a) Kirchhoff's second law

a) Kirchhoff’s second law; the conservation of energy

b) Kirchhoff’s first and second laws applied to electrical circuits


Kirchhoff’s second law

  • within each closed loop in a circuit → Σε = ΣV

    • the sum of the energy transferred from the EMF source to the charge carriers = the sum of the energy transferred from the charge carriers to components


closed loop = a single pathway for current to flow from the negative to the positive terminal of an EMF source

  • a series circuit has one closed loop

  • a parallel circuit has more than one closed loop


in a closed loop with more than one source of EMF

  • if the source have a like polarity

    • the total EMF = the sum of the individual EMFs

  • if the source have an opposite polarity

    • the total EMF = the difference between the individual EMFs