Voltage in Series & Parallel

Voltage definition

Energy transferred per unit charge

Voltage symbol

V

Voltage unit

Volts (V)

Series circuit voltage rule

Shared between components

Reason for sharing

Charge loses energy as it passes through each component

Total series voltage

Sum of voltages across each component

Example series

6 V battery → 4 V + 2 V across components

Equal components in series

Voltage splits equally

Parallel circuit voltage rule

Same voltage across each branch

Reason for same voltage

Each branch is directly connected to the battery

Example parallel

9 V battery → each branch gets 9 V

Adding components in parallel

Does not change voltage across branches

Series vs parallel summary

Series: voltage divides; parallel: voltage stays the same

Energy meaning

Higher voltage = more energy transferred per coulomb

Battery role

Provides total voltage available to circuit

Key idea

Series → voltage splits; parallel → voltage is identical across branches