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Comparing Series & Parallel Circuits (Edexcel GCSE Physics)
Revision Note
Series & Parallel Circuits
Current in Series & Parallel
- In a series circuit, the current is the same at all points
- In a parallel circuit, the current splits at junctions – some of it going one way and the rest going the other
Diagram showing the behaviour of current in series and parallel circuits
Potential Difference in Series & Parallel
- In a series circuit, the voltage of the power supply is shared between the components
- In a parallel circuit, the voltage across each component is the same
Diagram showing the behaviour of voltage in series and parallel circuits
Resistors in Series & Parallel
- In a series circuit, the total resistance is the sum of the resistance in each component
- Two resistors in series will have a larger overall resistance than just one
- This is because the charge has to push through multiple components when flowing around the circuit
- The more components the charge has to travel through, the higher the number of collisions that occur
- In a parallel circuit, the total resistance decreases and is less than the resistance of any of the individual components
- Two resistors in parallel will have a smaller overall resistance than just one
- This is because the charge has more than one pathway to take, so only some charge will flow along each path
- The more pathways there are, the smaller the amount of charge in each path
Series and Parallel Circuit Summary Table
The Design of Series Circuits
- A series circuit consists of a string of components connected in the same loop to a power supply
- In a series circuit:
- The current is the same at all points around the loop
- The potential difference of the power supply is shared between the individual components
- Two disadvantages of series circuits are:
- If one of the components breaks, all of the others will stop working
- The components cannot be controlled (switched on and off) separately
Construction of a simple series circuit with an ammeter, voltmeter, cell and resistor
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