MODULE 06:

Electric Circuit, Current and Power

Electric circuit

Suppose that there are two metal plates oriented

parallel to each other, one being positive and the other being

negative. An electric field, E will be established between the

plates, pointing from the positive plate towards the negative

plate.

If a positive charge is placed between the plates, it would naturally move away from the positive

plate and move towards the negative plate. This action will not require work from an external source to

occur. As it entered the electric field, the positive charge will experience an electric force that will move it

to the lower, negative plate. After doing so, the positive charge will experience a decline in potential energy.

It also means that the positive plate is the high potential point, and the negative plate is the low potential

point. A potential difference exists between the plates.

Now imagine if there is a wire attaching both plates to each other. This would allow the charges

to move from the positive plate to the negative plate. Take note as well that as the charges are leaving the

positive plate, this plate gets less positive. Meanwhile, the negative plate gets less negative as the positive

charges balance the opposite charges out.

 As the plate becomes more and more neutral, the positive charges will no longer be ‘inclined’ to

go down the lower plate. This is the signal that there is no longer a potential difference between the plate

(i.e., they now have the same electric potential).

This illustration is a pretty good way to define an electric circuit, specifically, the requirements to

establish one. A circuit must be a closed loop that will allow the charges to move around continuously,

which is not the case in the illustration above. For it to be a true circuit, there must a way for the charges

to move from the negative plate back up to the positive plate. Also, for movement of charges to happen,

there must be a ‘reason’ for them to move. This ‘reason’ is the electric potential difference.

Requirements of a circuit

There are five different attempts to make the light bulb lit up below. Can you tell why the attempts

did not work?

A simple circuit can be created by connecting a wire, a small light bulb, and a battery in a closed

loop. To create a closed loop, the wire must connect the positive and negative terminals of the battery with

the light bulb. This is the reason why attempts A to E failed to make the bulb glow; there is no loop at all

(for Attempts A and C) or the loop is not successful at connecting the positive terminal to the negative
terminal (Attempts B, D, E). Attempt E is a bit tricky but notice that

although there is a connection between the terminals, the bulb is not

included in the circuit.

To make the light bulb glow, charges must move throughout

the wires and the filament. Charges can enter through the wire

connected to the base, go through the filament, and exit through the

wire connected to the ribbed side (or vice versa). In Attempt E, the

wiring should have been like this,

In this configuration the charges can move from the positive terminal, enter the

wire at the base of the bulb, on through the filament, exit through the wire at the ribbed

side, and flow through the wire (external circuit) to get to the negative terminal, completing

one cycle.

Remember as well that the loop must be a closed conducting loop, i.e., the material connecting

the terminals must allow the flow of charges or is a conductor). This is the reason why old bulbs no longer

wok or light up: the filament of the bulb usually gets more brittle and weaker over time, causing it to break

or become loose. When that happens, the circuit becomes ‘open’; the connection is broken, and the charges

cannot loop back to the terminals.

Requirement of an energy supply

For water to flow along a pipe, there must be difference in potential (or height) between the two

ends of the pipe. Making the water flow down is easy – you just must make sure that one end is at a lower

height than the other. But to make water flow to a higher point (as in upstairs bathrooms), you need a

water pump to do the work.

In our simple circuit, it is the battery that is providing the potential difference, specifically the high

potential point is the positive terminal of the battery, and the low potential point is the negative potential.

In the circuit above, it is electrochemical cell or the

internal circuit that pumps the charges ‘upstairs’, or supply

energy to them so they can move from low potential to a high

potential point. At the positive terminal, the charges can

naturally move ‘downstairs towards the negative terminal

(lighting the bulb along the way). Once it completes the cycle,

the battery pumps it back again, and the cycle continues until

the battery runs out.

Ending with an analogy, think of water fountain. A pump continuously brings water up to make it

a spout from the top of the fountain. However, the water has no difficulty trickling down the base, where

it collects.
Electric current

When the requirement is met, then charges will flow

through the circuit. It is said that there is current – flow of charge

or the movement of charge.

Current is also a physical quantity that refers to the

Charges (Q) moves through a cross-section (A)
of a wire over time (t).
amount of charge flowing through a cross-section of a wire over

time. It is then expressed mathematically as follows:

𝑄
𝐼=
𝑡

Where I is current, Q is the amount of charge, and t is time. The unit of current is the ampere (can

be written as amp o A). A current of 1 ampere means that there is a 1 coulomb of charge passing through

a cross-section of a wire every 1 second.

