Follow the paths before comparing the symbols. Series loads have the same current through them, while parallel branches have the same battery voltage across them. This model uses equal resistances and an ideal battery. A parallel branch can keep carrying current when another is opened, because its own return route still connects to the battery.
Light, sound and electricity · Discover & try
How do different circuit paths change the result?
Reading level 2 of 5 · DevelopingChange
Word help
series
Components connected along one common current route.
parallel
Branches connected across the same pair of nodes.
Watch · Try · Explain
See how it works
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Ideal DC source and equal ohmic loads; glow is explanatory, not calibrated bulb brightness.
What to look for
- Series shares one current route
- Parallel shares two connection nodes
- One open branch need not break another
Explain what you noticed
Three equal loads use separate parallel branches. One branch is opened. What happens to the other two in this ideal model?
Keep this idea: Trace paths and shared connections before judging a circuit.
Follow the sources
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