Circuits

Simple Electric Circuits

• Electrons travel along a path to deliver their energy

• This path is called an electric circuit

• An electric circuit needs:

• an energy source, such as a battery
• an energy user, such as a light globe
• wires to connect everything, making the circuit complete

• Any break in an electric circuit stops the flow of

electrons and stops them from delivering their energy

• Most electric circuits have switches that deliberately

break the circuit, turning it on and off
Circuit Diagrams
 Series Circuits
• In a series circuit, all the components of the
circuit are connected one after another to
form a single loop

• When the charges leave the battery, they

carry a full load of energy (in this case 6 V)

• Very little energy is lost in the wires because

they have a very low resistance

• Each globe therefore uses 3 V worth of

energy
 Parallel Circuits
• A parallel circuit has a number of branching
circuits, each branch having its own components

• In this parallel circuit, the current leaving the

battery splits into two, with half going down each
branch

• An individual electron can only pass through one

globe and so it uses all its energy in that one
globe

• Therefore, each globe receives the full 6 V

supplied by the battery
 Summary
• Components in a series circuit have the same current through them
but split the voltage between them

• Components in a parallel circuit have the same voltage across them

but split the current between them