UNIVERSIDAD DE CARTAGENA DE INDIAS

Facultad de ciencias exactas

Resistors in series and parallel

Ana iris de avila Fabra1 , Juan Esteban Herrera Zabala1 , Juan Sebastian Hernandez Guerrero1 ,
and Carlos Ali Jimenez1
1
universidad de cartagena, Cartagena, Colombia
March 8, 2023

Abstract The electrical energy flowing through these devices can

also be transmitted in the form of light, sound or mo-
This experiment is important because it allows engineers tion. In a circuit you can find more than one resistor
and scientists to calculate the total resistance of complex connected in various ways. Some of the ones we study are
electrical circuits and design more efficient circuits. It series resistance, parallel resistance and a combination of
is also useful for understanding how electric current both. ”To analyze resistors, it is common to calculate the
flows through different components of a circuit and how equivalent resistance and calculate the equivalent resis-
current can be controlled and regulated by choosing tance of each series and/or parallel association in turn
different resistance connections. until a single resistor remains. In this way, the amount
of effect each resistor is performing in the circuit can be
obtained.
Therefore, the series and parallel resistance experiment is
a common technique used in the study of electricity and
magnetism. The results of the experiment show that the Expmerimental details
total resistance of a series connection is equal to the sum
of the individual resistors, while the total resistance of a Materials
parallel connection is smaller than the smallest resistance
of the individual resistors. This experiment is important • Power supply (with voltage and current adjustment
because it allows engineers and scientists to calculate the capability)
total resistance of complex electrical circuits and design • Multimeter (for measuring voltage, current and re-
more efficient circuits. sistance)
Keywords: Circuit, current, parallel, resistors, series • 4 resistors of known and different values (e.g., 10
ohms, 20 ohms, 30 ohms)
• Cables to connect the elements
Introduction
Procedure
Series and parallel resistance is used to control the way a
current crosses a conductor. Resistance is the opposition 1. The resistors are measured according to the color
to electronic flow as it prevents or decreases the passage indicated on the resistors and the assigned table of
of this. Current is the flow of charges or the amount values.
of charges passing through a conductor. In parallel
2. Connect the power supply to the multimeter and the
resistors the system is oriented so that the output
resistors. To do this, connect the black leads of the
terminals are connected to each other in the same way
multimeter to the power supply and the red leads to
as the input terminals. In series resistors the system is
the resistors.
oriented so that the input of one terminal is connected
to the output of another. Resistors, like capacitors, are 3. Connect the resistors in series. To do this, connect
devices that are used in electrical circuits. Electrical the 10 ohm resistor to the red lead of the multimeter,
circuits by heat mode can disperse electrical energy.,, and the black lead of the multimeter to the 20 ohm
resistor. Then, connect the 30 ohm resistor to the

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 10. Measure the total voltage of the circuit. To do
this, connect the multimeter leads to the ends of
the power supply and verify that the voltage

Analysis and results

Teorico Experimental
R1 220 Ω 216.6 Ω
R2 47 Ω 46.9 Ω
R3 6800 Ω 6660 Ω
R4 P 470 Ω 458 Ω
= 7537 Ω 7390
Figure 1: Tabla de valores para resistores
Table 1: Resistores con distinto valor de resistencia

other end of the 20 ohm resistor. In this way, you In the previous table.1 are the theoretical and experi-
will have a series circuit consisting of three resistors. mental values of different resistors which have different
resistances between them with a minimum value of 47Ω
4. Set the power supply to provide a voltage of, for and a maximum value of 6800Ω.
example, 5 volts. This means that the same voltage
R1 R2 R3
will be distributed to each resistor.
5. Measure the total voltage of the circuit. To do this,
connect the multimeter leads to the start and end
points of the circuit (the point where the red mul-
timeter lead connects to the 10 ohm resistor and
the point where the 30 ohm resistor connects to the
black multimeter lead).
6. Measure the current flowing through the circuit. To Resistance(Ω ) voltage(V) current(A)
do this, place the multimeter in current measure- R1 6.3 Ω 507 V 100.3 A
ment mode and connect the multimeter leads in se- R2 4.6 Ω 3.5 V 104 A
ries with the circuit (connecting the red lead of the R3 P 3.9 Ω P 2.18 V 104 A
multimeter to the 10 ohm resistor and the black lead Ri = 14.8 Ω Vi = 512.7 V
to the 30 ohm resistor).
Table 2: Datos de circuitos en serie
7. Measure the total resistance of the circuit. To do
this, use Ohm’s law (R = V/I), where R is the total Table 2 shows the values of resistance, voltage and cur-
resistance of the circuit, V is the total voltage of rent for a series circuit containing 3 bulbs with different
the circuit, and I is the total current of the circuit. resistance values Ω
Verify that this value is equal to the sum of the
individual series resistances.
8. Disconnect the series resistors and connect them in
parallel. To do this, connect all the resistors at the R1 R2 R3
same time. To do this, connect one end of each re-
sistor to a red wire and the other end of each resistor
to a black wire. In this way, you will have a parallel
circuit consisting of three resistors.
The objective of this Series and Parallel Resistors
9. Set the power supply to provide a voltage of, for experiment was to investigate if there is a relationship
example, 5 volts. This means that the same voltage between current, voltage and resistance using different
will be applied to each resistor. combinations of resistors. It was concluded that there

