A DC circuit is a circuit in which current can only flow in one direction, constantly and with constant polarity. As opposed to alternating current, which changes its flow direction at regular intervals and can also increase or decrease in value. In this essay I will be mainly describing DC circuits wired in series, parallel, and series-parallel. In a DC series circuit the components are all wired together from end to end with the same amount of current flowing through each component. In a simple series circuit all that is required is a power source (battery), conductor, and a resistor. In order to better understand how a series circuit works you must first begin to understand how each of the basic components function and contribute to
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For example, if you have a resistor with a resistance of 3 ohms and the current at it being 1 amp the voltage drop at that resistor is 3 volts (3*1). If you have more than one resistor wired to that circuit you can check your math by adding all the voltage drops at the resistor together, the sum should equal to the voltage of the power source or battery. Parallel DC circuits differ from DC series circuits mainly in the way they are wired to their components. As opposed to series circuits in which only one path is provided for current to flow, in parallel circuits there is more than one path provided. This makes it possible for the voltage to be the same at any part of the circuit like how in the series circuit the current was the same at every part of the …show more content…
Many times they will encounter a combination of both circuits known as a series-parallel circuit. Just as the name implies it is simply a combination of both circuits, the same rules that applied for them as individual circuits apply to them as sections of the circuit. For example, earlier I discussed how total resistance in a series circuit could be determined by adding the values of every resistor. I also mentioned that in a parallel circuit the total resistance could be determined by using a specific formula on a pair of resistors to calculate the total resistance of a circuit. Lets say a series-parallel circuit has 4 resistors wired to it, 2 of those resistors are wired in parallel and the other 2 in series. The individual resistor values being as follows: R1=4ohms, R2=5ohms, R3= 7ohms, and
For example, if you have a resistor with a resistance of 3 ohms and the current at it being 1 amp the voltage drop at that resistor is 3 volts (3*1). If you have more than one resistor wired to that circuit you can check your math by adding all the voltage drops at the resistor together, the sum should equal to the voltage of the power source or battery. Parallel DC circuits differ from DC series circuits mainly in the way they are wired to their components. As opposed to series circuits in which only one path is provided for current to flow, in parallel circuits there is more than one path provided. This makes it possible for the voltage to be the same at any part of the circuit like how in the series circuit the current was the same at every part of the …show more content…
Many times they will encounter a combination of both circuits known as a series-parallel circuit. Just as the name implies it is simply a combination of both circuits, the same rules that applied for them as individual circuits apply to them as sections of the circuit. For example, earlier I discussed how total resistance in a series circuit could be determined by adding the values of every resistor. I also mentioned that in a parallel circuit the total resistance could be determined by using a specific formula on a pair of resistors to calculate the total resistance of a circuit. Lets say a series-parallel circuit has 4 resistors wired to it, 2 of those resistors are wired in parallel and the other 2 in series. The individual resistor values being as follows: R1=4ohms, R2=5ohms, R3= 7ohms, and