Example 6.

1 – Do Now
Three incandescent bulbs with a resistances of 5, 6 and 8 Ohms are
connected in parallel to a 10 V voltage source. (a) What is the
current flowing through the middle bulb? (b) Will the three bulbs glow
dimmer or brighter than if only one would be connected?

(a) The bulbs are connected in parallel, thus the 8Ω

Voltage across each bulb is the same as the supply voltage V
The current flowing through 𝑅2 follows from Ohm’s:
6Ω
𝑉 10 𝑉
𝐼= = = 1.667 A
𝑅2 6 Ω
(b) The bulbs will grow equally bright: the same current
5Ω
would flow through each bulb even if it alone was
connected, meaning that also the dissipated power is the
same.
+ - 10 V
After this lecture you
should be able to:
Reading and problems: 20.5, 21.1, 21.3
• State Kirchhoff’s first and second laws for electric circuits
• Understand the difference between series and parallel
circuits.
• Calculate the total resistance and current in series and
parallel circuits.
• Understand the difference between direct and alternating
current.
Series – Parallel summary
Series
• Current flowing through each component is the same
• Voltage drops across each component
• Sum of voltages across each component equals the supply voltage
• 𝑅tot = 𝑅1 + 𝑅2 + 𝑅3 +…

Parallel
• Voltage across each component is the same
• Current through each component obeys the Ohm’s law independently
• Total current equals the sum of currents through various components
1 1 1 1
• = + + +…
𝑅tot 𝑅1 𝑅2 𝑅3
Example 6.2
What happens to the other two bulbs if you cut the wire going to one
of the branches at point A? What if you cut point B?

(a) The other two don’t care. There is still a complete circuit
Through the other two bulbs meaning that current can flow

(b) Cutting the wire at point B results in the whole circuit

Becoming open. No current can flow through anything and
all bulbs are shut.
Example 6.3

Why would you rather have Christmas lights

connected in parallel than in series?

If the lights are connected in series and one of them burns, the circuit
becomes open and none of the lights shine. It is then fun and games
to find the broken one.

In contrast, if the lights are connected in parallel and one of the lights
burn, this does not affect the other ones. It is easy to identify the
broken one (that being the only one not lit)
Example 6.4
Calculate the
(a)total resistance and This is a series circuit, so
(b)total current in the circuit below. (a) 𝑅𝑡 = 𝑅1 + 𝑅2 + 𝑅3 = 10 Ω + 5 Ω + 20 Ω = 35 Ω
𝑉 2
(b) 𝐼 = 𝑅 = 35 = 0.057 A
(c) voltage across 𝑅2 (5 Ω)? 𝑡
(c) Current across each resistance is the same
𝐼𝑡 . Thus the voltage follows from Ohm’s law:
5Ω 𝑉2 = 𝐼𝑅2 = 0.057 × 5 = 0.285 V

10 Ω 20 Ω
2𝑉
+ -
Example 6.5
Calculate the
(a) total resistance and 20 Ω
(b) total current in the circuit below.
5Ω
(c) current across 𝑅2 (5 Ω)?
10 Ω
This is a parallel circuit, so
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
(a) = + + = + + = 0.35 → 𝑅𝑡 = 2.9 Ω
𝑅𝑡
𝑉
𝑅1 𝑅2
2𝑉
𝑅3 10 5 20 Ω + - 2𝑉
(b) 𝐼 = = = 0.69 A
𝑅𝑡 2.9 Ω
(c) Voltage across each resistance is the same as the supply
voltage.
𝑉 2𝑉
Thus Ohm’s law give us 𝐼2 = 𝑅 = 5 Ω = 0.4 A
2
Example 6.6 Here we have resistances both in
parallel and in series
First we can replace the resistances in
series with an equivalent of 25 Ohms.
a)Calculate the total resistance of the
circuit below. Then we are left with two resistances
in parallel. So the total resistance is
b)Calculate the power of the 10 Ω 1 1 1 1 1 1
= + = + = 0.14
resistor. 𝑅𝑡 𝑅1 𝑅2 25 Ω 10 Ω Ω

5Ω 20 Ω 25 Ω → 𝑅𝑡 = 7.1 Ω

The voltage across the 10 Ω resistor is

10 Ω 10 Ω 2 V.

𝑉 2 22
𝑃 = 𝑉𝐼 = = = 0.40 W
𝑅 10

+ - + -
2𝑉
 Alternating Current
Direct Current (DC) – Current flows in a
single direction e.g. from a battery.

Alternating Current (AC) - Current

direction regularly changes (oscillates)

https://www.veichi.org/solutions/related-articles/what-is-the-difference-between-ac-and-dc-
power.html
War of currents

Edison, DC Tesla, AC
Famous inventions of Tesla
Benefits of AC
• Voltage can be changed.
• Long Range transmission over wires.
• Wireless Communication using
resonance.

Disadvantages
• Induces voltages in nearby metals and
wires. Can be tapped into if it is a
communication line.
Alternating Current
In alternating current, the voltage and current follows a
sinusoidal relationship at a specific period and frequency.
𝑉 = 𝑉0 sin(𝜔𝑡)
𝐼 = 𝐼0 sin(𝜔𝑡)
where 𝜔 = 2𝜋𝑓

The average voltage

and current over time is zero.
Alternating Current
In a simple AC circuit with a resistor, the resistor will dissipate power, regardless of the current
direction. The AC voltage and current values that give the same average power as an
equivalent DC circuit are called root mean squared (RMS values).

𝐼0
𝐼rms =
2
𝑉0
𝑉rms =
2

So the average power output in an AC cituit is found by:

𝑃average = 𝑉rms 𝐼rms

The RMS value of current or voltage is that value of the direct current
or voltage that would produce heat at the same rate in a resistor.
(the equivalent DC power).
Example 6.7
The voltage from NZ wall sockets is 240 V RMS and
this oscillates at 50 Hz.
Write an equation for how the voltage changes with
time.
𝑉 = 𝑉0 sin 𝜔𝑡

𝑉0 = 𝑉rms × 2 = 240 × 2 = 339 𝑉

𝜔 = 2𝜋𝑓 = 2𝜋 × 50 = 314 rad s −1

𝑉 = 339 sin 314𝑡