Series and Parallel Circuits

Basic Series Circuit

• A very basic series circuit consists of two components.
• A source of power (battery, generator, alternator, etc.)
• A load (resistor, motor, light bulb, etc.)

As you can see below, a series circuit is one continuous loop of electron flow.
 Basic Series Circuit
• The electron flow (current) leaves the negative terminal of
the battery, goes through the load (lamp) and returns to
the positive terminal.
• In this example, electron flow through the resistive
element of the lamp causes it to illuminate.
 Basic Series Circuit
• Breaking or “opening” the circuit by adding a switch causes
current to stop and the lamp goes out.
 Basic Series Circuit
• A series circuit can contain multiple components.
• In this circuit more than one load (lamp) is being powered.
 Basic Series Circuit
• However, if the same power source is used and both lamps
are the same, the power is distributed equally between them.
• Splitting the power between them means that each lamp will
not glow as brightly.
• In a series circuit the supplied voltage is divided
proportionately among the loads.
 Basic Series Circuit
• A break anywhere in a series circuit will cause
current to stop and electron flow will cease.
 Ohms Law In Series Circuits
• The total resistance in a series circuit is the sum of the
resistances of the components.
• With multiple equal loads in series the voltage is divided
equally among them.
• With multiple unequal loads in series the voltage is divided
proportionately among them. A higher voltage will be
dropped across a higher resistance.
 Ohms Law In Series Circuits
• The current is the same in all parts of a series circuit.
• With multiple sources of power in series the total voltage is
the sum of the voltages of the sources.
• Current is "directly proportionate" to voltage.
• Current is "inversely proportionate" to resistance.
 Ohms Law Application

• Series circuit
 RT = R1 + R2 + R3
=10Ω + 20Ω + 40Ω
= 70Ω

Total resistance is always the sum of the resistances in series.

 CURRENT IN SERIES CIRCUIT
• In a series circuit, current is the same
in all parts of the circuit
• If total resistance and voltage
supplied is known
• Current is the voltage supplied
divided by the total resistance
I =E÷R
=12V÷70Ω
TOTAL RESISTANCE IS 70Ω
= .171A
= 171mA
 KIRCHHOFF’S VOLTAGE LAW
• Kirchoffs Voltage Law or KVL, states that "in
any closed loop network, the total voltage
around the loop is equal to the sum of all the
voltage drops within the same loop" which is
also equal to zero.
• In other words the algebraic sum of all
voltages within the loop must be equal to
zero.
 KIRCHHOFF’S VOLTAGE LAW