Direction of electric current

Which direction does the current take? Shown above is the

direction of current or charge flow that happens in a circuit. Note that this

is also the natural movement a positive charge will take – away from the

positive terminal and towards the negative terminal.

You might be asking why we are considering the movement of a As a convention, it is the positive
charges that move through the circuit
positive charge when we know that it is the electrons, the negative from the positive to the negative
terminal.
charges, that are mobile? This is because of tradition. When Benjamin

Franklin first studied static and current electricity, he thought that it is

the positive charges that are moving, and this convention on current

direction stuck around. (Even though, we know that electrons would move through

the wires in the opposite direction, we will also follow the said convention.)
Movement of current

How does current move through the wires? Zigzag-y and very

chaotic. When electrons are moving through the wire, they will

frequently collide with the fixed atoms of the metal conductor or wire.

These collisions are causing these back-forth, almost bee like

movement. It is said that with every three-step forward of the electrons,

When electrons (current) move
through the wires, they collide with
there is a two-step backward as well. Hence, the overall movement is the atoms of the wire causing them
to go back and forth.
very slow. The speed at which electron move through a wire is called drift

speed (with a typical value of 1 meter per hour).

How then can there be current in a circuit if the electrons are moving very slow? Remember that

there are many, many electrons moving along the wire, and they are moving all at once. If a large Coulomb

of charge pass through an area of a wire over a short time (see formula for I), then you can have a high

current – it then does not matter if the charges move fast or slow.

Suppose that there was a very large turtle race with millions and millions of turtles on a very wide

racetrack. Once the race start, we will see how slow moving they are (have low drift speed) as they cross

the starting line but try to imagine how many turtles are crossing the starting line all at once! While drift

speed is a measure of how fast or slow the turtles are, current is a measure of the number of turtles

crossing a certain point of the racetrack.

Another question that you might ask is if the drift speed of electron is very, very slow, how come

you do not have to wait for a considerate amount of time for the lightbulb in our simple circuit to light up

when you made the proper wiring connection? If they are slow moving, shouldn't the charge take a bit of

time to traverse the long wires before getting to the filament?

Well, think of the water along the pipe leading to a faucet. When you open the faucet, the water

comes out instantly (there is no waiting time) even though the water tank is a distance away. That is
because the pipes are already filled with water and water everywhere within the water circuit is set in

motion at the same time when you open the faucet.

In the same way, the electrons instantly flowing through the filament and making the bulb lit up,

is supplied by the atoms of the wires and the filament itself, not the battery. Once the connection between

terminals is made, an electric potential difference is established immediately, setting the motion of charges

instantly.

In our turtle race analogy, when they all hear the shot of the starting pistol, all of them starts

moving forward. Although slow, there are many, many turtles passing though the startling line, and many,

many others following behind. (Note that we are only using the analogy for the slowing movement of the

turtle, remember that charges move in a chaotic manner and not in an orderly and ever-forward manner).

Electric power

Power was previously defined as the amount of work done over time. Here, we will understand

that electric power means the same. In our simple circuit, it is the battery (the voltage source) doing the

work on the charges to move from low to high potential point. Essentially, a chemical reaction happens

inside the battery that allows the device to do work. Then, the increase in electric potential energy that the

charges acquire is nothing but transformed chemical energy.

We also know that this electrical potential energy will be used by the charge to do work on the

load or circuit element (such as a bulb). The potential energy is then converted to other form. It is just

energy conversion, isn’t it?

Then, in the context of current electricity, power is the rate at which electrical energy is supplied

to a circuit or consumed by a load.

Mathematically, electric power is written as:

𝑊𝑜𝑟𝑘 𝑑𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑜𝑛 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑔𝑒 𝐸𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑦 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑢𝑚𝑒𝑑 𝑏𝑦 𝑙𝑜𝑎𝑑

𝑃𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟 = =
𝑇𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑇𝑖𝑚𝑒

Like mechanical power, the unit is Watt (W). A watt of power is equivalent to the delivery of 1

joule of energy every second. Hence, when we say that an appliance has a ‘high power consumption’, what

we really should be saying is ‘high energy consumption’ as in - it is consuming a lot of electrical energy in

a very fast manner.

