Parallel Circuits
Teacher tools for this standard
Lesson Plan · Guided Notes · Exit Ticket · Re-teach · Homework
Teacher tools for this standard
Lesson Plan · Guided Notes · Exit Ticket · Re-teach · Homework
- Lesson Plan →Objectives, pacing and practice, built from this lesson's brief.
- Guided Notes →One page your students fill in and keep.
- Exit Ticket →Three items at the end of class. No student accounts.
- Re-teach →After an exit ticket: who missed what, and what to do tomorrow.
- Homework →Assign practice; it grades itself.
"In a parallel circuit, the voltage across each branch is the same and equal to the voltage of the source. The total current is the sum of the currents in the individual branches."
"Kirchhoff's current law states that the sum of the currents entering any junction must equal the sum of the currents leaving that junction."
Show moreShow less
"In a parallel circuit, the voltage across each branch is the same and equal to the voltage of the source. The total current is the sum of the currents in the individual branches."
"Kirchhoff's current law states that the sum of the currents entering any junction must equal the sum of the currents leaving that junction."
What you'll learn
- Identify a parallel circuit configuration and explain why parallel branches are independent
- Calculate the equivalent resistance of resistors in parallel using 1/R_eq = 1/R₁ + 1/R₂ + ...
- Apply Ohm's Law to find the voltage, branch currents, and total current in a parallel circuit
- Apply Kirchhoff's Current Law (KCL) to verify that branch currents sum to the total current
- Explain why household circuits are wired in parallel rather than series
Slides
Step through the lesson, or watch it as a narrated video
Parallel circuits
✓ Start herePractice
Try it on your own