Summary of Series and Parallel Circuit Rules
Series Circuits |
Parallel Circuits |
The source PD (V) is split across the components |
The PD (V) across all of the branches is the same as the source PD |
The current (I) is the same through all components |
The current (I) is split across the branches and the total current (I) is the sum of the current (I) of each branch |
The total resistance of the circuit is the sum of all of the resistances of the separate components |
The total resistance of a parallel circuit is less than the smallest resistance of an individual circuit branch |