We are also paying for our monthly energy consumption to our electrical utility company (BATELEC)

in kilowatt-hour. Since a watt is energy per hour, multiplying time to it would mean that remaining unit,

the one paid for, is Joules.

We already know that the company is not our source of charge, in the same way that the battery,

in our simple circuit, is also not the source of charge. What service do they give us that demands payment

then?

Electrical utility company is responsible for assuring that the electric potential difference across two

main wires from the transformer to the house is 240 volts (depends on the country; 120 V in US). As you

know, without potential difference across the circuit, there is no current or flow of charges along the circuit.

And maintaining this difference in potential requires energy.

Another formula for electric power

From the equation above, we know that

𝐸𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑦 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑢𝑚𝑒𝑑 𝑏𝑦 𝑙𝑜𝑎𝑑 ∆𝑃𝐸

𝑃𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟 (𝑃) = =
𝑇𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑡

However, we also know that electric potential difference is

∆𝑃𝐸
∆𝑉 =
𝑄

But current is

𝑄
𝐼=
𝑡

Substituting voltage formula (eq.2) to power formula (eq.1)

∆𝑉 ∗ 𝑄
𝑃=
𝑡

Finally, since Q over t is current (I), then

𝑃 = ∆𝑉 ∗ 𝐼

Hence to know the electric power of a battery in our simple circuit, just look at the electric potential
different (how many volts?) and the current flowing to the circuit it was connected on.
FIN.
MODULE 07:

Electric Resistance

Journey of a typical electron

From the last module, we understood that the movement of electrons (charges) along a wire is not

a straight path, but a process of back and forth. This happens because the charges collide with the atoms

of the wire as it makes it way from the high potential to the low potential terminals. In this sense, these

collisions ’discourage’ the flow of charges as they slow them down.

It was also discussed that most of the electrical energy of charges (gain from the battery) is spent

and lost as they pass through (do work on) the circuit elements (i.e., the light bulb). However, some losses

also occur as the charges move through the wire, as they collide with its atoms.

When the current pass

through the circuit load
(i.e., bulb), its voltage
drops.

Also note that the energy ‘gain’ (voltage boost) from the battery is equal to the energy lost (or

voltage ‘drop’) along the circuit. In the electric potential diagram above, the three large voltage drops will

be observed, corresponding to the energy lost from the three loads (bulbs). There are also very small

voltage drops in the wires (i.e., see that B is slightly lower than A, in the potential diagram, for example).

This module will talk in detail about resistance – the cause of the voltage drops in the wires.
Resistance

An electron traveling through the wires and loads of the external circuit encounters resistance.

Resistance is the hindrance to the flow of charge.

The flow of charge through wires is often compared to the flow of water through pipes. The

resistance to the flow of charge in an electric circuit is analogous to the frictional effects between water

and the pipe surfaces. It is this resistance that hinders the water flow.

Several factors affect the resistance encountered by charges along the wire.

 First, the total length of the wires will affect the amount of resistance. The longer the wire, the

more resistance that there will be. There is a direct relationship between the amount of resistance

encountered by charge and the length of wire it must traverse. After all, if resistance occurs as the

result of collisions between charge and the atoms of the wire, then there is likely to be more

collisions in a longer wire. More collisions mean more resistance.

 Second, the cross-sectional area of the wires will affect the amount of resistance. Wider wires

have a greater cross-sectional area. Water will flow through a wider pipe at a higher rate than it

will flow through a narrow pipe. This can be attributed to the lower amount of resistance that is

present in the wider pipe. In the same manner, the wider the wire, the less resistance that there

will be to the flow of electric charge. When all other variables are the same, charge will flow at

higher rates through wider wires with greater cross-sectional areas than through thinner wires.

 A third variable that is known to affect the resistance to charge flow is the material that a wire

is made of. Not all materials are created equal in terms of their conductive ability. Some materials

are better conductors than others and offer less resistance to the flow of charge. Silver is one of

the best conductors but is never used in wires of household circuits due to its cost. Copper and

aluminum are among the least expensive materials with suitable conducting ability to permit their

use in wires of household circuits.

