- SERIES AND PARALLEL CIRCUITS

Learning Goals:

After completing this simulation experiment, you should be able to

• Understand the concept of series and parallel resistors in a DC circuit
• Understand the behavior of DC circuits containing various combinations of resistors in series and parallel
• Test Kirchhoff's Current Law (KCL) and Kirchhoff's Voltage Law (KVL)

Equipment Needed:

• Access to a computer to complete online simulations and a printer (or PDF scanner) to print out lab report

Introduction & Theory:

In the last experiment, we used simulations to construct simple DC circuits, understand and measure circuits parameters such as current, voltage and resistance, and investigate Ohm's Law. We will continue our study of circuits by looking at more complicated examples of DC circuits containing batteries and resistors in various combinations. In doing so we will learn some simple rules for analyzing such circuits.

In a typical DC circuit containing multiple resistors, batteries, switches and wires, the circuit elements can be connected to each other in various ways. These different ways of connecting circuit elements change the behavior of the circuit by changing the current flowing into each resistor, the voltage across resistors, the total current in the battery and so on. Before we begin to analyze such circuits, there are some important concepts and terms that we must learn about the structure of an electrical circuit.

R1 R2 A B WW E 12 7.0 V - R3 + + D C 3.0 V 5.0 V