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 Resistence(Ω) voltage(V) current(A) in each resistor and is calculated by dividing the power
R1 0.16 Ω 10.49 V 155.9 A supply voltage by the total resistance (I = V/Rtotal). In
R2 0.28 Ω 10.49 V 189.5 A a parallel circuit, if one of the resistors fails, the other
R3 P 10.26 Ω 10.49 V P 248 A resistors can still function. Furthermore, the more resis-
Ri = 0.7 Ω = 10.5 V Ii = 593.4 A tors added in parallel, the lower the total resistance and
the higher the total current. In conclusion, the results
Table 3: Datos de circuitos en paralelo obtained show that the total resistance in a series circuit
is the sum of the individual resistors, while in a paral-
lel circuit the formula 1/Rtotal = 1/R1 + 1/R2 + 1/R3
is certainly a relationship between these three concepts. must be used. Furthermore, in a series circuit, all resis-
The research data shows that for resistors in series tors share the same current, while, in a parallel circuit,
type arrangement the voltage value increased while the the current is divided among the resistors. These differ-
current values remained constant. However, the data for ences have important implications for the way electrical
resistors in parallel type arrangement show that unlike circuits are designed and used.
the series resistors, the voltage values remained constant
while the current values decreased.
conclucion
It was concluded that the voltage and current values are
In conclusion, this experiment showed that series
affected in different ways depending on the resistor ar-
resistors increase the total resistance of the circuit,
rangement used. If the resistors used are positioned in
while parallel resistors decrease the total resistance.
parallel arrangement the voltage value will remain the
Furthermore, it was possible to prove that Ohm’s law
same while the current value will decrease. But, if the
holds true for both series and parallel resistors.
resistors are positioned in series the voltage value will
increase and the current value will remain constant.
The total resistance of series resistors is calcu-
lated by adding the individual resistors, while for
Theoretical framework parallel resistors it is calculated by the formula
P
1/Ri = 1/R1 + 1/R2 + 1/R3 + .... + 1/Rn.
Series resistors:
The total resistance of the series circuit is equal to the It is important to note that, in a real circuit, resistors
sum of the individual resistors (Rtotal = R1 + R2 + can have a variation in their nominal value, which can
R3). In this case, if you used resistors of 10, 20 and 30 affect the total resistance of the circuit. Therefore, it is
ohms, the total resistance should be 60 ohms. The total advisable to measure the resistors with a multimeter to
series circuit voltage is equal to the sum of the individ- obtain a more accurate measurement.
ual voltages at each resistor. However, since all resistors
have the same voltage in a series circuit, the total circuit
voltage is equal to the power supply voltage. The total In summary, this experiment was successful in demon-
current of the series circuit is the same across all resis- strating the relationship between series and parallel resis-
tors and is calculated by dividing the total voltage by the tors and the total resistance of the circuit, and provided
total resistance (I = V/Total). In a series circuit, if one a practical understanding of Ohm’s law.
of the resistors fails, the entire circuit will stop working.
Also, the more resistors added in series, the higher the
total resistance and the lower the total current. References
Parallel resistors: omkins, R. P. T. (1985). Series circuits. Physics Ed-
ucation, 20(5), 332-338. https://doi.org/10.1088/0031-
The total resistance of the parallel circuit is calculated
9120/20/5/009 Fórmula de voltaje total en serie: Allred,
using the formula 1/Rtotal = 1/R1 + 1/R2 + 1/R3. In
S. J. (1997). Series circuits: Voltage. Physics Teacher,
this case, if you used 10, 20, and 30 ohm resistors, the to-
35(2), 94-95. https://doi.org/10.1119/1.2344714
tal resistance should be approximately 5.45 ohms. The
voltage across each resistor in a parallel circuit is the
same as the power supply voltage. The total current of Hargreaves, J. J. (1978). Parallel circuits. Physics Ed-
the parallel circuit is the sum of the individual currents ucation, 13(5), 289-292. https://doi.org/10.1088/0031-

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9120/13/5/009 Fórmula de voltaje en cada resisten-
cia en paralelo: Meade, D. S. (1998). Parallel
circuits: Voltage. Physics Teacher, 36(2), 86-87.
https://doi.org/10.1119/1.2344778