 The conducting ability of a material is often

indicated by its resistivity. The resistivity of a material

is dependent upon the material's electronic structure

and its temperature. For most (but not all) materials,

resistivity increases with increasing temperature. The

table below lists resistivity values for various

materials at temperatures of 20 degrees Celsius.

As seen in the table, there is a broad range

of resistivity values for various materials. Those

materials with lower resistivities offer less resistance

to the flow of charge; they are better conductors. The

Resistivity values of common materials.
materials shown in the last four rows of the above The lower the value, the lesser
resistance it offers to current.
table have such high resistivity that they would not

be considered as conductors.

Mathematical Nature of Resistance

Resistance is a numerical quantity that can be measured and expressed mathematically. The

standard metric unit for resistance is the ohm, represented by the Greek letter omega (Ω). An electrical

device having a resistance of 5 ohms would be represented as R = 5 Ω. The equation representing the

dependency of the resistance (R) of a cylindrically shaped conductor (e.g., a wire) upon the variables that

affect it is
Where:
𝐿
𝑅=𝜌  L represents the length of the wire (in meters),
𝐴
 A represents the cross-sectional area of the
wire (in m2), and
 ρ represents the resistivity of the material (in
ohm•meter).
NOTE: Consistent with the discussion above, this equation
shows that the resistance of a wire is directly proportional
to the length of the wire and inversely proportional to the
cross-sectional area of the wire.
Ohm’s Law

The equation that shows the relationship between the voltage (potential difference), current, and

resistance is the Ohm’s Law. In mathematical form, it is written as:

𝛥𝑉 = 𝐼 • 𝑅

In words, the electric potential difference between two points on a circuit (ΔV) is equivalent to the

product of the current between those two points (I) and the total resistance of all electrical devices present

between those two points (R). The equation can also be written in this form

Δ𝑉
𝐼=
𝑅

The equation shows use that to increase the

amount in the circuit, the potential across the
terminals must be increased and the
resistance through the circuit decreased.
This relationship is further demonstrated in
the diagram at the right.

Tripling the battery voltage will also triple

the current (see illustration 1 vs. 3), while
doubling the circuit resistance (see
illustration 1 vs. 4) will halved the current
present in the circuit.

How is this applied by appliance manufacturers? Take a mixer that can be used for a variety of

functions, such as mixing and beating by just pushing their corresponding buttons. Clicking the ‘mixing’

button would decrease the resistance in the load’s wiring, such that the higher current needed to perform

the function will flow through. Meanwhile, the ‘beating’ function will only require lesser current, hence

pushing its corresponding button should increase the resistance of the load.
Electric Power, revisited

Shown below is our derived formula for power,

𝑃 = 𝛥𝑉 • 𝐼

The formula tells us that the electric power of a device depends upon the potential difference

maintained across the device and the amount of current passing through it. However, since current depends

on resistance in the circuit (aside from potential difference), then power must also depend on it. We can

substitute the equation for current, as it was derived from Ohm’s Law to the power equation above.

Δ𝑉 Δ𝑉 2
𝑃 = 𝛥𝑉 • 𝐼 = 𝛥𝑉 • =
𝑅 𝑅

Another equation is,

𝑃 = 𝐼 • 𝑅 = 𝐼 • (𝐼 • 𝑅) = 𝐼 2 • 𝑅

In total we have three equations for power:

𝑃 = 𝛥𝑉 • 𝐼

Δ𝑉 2
𝑃=
𝑅

𝑃 = 𝐼2 • 𝑅
Using the equations in calculations,

Suppose a 60-watt bulb in a household lamp was replaced with a 120-watt bulb, then how many times

greater would the current be in that lamp circuit?

Using the 𝑃 = 𝛥𝑉 • 𝐼 equation,

The larger current in the 120W bulb is due to its lower resistance as shown below,

Then using the 𝑃 = 𝐼2 • 𝑅 equation to double check,

MODULE 08

Circuit Connections

Circuit Symbols and Circuit Diagrams

In this module, we will be solving for the electrical potential, current, and resistance of simple (to

mildly complex) circuits. However, we must first find an efficient way to describe circuits. While electric

circuits can be described through words and drawings, these methods will prove to be time-consuming if a

complex circuit needs to be described. A more efficient way is to use schematic diagram.

In words, this circuit can be

described as a circuit
containing three light bulbs
and three cells, connected
in series.

