Answer:
Step-by-step explanation
The most famous and common example is Christmas tree lights. You can't tell easily by looking at them whether they are in series or parallel. But you sure know the difference when one of them burns out. When that happens, the whole string goes dead. No matter what you do (other than find out which bulb burned out) will not fix the problem.
Another example is anything that is temperature controlled. For example a furnace is controlled by a thermostat. When the room temperature reaches a certain point, the thermostat is constructed in a certain way so that it forms an open circuit and no current can flow through it. The furnace motor turns off and the furnace stops pumping hot air into a room.