Before reading the question: Some questions are long and have complicated graphs or tables. It can be easy to get lost and miss the main ideas. If it’s hard to understand all the information, look for smaller parts of the question you can focus on. To break the question into smaller parts, try to understand only some of the information at first. Ask yourself what that smaller part is saying. Do the same thing to the next small part. Once you understand each section, think about how they work together to describe the main ideas.

In the first image the switch is open so the energy cannot flow and light the bulbs.

In the second image the switch is closed, and the energy can flow through the circuit to light the bulbs.

In the top circuit, opening the switch disrupts the flow of energy for the two bulbs on the left side of the diagram. So, when the switch is open, only the rightmost bulb and the fan will work. In the bottom circuit, opening the switch only disrupts the flow of energy for the top left bulb. All of the other components will still function when the switch is open.