Circuit symbols used in schematic diagrams

1. Single cell – represented by a long and a short parallel line. The long line is representative of the positive
terminal of the energy source and the short line represents the negative terminal.
2. Battery – (which is a collection of cells) is represented by a series of these long and short
parallel lines
3. Connecting Wire – a straight line between two components of the circuit
4. Resistor (or load, electrical device) – is a zigzag line, to represent the resistance they offer to the flow of
charges
5. Open switch – a straight line with a ‘break’, a portion of the line lifted upward at a diagonal. In an open
circuit, charges cannot flow from one terminal to another due to the ‘break’ in the circuit.
6. Closed switch – a ‘break’ in a straight line connected by another smaller line.
Two types of connection

Series connection

Elements in a circuit can be connected in three ways, in series, in parallel, or a combination

of the two. Shown is a circuit composed of three cells, three loads (bulbs), and connecting wires

arranged in series with each other. Since the three light bulbs were connected in such a way, the

charge flowing through the circuit would pass through each one of the three light bulbs in consecutive

fashion. The path of a positive test charge leaving the positive terminal of the battery and traversing

the external circuit would involve a passage through each one of the three connected light bulbs before

returning to the negative terminal of the battery.

In series connection, all

circuit components are
connected in a single loop.

The path of a positive test charge leaving the positive terminal of the battery and traversing

the external circuit would involve a passage through each one of the three connected light bulbs before

returning to the negative terminal of the battery.

Parallel connection

The parallel connection of the same circuit elements is shown below. Notice that there is a

point on the circuit where the wires branch off from each other. The branching location is referred to

as a node. Each light bulb is placed in its own separate branch. These branch wires eventually connect

to each other to form a second node.

 A distinguishing
first node characteristic of parallel
circuit is the presence of
nodes, a point where the
branches separates or
meets with other branches.

Second node

A single wire is used to connect this second node to the negative terminal of the battery.

When the charges pass through the node, they are divided into the three paths as they make their

way to the other terminal of the battery. This also means, that unlike in series connection, a single

charge has multiple ways of passing through the external circuit and that it does not have to pass

through each bulb.

Resistance in parallel and series connection

This part of the module will explore series and parallel connections, and how these circuit

connections affect the overall resistance and current of the circuit. Let us first look at what happens when

electrical loads are connected in series.

Resistance in series connection

To understand how series

connection affects the total
resistance of the circuit,
notice the brightness of the
light bulbs. Dimmer
lightbulbs indicate more
resistance.
 If more and more light bulbs are added to a circuit in a series connection, the overall

resistance of the circuit increases. The brightness of each bulb will gradually decrease at

each addition of light bulbs, what with each bulb ‘bringing in’ its own ‘resistance’.

Take note as well that if one of three bulbs in a series circuit is unscrewed from its socket,

then it is observed that the other bulbs immediately go out. For the devices in a series circuit to

work, each device must work. If one goes out, they all go out. Hence, the reason why devices at

home are not connected in series.

Resistance in parallel connection

Using the same elements, what would now happen to the overall current and resistance of

a circuit in parallel connection.

Notice how the indicator

bulb is brighter the
individual bulbs.

The diagrams depict the usual means of constructing the circuit with parallel connections of

light bulbs. One will note that a study of the overall current for parallel connections requires the

addition of an indicator bulb. The indicator bulb is placed outside of the branches and allows one

to observe the effect of additional resistors upon the overall current. The bulbs that are placed in

the parallel branches only provide an indicator of the current through that branch. So, in investigating
the effect of the number of resistors upon the overall current and resistance, one must make careful

observations of the indicator bulb, not the bulbs that are placed in the branches.

As indicated by the increasing brightness of the indicator bulb, adding more light bulbs in a

parallel connection will result to an increase in current. This increase in current is consistent with a

decrease in overall resistance. Adding more resistors in a separate branch has the

unexpected result of decreasing the overall resistance!

In the diagram above, removing one bulb from its socket will not cut off the current in the

other branches. Hence, the other bulb will remain lit (overall current still exist, as well). Appliances

at home are connected in parallel, for this reason. Since each appliance is in its own separate branch,

turning that appliance off merely cuts off the flow of charge to that branch. There will still be charge

flowing through the other branches to the other appliances.