• Voltage Drop Across R1

– I × R = .171 × 10
– 1.71V (10.29V Left for R2)
• Voltage Drop Across R2
– I × R = .171 × 20
– 3.42V (6.87V Left for R3)
• Voltage Drop Across R3
– I × R = .171 × 40
– 6.84V (.003V) THE TOTAL VOLTAGE DROPS IN A
• Voltage Drop Total CIRCUIT WILL TOTAL THE SUPPLIED
VOLTAGE
– PD1 + PD2+ PD3
– 1.71 + 3.42 + 6.84
– 11.97V
NOTE: THE CALCULATED VALUE WILL BE SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT THAN THE ACTUAL VALUE DUE TO CALCULATOR ROUNDING UP/DOWN
 Basic Parallel Circuit
• A basic parallel circuit consists of at least three
components.
• One or more sources of power, a battery, generator, etc.
• One or more loads, a resistor light bulb, motor, etc.
• A parallel circuit has more then one path of electron flow.
• This circuit has two lamps connected to one battery.
 Basic Parallel Circuit
• Both lamps are supplied with the same voltage.
• Some of the electrons flow through the first lamp and
some through the second lamp.
• Assuming that both lamps are identical, the amount of
current flow is equally divided between them.
• Both lamps would also glow equally bright.
 Basic Parallel Circuit
• The result in opening the circuit depends on where an
open occurs.
 Basic Parallel Circuit
• Unlike a series circuit, the current flow is not equal in all
parts of a parallel circuit.
• In this example the current in each lamp circuit is the same.
• The total current is equal to the sum of the currents in
each lamp circuit.
• The voltage remains the same for each component.
 Basic Parallel Circuit
• In this circuit more than one power source (battery) is used.
• The voltage remains the same for each component.
• The advantage to this configuration is the ability to provide power for a longer
period of time.
• You would use two of the same batteries.
• For example, you would not use a 12-volt battery and a 9-volt battery
together.
• Both batteries should have identical characteristics for this to work properly.
• You would not use a 4 amp/hour battery and a 12 amp/hour battery together.
 Basic Parallel Circuit
• As we discussed earlier, a break anywhere in a series circuit
will cause all current to stop.
• Unlike a series circuit, not all breaks will affect current flow
in all parts of a parallel circuit.
 Resistors Connected In Parallel
• The total resistance of equal resistors in parallel is the
value of one resistor divided by the quantity of resistors.
• In this case one resistor is 120 ohms divided by two
resistors equals 60 ohms total resistance. 120/2 = 60.
 Resistors Connected In Parallel
• In this case one resistor is 120 ohms divided by three
resistors equals 40 ohms total resistance. 120/3 = 40.
 Resistors Connected In Parallel
• Not all parallel circuits have equal value loads.
• In this example a different formula must be used to
calculate the total resistance due to the different value
loads. There are two different formulas for this.
 Ohms Law In Parallel Circuits
• The total resistance in a parallel circuit is the total resistance
of the components using a parallel resistance formula.
• With multiple equal loads in parallel the current flow is
divided equally among them.
• With multiple unequal loads in parallel the current flow is
divided inversely proportionate among them. A higher
current will flow through a lower resistance.
 Ohms Law In Parallel Circuits
• The voltage is the same in all parts of a parallel circuit.
• With multiple sources of power in parallel the total current
capacity is the sum of the current of the power sources.
• Current is "directly proportionate" to voltage.
• Current is "inversely proportionate" to resistance.
 Series Parallel Circuits
• A series parallel circuit consists of at least three components.
• Two or more sources of power (battery, generator, etc.)
• Two or more loads (resistor, light bulb, motor, etc.)
• As you can see from this diagram, a series parallel circuit has more
than one path of electron flow.
 Series Parallel Circuits
• Here we see two resistors in series that together are connected in parallel to a third
resistor.
• The current flow travels through two different paths and, in this case, each path
has a different amount of total resistance.
• To calculate the total resistance of the curcuit we start by adding the series
resistances together.
• R1 and R2 are connected in series for a sum of 240 ohms.
• Using a parallel resistance formula we can determine the total resistance. The sum
of R1 and R2 (240 ohms) in parallel with R3 (120 ohms) equals a total resistance of
80 ohms.
 Series Parallel Circuits
• In this configuration of a series parallel circuit one path has multiple sub
paths in it.
• We see two resistors in parallel that together are connected in series with
a third resistor.
• To calculate the total resistance we start by determining the total of the
parallel resistances.
• The combined resistance of R2 and R3 is 60 ohms. Then by adding the
parallel resistance of R2 and R3 (60 ohms) to the resistance of R1 (100
ohms) we have a total resistance of 160 ohms.
 Series Parallel Circuits
• In this example we have two sets of parallel resistors that are connected in series
with each other.
• To calculate the total resistance we start by determining the total of the parallel
resistances.
• We see R1 and R2 are connected in parallel and determine their combined
resistance to be 60 ohms. We also see R3 and R4 are connected in parallel and
determine the combined resistance to be 180 ohms.
• Then by adding the parallel resistance of R1 and R2 (60 ohms) to the parallel
resistance of R3 and R4 (180 ohms) we have a total resistance of 240 ohms
 Series Parallel Circuits
• In this example we have two sets of series resistors that are connected in parallel
with each other.
• To calculate the total resistance we start by adding the series resistances together.
• R1 and R2 are connected in series for a sum of 150 ohms. R3 and R4 are
connected in series for a sum of 300 ohms.
• Using a parallel resistance formula we can determine the total resistance. The sum
of R1 and R2 (150 ohms) in parallel with the sum of R3 and R4 (300 ohms) equals a
total resistance of 100 ohms.
 Series Parallel Circuits
• There are many variations of series parallel resistance circuits.
• We always start by adding the groups of series resistances first.
• In this example we add the resistances of R1 and R2 for their sum, and then add
the resistances of R3 and R4 for their sum.
• he resistance of R1 and R2 in parallel with the resistance of R3 and R4 would be
added to the resistance of R5.
• Then using ohms law the total current flow can be calculated using the supplied
voltage.
Lets do this one….
R1+R2= 150 Ohms
R3+R4 = 360 Ohms
150 X 360 = 105.882 Ohms

10 + 105.882 = 110.882 Ohms

E=I

16 = .11429 A or 114.29 mA
The End…..