circuits
An electric circuit is a closed path which electrons flow through.
circuit symbols
parallel and series circuit
parallelA parallel circuit is when the components in the circuit are parallel to each other. There is more than 1 path to take around the circuit. If one light bulb breaks in a parallel circuit, the other one(s) will still work because it still has a current through them.
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seriesAll devices are connected one after the other in a series circuit. There's only 1 path for the current to go through. If one light bulbs break, the other one would stop working.
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current in series and parallel circuits
The flow of electrons in a circuit is called the current. Current is measured using an ammeter. The unit of current is an amp (A).
voltage in a series and parallel circuit
Voltage is a measure of how much energy the current is carrying. The unit of voltage is a volt (V). The voltage across an electrical component is measured using a voltmeter. the voltmeter must be connected in a parallel across the component.
seriesIn a series circuit the voltage is divided between the components. If the current is carrying 10 V and there are two lightbulbs of the same size, each bulb will receive 5 V.
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parallelIn a parallel circuit, the current has more than one path to follow. It still carries the same amount of voltage it was given. It doesn't split like currents.
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