Traffic analogy – why is resistance smaller in a parallel circuit than in a series circuit?

The fact that one can add more resistors in parallel and produce less resistance is quite bothersome
to many. An analogy may help to clarify the reason behind this initially bothersome truth.

In this analogy, the charges are the cars ‘flowing’ though the highway (external circuit or the wire).
The resistance is sourced by the tollway system or the tollbooths, as they will require cars to pay toll
fees, and therefore slow down the traffic. The diagrams are comparing how the arrangement of
tollbooths, in series and parallel, will affect the overall current.

If the booths are connected in series, this means that the cars must pay toll fee three consecutive
times, thereby further slowing down the ‘flow’. Quite obviously, adding tollbooths in series would
have the overall effect of increasing the total amount of resistance and decreasing the overall car
flow rate (i.e., current).

Meanwhile, if tollbooths are placed parallel to each other, there would be three possible pathways
for cars to flow through the toll station and each car would choose only one of the pathways. Quite
obviously, adding tollbooths in parallel would have the overall effect of decreasing the total amount
of resistance and increasing the overall car flow rate (i.e., current) along the tollway.
Series circuits

In this module, we will perform a mathematical analysis of a series connection. To do this, let us

first determine how we can calculate for the equivalent resistance, total current, and total voltage difference

of a series circuit.

Equivalent resistance in a series circuit

The concept of equivalent resistance is illustrated in the diagrams below.

The above illustrations show that if a circuit is composed of two 6 Ω resistors, it can be replaced

with one 12 Ω resistor. This is the concept of equivalent resistance. The sum of individual resistance

is added to get it. Since there is only one pathway through the series circuit, every charge encounters

the resistance of every device so, the resistance adds up. In mathematical form,

𝑅𝑒𝑞 = 𝑅1 + 𝑅2 + 𝑅3 …

where R1, R2, and R3 are the resistance values of the individual resistors that are connected in series.
Total current through a series circuit

To explain the total current present in a series circuit, imagine a water circuit filled with water all

throughout. Along some portion of the pipe, sand is added to reduce the water flow rate, as a resistor will

do to current. While adding more sand will further slow the flow down, they do not reduce the amount of

water present throughout the pipe. The sands do not used up the water, in the same way that the resistors

do not use up the charges. Hence, whatever the current passing through any of point in the circuit is the

same everywhere else. The total current through a series circuit is constant or the same all

throughout.

The total current in mathematical form is written as,

where I1, I2, and I3 are the
current values at the
𝐼𝑇 = 𝐼1 = 𝐼2 = 𝐼3 … individual resistor
locations.

Total Voltage drops across a series circuit

It was already discussed that the energy gain transferred to the charges from the battery is equal

to the energy lost when they pass through the electrical loads. In other words, the voltage boost is equal

to the sum of the voltage drops. Hence, in the Diagram A below, the missing voltage drop must be 40 V

for the sum to be equal to the 120V rating of the battery. Can you solve the missing voltages in Diagram

B.
 Hence the potential difference across a series circuit can be determine by adding the

voltage drops across the loads. This is mathematically written as

Δ𝑉𝑏𝑎𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑦 = 𝑉1 + 𝑉2 + 𝑉3 … where V1, V2, and V3 are

the voltage drops across
each resistor
.

It is worth nothing that the voltage drops in a series circuit will vary depending on the resistance

offered by each electrical load. In the diagram below, the greatest resistance is experienced across D to E,

hence the voltage drop is greatest across that points as well.

Mathematical analysis of series circuit

Given what we know about the three circuit concepts, we can now solve for the current at and

electric potential difference across each of the resistors in a series circuit shown below.

Solving for the total current,

∆𝑉 60𝑉
𝐼= = = 1.5 𝐴
𝑅𝑒𝑞 40Ω

Please note that individual resistances must be summed to get the equivalent resistance. The total

current is 1.5 A, which is also the current at each resistor since current is the same everywhere in a

series circuit.

To get the individual potential difference (or voltage drops) across each element, we will use the

following equations,

Take note that the adding this voltage drops will equal the voltage gain from the battery (60V). As

the resistance is greatest at resistor 1, the greatest drop in potential also happened there .
Parallel circuits

In a parallel circuit, positive charges do not need to pass through each resistor as there are multiple

pathways to get to the negative terminal of the battery. As we have demonstrated through the tollbooth

analogy, this type of connections affects the total resistance and total current of the circuit.

