SERIES AND PARALLEL CIRCUITS Class 7 Using Electricity

SERIES AND PARALLEL CIRCUITS Class 7 Using Electricity Mrs. Aparna. S

types of circuit There are two types of electrical circuits;

SERIES CIRCUITS The components are connected end-to-end, one after the other. They make a simple loop for the current to flow round. If one bulb ‘blows’ it breaks the whole circuit and all the bulbs go out.

Series Circuit In a series circuit, the lamps are placed one after another in a series. When one lamp is broken the other light goes out because there is no longer a complete circuit from the battery to the lamp and back again.

Series Circuit ¡ Closed electrical circuit that is connected so that the current passes through each circuit element in turn without branching off.

PARALLEL CIRCUITS The components are connected side by side. The current has a choice of routes. If one bulb ‘blows’ there is still be a complete circuit to the other bulb so it stays alight.

Parallel Circuit As you can see, in a parallel circuit electricity will continue to flow through the wires even if one bulb is broken because it can still form a complete circuit from the battery to the working bulb and back again. This is why our houses are wired with parallel circuits. After all, you wouldn’t want every single light in your house to go out every time a single bulb broke would you?

Parallel Circuits • Have more than one path that the circuit can follow and electrical energy therefore is not shared. • Each electrical device can be on or off within the circuit.

Lights in a Series

Lights in Parallel

Toll Road—Circuit Analogy

Differences Parallel Circuit Series Circuit • Branches • If one light goes out the other keeps working. • No branches • If one light burns out the circuit is broken