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Physics · Electricity & magnetism

Electric circuits

CIE 06251 min read

Series and parallel circuits

Voltage in a parallel circuit is equal across components Current in a series circuit is equal across components

Action and use of circuit components

The p.d. across an electrical conductor increases as its resistance increases for a constant current.

Potential Divider – Part of a circuit consisting of two resistors connected in series to obtain a smaller voltage than supplied.

  • The input voltage is applied to the top & bottom of the series resistors.
  • The output voltage is measured from the centre to the bottom of R2.
  • The resistor with more resistance will have greater p.d.

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