Total current through a parallel circuit

To see how we can mathematically express the total current

present in a parallel circuit, let us use another analogy, the water

circuit analogy shown below.

If water flows at the rate of 100 gpm (gallons per minute) at the

start and there is an immediate node that will take the water to

two separate branches, then the original flow rate will also be

divided into two. However, the sum of the flow rate in the

branches is equal to the flow rate outside the branches.

The same principle will apply to electric circuit. In parallel

circuit, the total current is equal to the sum of the current

flowing through each branch. Mathematically, the principle

can be written as

𝐼𝑇 = 𝐼1 + 𝐼2 + 𝐼3 …

where IT is the total amount of current outside the branches (and in

the battery) and I1, I2, and I3 represent the current in the individual
branches of the circuit.
Total Voltage drops across a parallel circuit

In a series connection, the total voltage boost from the battery must be equal to the sum of the

voltage drops across each resistor. Since the charges will have to pass through each of the resistors of the

circuit, there will be lost of potential energy (or potential/voltage) across each passing. However, when in

a parallel connection, there are multiple pathways, and the charge can take whichever (they do not need

to pass through each).

If we look at the diagrams below, consider if the

charges chose to pass through resistor 1 on its way to

the negative terminal, the voltage gain it have from the

internal circuit must all be lost as it made its way across

resistor 1. This voltage drop must be the same if they

chose to pass through resistors 2 or 3 instead.

In parallel circuit, the voltage drops of

each branch is equivalent to the total voltage drop

across the battery. In mathematical form, the concept

will be,

Δ𝑉𝑏𝑎𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑦 = 𝑉1 = 𝑉2 = 𝑉3 …

where V1, V2, and V3 are the voltage drops across each resistor
Equivalent resistance in a parallel circuit

We were able to use the tollbooth analogy to explain how adding more resistors in parallel would decrease

the equivalent resistance of the circuit, and in consequence, increase the total current. Let us then, derive the formula

for the equivalent resistance in parallel circuit here.

To compute for the total current, we need to add current in each individual branches as
shown below.

𝐼𝑇 = 𝐼1 + 𝐼2 + 𝐼3 …

Using Ohm’s Law, we can express this equation as

Δ𝑉 Δ𝑉 Δ𝑉
𝐼𝑇 = + + …
𝑅1 𝑅2 𝑅3

Note that there is no need to differentiate the voltage drops across each branch since they
are all equivalent to the voltage of the battery. If we multiply the inverse of voltage
difference to the whole equation, it will cancel the voltage differences as shown

Δ𝑉 Δ𝑉 Δ𝑉 1
[𝐼𝑇 = + + …] ∙
𝑅1 𝑅2 𝑅3 Δ𝑉

𝐼𝑇 1 1 1
= + + …
Δ𝑉 𝑅1 𝑅2 𝑅3

Substituting 𝐼𝑇 ∙ 𝑅𝑒𝑞

𝐼𝑇 1 1 1
= + + …
𝐼𝑇 ∙ 𝑅𝑒𝑞 𝑅1 𝑅2 𝑅3

1 1 1 1
= + + …
𝑅𝑒𝑞 𝑅1 𝑅2 𝑅3
Hence, the equivalent resistance of a parallel circuit is smaller than any of the individual resistor, as further

shown below.
Mathematical analysis of parallel circuits

Given what we know, let us solve for the equivalent resistance of the circuit (Req), the current through
the battery (IT), and the voltage drops and current for each of the three resistors.

The current flowing through each branch is computed as follows.

Note that the current is largest at the branch with the least resistance. Voltage difference causes similar
effect on each branch since the voltage drops is the same for each. If we add the currents, it will also
total to 13.98 A (or 14 A).

Then computing for the equivalent resistance,

1 1 1 1
= + +
𝑅𝑒𝑞 17 Ω 12 Ω 11 Ω

−1
1 1
( = )
𝑅𝑒𝑞 0.23306 Ω

𝑅𝑒𝑞 = 4.29 Ω

If we double-check using

∆𝑉 60𝑉
𝐼= = = 13.98 A (or 14 A)
𝑅𝑒𝑞 4.29 Ω