Question

Wendy makes a graphic organizer to help herself apply Ohm’s law to electric circuits.

A venn diagram with 2 intersecting circles. The circle on the left is labeled series circuit and the circle on the right is labeled parallel circuit. There is an X in the series circuit circle and a Y in the intersecting section.

Which formulas belong in the regions marked X and Y?

X: I = I1 + I2 + I3
Y: Req = R1 + R2 + R3
X: Req = R1 + R2 + R3
Y: I = V over R Subscript e q baseline.
X: I = I1 = I2 = I3
Y: V = V1 + V2 + V3
X: I =
Y: V = V1 = V2 = V3

Answer 1

Choose: X: Req = R1 + R2 + R3; Y: I = V / Req.

Reason: Req = R1 + R2 + R3 is true only for series connections (so belongs in the series-only region X). I = V/Req (Ohm’s law for the whole circuit) applies whether the circuit is series or parallel, so it belongs in the overlap Y.