Series & Parallel Circuits

Sage Project

Series Circuits

• The electrical components connected in line or in a single path.

– If 1 component dies or breaks there will be no flow of electricity and nothing will work.

• Old style Christmas lights (If 1 burned out none would work)

Parallel Circuits

• The electrical components are connected across parallel paths allowing the electrical energy to flow evenly across multiple paths.

– If 1 component dies or breaks the electricity will still flow across the other legs and all other components will still work.

• New style Christmas lights (If 1 burned out the rest still work)

Series-Parallel circuit

• A series parallel circuit combines both a parallel circuit and a series circuit by either having a series circuit before, or after the parallel component, as on or more leg of the parallel circuit or a combination of these.

• If a portion of the series component goes down nothing that follows that portion will work as the circuit has been broken, however if the parallel components still have energy

Voltage Loss & Flow of Energy

• Voltage loss– Lights in series– Lights in Parallel

• Flow of Energy– What would happen if the switch was

parallel to the rest of the circuit?– What would happen if the switch was in

series with the circuit?

Ohms Law

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Watts Law

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