Continuity

Circuit
Construction
from a diagram

TEEL 3162

A circuit diagram is a representation of the current paths in a circuit. Current will flow through a resistor when it is placed between two different strips on a proto board as shown below.

If the terminals of the resistors are placed in the same strip, almost all the current will flow through the strip because of a smaller resistance.

Most of the current will flow through the path of less resistance.

Series Circuit
The above photo and diagram represent a series circuit with only one current path. Here the current (I) is the same for both resistors.

The current of the circuit decreases with the increase in total resistance of the circuit. The total resistance is the sum of all resistance values in the circuit (Eq. 1).

In a series circuit the voltage drop in each resistor depends on its resistance value. The voltage drop is proportional to the resistance.

Ohms Law describes how voltage drop behaves in a resistor when current changes (Eq. 2 and Eq. 3).

Ideally, the total voltage drop of all resistors is the same as the magnitude of the power supply or battery (Eq. 4).