Content

• To step
• Part 1 of 4: Understanding the basic terminology
• Part 2 of 4: Determine the total current of a series circuit
• Part 3 of 4: Calculating the total current in parallel circuits
• Part 4 of 4: Solving an example with parallel circuits
• Tips
• Terms

The easiest way to imagine a series connection is as a chain of components. The components are added sequentially and aligned. There is only one path through which the electrons and landings can flow. Once you have a basic idea of ​​what a series connection entails, you can learn how to calculate the total current.

To step

Part 1 of 4: Understanding the basic terminology

1. Familiarize yourself with what flow is. Current is the movement of electrically charged carriers such as electrons, the current of the charge per unit time. But what is charge and what is an electron? An electron is a negatively charged particle. A charge is a property of matter used to indicate whether something is positively or negatively charged. Like magnets, equal charges repel each other and dissimilar charges attract each other.
   • We can illustrate this with water. Water consists of the molecule H2O - which stands for a bond of 2 atoms of hydrogen and 1 atom of oxygen. We know that the oxygen atom and two hydrogen atoms together make a molecule of water (H2O).
   • Flowing water consists of millions and millions of this molecule. We can compare the flowing amount of water with electric current; the molecule with an electron; and the charge with the atoms.
2. Understand what voltage refers to. Voltage is the "force" that drives the current. To best illustrate the voltage, we use the battery as an example. Inside a battery is a series of chemical reactions that cause electrons to build up in the positive pole of the battery.
   • Now if we attach the positive connection point of a medium (e.g. a wire) to the negative terminal of the battery, then the electrons will start moving to move away from each other, because, as we mentioned before, equal charges repel each other.
   • In addition, because of the law of conservation of charge (which states that the net charge of an isolated system must remain the same), the electrons will try to balance the charges by moving from the higher concentration of electrons to the lower concentration. or from the positive pole to the negative pole respectively.
   • This movement creates a potential difference in each of the ends, which we can now call a voltage.
3. Know what resistance is. Resistance, on the other hand, is the resistance of certain elements against the flow of the charge.
   • Resistors are elements with significant resistance. They are placed in certain places within a circuit or circuit to regulate the flow of the charge or electrons.
   • If there are no resistors, the electrons will not be regulated and the equipment may be overcharged and damaged, or catch fire from overheating.

Part 2 of 4: Determine the total current of a series circuit

1. Determines the total resistance of the circuit. Imagine a straw that makes you drink. Squeeze it with several fingers. What do you notice? The flow of the water will decrease. The squeezing forms a resistance. Your fingers block the water (which represents the flow). Since the squeezing happens in a straight line, it takes place in series. From this example follows the total resistance of resistors in series:
   • R (total) = R1 + R2 + R3
2. Determine the total voltage of the resistor. Usually the total voltage will already be given, but in those cases where individual voltages are given, we can use the following equation:
   • V (total) = V1 + V2 + V3
   • But why is this so? Again using the straw analogy, what do you expect to happen when you squeeze the straw? Then it takes more effort to get water through the straw. The total effort you have to make is produced by the individual force required for the individual nips.
   • The "force" it takes is called voltage, because it drives the flow of the water. Therefore, it is only natural that the total voltage results from adding up the individual voltages across each resistor.
3. Calculate the total current over the system. Again using the straw analogy: Did anything change in the amount of water even though you squeezed the straw? No. Although the rate at which you ingested the water changed, the amount of water you could drink remained the same. And if you look more closely at the amount of water entering and leaving, the pinches are the same, because the speed of the water is constant, so we can say that:
   • I1 = I2 = I3 = I (total)
4. Remember Ohm's Law. But you are not there yet! Remember, we don't have any of this data, but we can use Ohm's Law, the ratio of voltage, current, and resistance:
   • V = IR
5. Try to work out an example. Three resistors, R1 = 10Ω, R2 = 2Ω and R3 = 9Ω are connected in series. A voltage of 2.5V is on the circuit. Calculate the total current in the circuit. First, let's calculate the total resistance:
   • R (total) = 10 Ω R2 + 2 Ω R3 + 9 Ω
   • Thus R (total) = 21 Ω
6. Use Ohm's Law to calculate the total current:
   • V (total) = I (total) x R (total)
   • I (total) = V (total) / R (total)
   • I (total) = 2.5 V / 21 Ω
   • I (total) = 0.1190 A.

