Ohm's Law and Voltage Drop Calculation in Series Circuit
The Relationship between Voltage, Current, and Resistance
Ohm's Law states that the voltage across a conductor is directly proportional to the current passing through it, given a constant temperature. This relationship can be mathematically represented as V = IR, where V is the voltage, I is the current, and R is the resistance of the conductor.
In a series circuit, components such as resistors, lamps, or any other electrical devices are connected end-to-end to form a single path for the flow of current. In this configuration, the same current flows through each component in the circuit.
According to Ohm's Law in a series circuit, the voltage drop across each component is directly proportional to the resistance of that component. This means that components with higher resistance will have a higher voltage drop across them compared to components with lower resistance.
Calculating Voltage Drop in a Series Circuit
When multiple components are connected in series to a voltage source, the total voltage supplied by the source is divided among the components based on their respective resistances. The component with higher resistance will have a greater share of the voltage compared to components with lower resistances.
The voltage drop across each component in a series circuit can be calculated by dividing the total voltage supplied by the source by the total number of components in the circuit. This ensures that the sum of voltage drops across all components equals the total voltage supplied by the source.
For example, if three lamps are connected in series to a 6V battery, the voltage drop across each lamp can be calculated by dividing the total voltage (6V) by the number of lamps (3 lamps). Therefore, each lamp would experience a voltage drop of 2V.
It is important to remember that in a series circuit, the total resistance is the sum of individual resistances, while the total voltage is distributed equally across all components in the circuit.