INTRODUCTION

In this assignment, you will explore how resistance changes in series circuits and practice calculating resistance. Since you have already learned about resistance, current, and electrical flow, this assignment expands that knowledge by applying it to practical circuit design. Understanding series circuits is essential for troubleshooting electrical systems used in manufacturing.

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OBJECTIVE

Learn about series circuits and calculate resistance.

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ASSIGNMENT OVERVIEW

Let's put our skills into action. For this activity, we're going to be dealing with resistance in series. Below, we will start by learning more about series circuits and how to calculate the total resistance of a series circuit from a drawing. One thing that is important is determining the total load of a system. It is really helpful to determine how much power we will need to provide to a home or a machine or a factory. In order to do this, we must calculate the total resistance.

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SERIES CIRCUITS AND RESISTANCE

Series circuits are some of the easiest circuits to work with. A series circuit is a simple loop. What goes in must come out, so all current goes through every component in the circuit. Remember, current is the flow of electrons. Electrons cannot be created or destroyed. So, if you put current in, it has to come out somewhere. Current, which is the flow of electricity, must be the same all the way through the circuit. However, the voltage drops across each load. We are going to talk about resistive loads.

Examples

For example, if I have 1 load (A load is a device such as a fan, light, solenoid, refrigerator etc.) in a circuit, then my total resistance load is that 1 load. If I have 2 loads in a series circuit, the current must go through each load. This means that the resistance for the circuit is additive. To calculate the total resistance, I add the resistance of both loads together.

Let's look at another example. I have the following Loads in series: 250 Ω, 1200 Ω, 560 Ω, 300 Ω. My total resistance is 250 + 1200 + 560 + 300 = 2310 Ω.

Here's another example: If I have a 5 Ω load in series with a 10 Ω load, then my total resistance is 15 Ω.

Series circuits are fairly easy because you just add up the resistance. Things get a bit tougher when we work with parallel circuits or combined parallel and series circuits. We'll address this later in the module.

For now, watch the following video. It will walk you through calculating resistance using resistors as loads. Pay close attention as you will be asked to do this in your quiz.

Series Resistance equation:

$LaTeX: R_{tot}=R_1+R_2+R_3+...R_{\mathbb{N}}$

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THE QUIZ

For this quiz, you will be calculating and measuring resistance in four circuits. A few notes in order to be successful:

All answers should be recorded in ohms (not kΩ, KΩ, mmΩ, etc., just regular Ω). The quiz is set up so you can only submit a numeric value. Therefore, do not submit anything that's not a number, meaning you do not need to include "ohms" or "Ω" in your answer. The number is sufficient.

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MATERIALS + TROUBLESHOOTING REFERENCE PAGES

Materials

Calculator
Paper
Pencil or Pen

Troubleshooting Reference Page

Units