Part 3 of 4: Calculating the total current in parallel circuits

1. Understand what a parallel circuit is. As the name implies, a parallel circuit consists of components arranged in a parallel manner. This uses multiple wiring, creating paths to conduct current.
2. Calculate the total voltage. Since we have already covered the different terms in the previous section, we can now proceed directly to the calculations. For example, take a pipe with two branches, each of a different diameter. In order for the water to flow in both tubes, do you have to use unequal forces in each of the tubes? No. You only need enough power to get the water flowing. Therefore, using the analogy that the water is the current and the force is the voltage, we can say that:
   • V (total) = V1 + V2 + V3
3. Calculate the total resistance. Suppose you want to regulate the water flowing through both tubes. How do you block the pipes? Do you just place a block in each branch or do you place multiple blocks in a consecutive way, to be able to control the water flow? You will have to do the latter. The same analogy applies to resistors. Resistors connected in series regulate current much better than those arranged in parallel. The equation for the total resistance in a parallel circuit is:
   • 1 / R (total) = (1 / R1) + (1 / R2) + (1 / R3)
4. Calculate the total flow. Returning to our example, the water that flows from the source to the fork is divided. The same is applicable to electric power. Since there are several paths through which charge can flow, you can say that it has been split up. The paths do not necessarily receive equal amounts of charge. It depends on the resistances and materials of the components in each branch. Therefore, the total current equation is simply the sum of all the current in all paths:
   • I (total) = I1 + I2 + I3
   • Of course we cannot use this yet, because we do not yet know the individual currents. In this case Ohm's Law can also be used.

Part 4 of 4: Solving an example with parallel circuits

1. Try an example. 4 resistors are divided into two branches or paths connected in parallel. In branch 1 we find R1 = 1 Ω and R2 = 2 Ω, and in branch two we find R3 = 0.5 Ω and R4 = 1.5 Ω. The resistors in each pad are connected in series. The applied voltage across branch 1 is 3 V. Determines the total current.
2. First determine the total resistance. Since the resistors in each branch are connected in series, we are going to first determine the total resistance across each branch.
   • R (total 1 & 2) = R1 + R2
   • R (total 1 & 2) = 1 Ω + 2 Ω
   • R (total 1 & 2) = 3 Ω
   • R (total 3 & 4) = R3 + R4
   • R (total 3 & 4) = 0.5 Ω + 1.5 Ω
   • R (total 3 & 4) = 2 Ω
3. Enter this into the equation for the parallel connection. Now, since the branches are connected in parallel, we are going to use the equation for a parallel connection
   • (1 / R (total)) = (1 / R (total 1 & 2)) + (1 / R (total 3 & 4))
   • (1 / R (total)) = (1/3 Ω) + (1/2 Ω)
   • (1 / R (total)) = ⅚
   • R (total) = 1.2 Ω
4. Determine the total voltage. Now calculate the total voltage. Since the total voltage is equal to each individual voltage:
   • V (total) = V1 = 3 V.
5. Use Ohm's Law to determine the total current. Now we can calculate the total current using Ohm's Law.
   • V (total) = I (total) x R (total)
   • I (total) = V (total) / R (total)
   • I (total) = 3 V / 1.2 Ω
   • I (total) = 2.5 A.

Tips

• The total resistance of a parallel circuit is always less than ANY individual resistor.

Terms

• Circuit - consisting of components (such as resistors, capacitors, and coils) connected by wires, through which current can flow.
• Resistors - components that can reduce or resist current
• Current - the flow of charge through the wires; unit Ampere (A)
• Voltage - work per load unit; unit Voltage (V)
• Resistance - measure of the resistance of a component to the electrical current; unit Ohm (Ω)