RP3 PT 1 - Resistors in series and parallel

RESISTORS & RESISTANCE

Resistors and resistance go hand in hand - their names may give this away. Think of resistors like pupils walking the opposite direction to you down a corridor, the more of them there are the more difficult it is to pass through. The more resistors in a circuit, the more difficult it is for electrons to flow through the circuit.

PARALLEL

In parallel when more resistors are added:

• Voltage decreases

• Current increases

• Resistance decreases

SERIES

In series when more resistors are added:

• Voltage increases

• Current decreases

• Resistance increases

Overall, if its easier to remember:

Voltage and resistance do the same when varying the amount of resistors and current does the opposite.

So for example when you can see that the voltage has gone up the current will have gone down and the resistance will have increased. And if we know that resistance has increased then the amount of resistors will have increased.

Refer to Year 10 physics folder electric circuits page titled : RP3 - Part 1 - Resistors in series and parallel if still confused