of paper, in 25 versions that each ask different questions, so no two students in the class work from the same page. Print it from the browser or download it as a PDF — no account, no email.
Set 13 of 25 · the same problems every time you open this link.
Set 1 has all 25 in a single PDF. All 25 sets ask different questions.
Will the Bulb Light?
4-PS3-2
NameDate
Read the record, then answer the questions.
1.Read the record, then answer the questions.
Will the Bulb Light?
Results from one battery, one bulb and some wires, set up eight different ways.
ONE BATTERY, ONE BULB, EIGHT SET-UPS
All the wires joined in a loop ............ bulb lit
One wire left loose ....................... bulb off
A foil strip across the gap ............... bulb lit
A wooden lolly stick across the gap ....... bulb off
A steel paperclip across the gap .......... bulb lit
A plastic ruler across the gap ............ bulb off
A buzzer added into the loop .............. bulb lit dimly, buzzer sounded
Bulb taken out, buzzer still in the loop .. buzzer silent
After a minute, the lit bulb felt warm.
Same battery, same bulb, same wires every time.
1. What happened with the plastic ruler across the gap?
2. What would a steel key across the gap probably do?
3. Why did the bulb light with the foil strip but not the lolly stick?
4. When did the bulb light?
2.What does a switch do in a circuit?
A.It makes the battery stronger
B.It stores the energy
C.It opens or closes a gap in the loop
3.Where does the energy that lights a flashlight bulb come from?
A.The bulb itself
B.The batteries, which store energy
C.The switch
4.A flashlight will not light, but the bulb is fine. What should you check first?
A.Whether every part of the loop is joined
B.How heavy the flashlight is
C.The color of the flashlight
5.A buzzer and a bulb are in the same loop. The wire breaks. What happens?
A.Only the buzzer stops
B.Both stop, because the loop is no longer complete
C.Both get louder and brighter
6.A thin heater wire glows red. What has the current carried to it?
A.Nothing at all
B.Water
C.Energy, given out as heat and light
7.A bulb lights at the far end of a long wire. What does that show?
A.The bulb stored the energy beforehand
B.The wire made its own light
C.Energy traveled along the wire from the battery
LessonPrint · 4-PS3-2 · Set 13 · free to copy for classroom use
Answer key — Will the Bulb Light?
Set 13. Prints on its own sheet.
1.1. The bulb stayed off. 2. Light the bulb, like the steel paperclip did. 3. The foil carried the current across the gap and completed the loop; the wooden lolly stick did not. 4. Only when the loop was complete, joined by wire, foil or a steel paperclip.
2.It opens or closes a gap in the loop
3.The batteries, which store energy
4.Whether every part of the loop is joined
5.Both stop, because the loop is no longer complete
6.Energy, given out as heat and light
7.Energy traveled along the wire from the battery
Last reviewed 2026-09-05. Aligned to 4-PS3-2 of the Next Generation Science Standards.