Electric flow is not as simple as going linearly from point A to point B.

In real life, electricity

follows a defined path call circuits. These are complex and can be defined as series, parallel, or multiple
combinations of the two.

To differentiate a series and a parallel connection, one can simply put it as a series circuit only
has one path while a parallel one has multiple. Nevertheless, a more technical definition is through the
use of the term, node. A node is a junction in the circuit. A series circuit is in one node only while a
parallel one is between two common nodes.

Series and parallel connection has completely different properties which can be quantified by
measuring the resistance, current flow, and volts. In Exer 3, series circuit was in focus.

Looking at Table 3-1, it can easily be seen that the resistance plainly adds up. One can imagine a
man pushing boxes. For the first resistance, he is only pushing one box. Encountering the second
resistance, a box adds up to the stack. The same effect is for the following resistance until all the boxes
are in stack. It is given that the heavier the stack is, the higher resistance or hindrance the man should
overcome. Also, the higher the resistance of a resistor, the more contribution it gives to the total
resitance. Hence, the formula of total resistance can be computed as follows:
n
RT =∑ Ri
i

Where RT = total resitance; Ri =resistance in the ith resistor

Moving on, it is visible in Table 3-2 that the current in the series circuit is constant all
throughout. We can use the model of man pushing boxes again with the given condition that he is
required to maintain the same speed even if more and more boxes are adding up. Saying that current is
same as speed; the current should be constant all throughout the path. Thus, the formula of total
current can be computed as follows:

I T =I i

Where IT = total current; Ii = current in the ith resistor.

In case a resistor is added, the current would actually decreased, remembering Ohm’s law
(V=IR) in which resistance and current have inverse relationship provided that the power supply is
constant. On the other hand, if a resistor is removed, the current would increase. Nevertheless, current
is still constant all throughout the circuit.

Now, at Table 3-3, the same pattern in the total resistance can be observed such that each
voltage in the resistor adds up to accumulate the total voltage. Using again the model of man pushing
boxes again with the given condition that he is required to maintain the same speed even if more and
more boxes are adding up, it is logical that the man should exert more effort or energy to move the
boxes each time one is stacked up. In this event, the energy is comparable to voltage. This relationship
can be seen in the Ohm’s Law, V=IR. Since current (I) is constant all throughout circuit, the voltage then
follows the same trend as resistance. Therefore, the formula for total voltage is as follows:
n
V T =∑ Vi
i

Where VT = total voltage; Vi = voltage in the ith resistor.

However, this does not imply that when a resistor is added in a series circuit, the total voltage
will also add up. In a circuit, the power supply is constant. An increase in resistance in a constant voltage
supply as stated earlier would cause a decrease in current. Nevertheless, the voltage in each resistance
would be more dispersed when a resistor is added. On the other hand, if a resistance is removed, the
current will increase. In some sense, the current will be less divided.

The voltage distribution can be more seen in Table 3-4. It can be seen that voltage has
proportional allocation for each resistance such that the higher the resistance, the higher voltage that
resistor will acquire. For example, in the row, R1 = R2, voltage division is also equal while in the row R1 >
R2, V1 is also greater than V2. This trend does not apply to a circuit of two resistors but to any series
circuit with any number of resistors. Nevertheless, it must be noted that the fraction of the resistance of
a resistor has from the total resistance is the same as the fraction of voltage it has from the total
voltage.

A circuit was given as follows: voltage with 12V, R1 which is two times greater than R2 and three
times greater than R3. Computing for the voltage, an initial description would be that V1 is two times
greater than V2 and three times greater than V3. Using proportionality method (6:3:2), we can compute
that V3 is equal to 24/11 V or 2.18 V. Then the values of V1 and V3 are 72/11 V or 6.55 V and 36/11 V or
3.27 V respectively. Notice that the summation of volts is still 12 V. Nevertheless, Ic would completely
depend on the value of the variable R1, R2 and R3. However, it can be computed with the following
formula:

V =IR

V T =I c RT

VT
I c=
RT

12V
I c=
R 1+ R 2+ R 3

*****Note to writer or the one who will paraphrase: Paki lagyan sana ng CIRCUIT DIAGRAM at
MATHEMATICAL equations yung last part. Hirap kasi gumawa sa word. Thank you. You can meet me
personally kung kailangan ng tulong.
Exer 4.

A parallel circuit has completely different characteristics compared to a series circuit.

In Table 4-1a and 4-1b, the relationship of total resistance from the individual resistances can be
observed. It is noticeable that the total resistance is lower than any of the individual resistances. Also,
the more number of equal resistances in a parallel circuit, the lower the total resistance will be.
Compared to a series circuit, computing total resistance in parallel is a bit more complicated for it
follows a reciprocal trend with the following equation:
n
1 1
=∑
R T i Ri

Where RT is the total resistance and Ri is the resistance of the ith resistor.

Looking at Table 4-2, we can observe that the total voltage is constant all throughout the circuit.
This means that voltage is not the one being divided in parallel series. Hence, total voltage can be
expressed as follows:

V T =V i

Where VT is the total voltage and Vi is the voltage of the ith resistor.

Referring to Table 4-3, it can be observed that the total current is just the sum of the current of
each resistor. Arranging Ohm’s Law, V=IR, we can get I = V/R. Since voltage is constant, we can see that
current now is being divided with proportional allocation to its respective resistor. Thus, the total
current can be put into an equation as:
n
I T =∑ I i
i

Where IT is the total current and Ii is the current flowing in the ith resistor.

In case a resistance is increased, the total resistance would actually increase but in a reciprocal
manner. Also, one can note that the highest possible total resistance cannot be higher than the lowest
individual resistance. Anyway, this increase in total resistance would result to decrease in the total
current flowing. For the unchanged resistors, the current flowing is still the same but the resistor whose
resistance is increased will have lower current flowing (remember Ohm’s Law). The total voltage is still
the same provided that the power supply is constant and is the same all throughout the circuit.

The reverse would happen when a resistance is decreased. The total resistance would decrease
but still in a reciprocal manner. This decrease in total resistance would result to decrease in total current
flowing. For the unchanged resistors, the current flowing is still the same but the resistor whose
resistance is decreased will have higher current flowing (remember Ohm’s Law) However, the total
voltage is still the same provided that the power supply is constant and is the same all throughout the
circuit.

A circuit was given to have total current of 16mA with the ratio of I1:I2:I3 as 2:3:6. Also, the total
resistance was 120 ohms. First we have to get the individual resistances of each resistor. Using the
equation for total resistance and proportionality, we would get the values if R1, R2 and R3 as 240, 360
and 720 ohms. Using ohm’s law, we can obtain the following values of voltages as: V1=3.84 V, V2=5.76 V
and V3 = 11.52 V.

*****Note to writer or the one who will paraphrase: Paki lagyan sana ng CIRCUIT DIAGRAM at
MATHEMATICAL equations yung last part. Hirap kasi gumawa sa word. Thank you. You can meet me
personally kung kailangan ng tulong.