How To Find Voltage In A Series Circuit

Voltage in a series circuit is distributed among all the components connected in series. A series circuit is one of the important circuits in electric circuits. To find the voltage in a series circuit we add all the voltages across each component connected in series. In this article, we will discuss how to find the voltage in a series circuit, the formula to find the voltage in a series circuit along with its applications. We will also solve some examples based on the voltage in a series circuit. Let’s start learning on the topic “Voltage in series circuit”.

What is Voltage?

Voltage is defined as the potential difference between the two points in an electric field. The unit of voltage is Volts(V). Voltage is also known as the electrical potential difference. It is a scalar quantity. The voltage in the series circuit is distributed among all the components in the circuit.
In a simple series circuit consisting of a battery and two resistors, the voltage across each resistor would be determined by its resistance to the total resistance of the circuit. This principle is called Ohm’s Law, which states that the voltage across a resistor is directly proportional to the current passing through it and its resistance.

What is Series Circuit?

A series circuit is a circuit in which all the components are connected one after another. In a series circuit, the components are connected in a line successively. The current flowing through the series circuit is the same for all the components whereas the voltage is variable in all the components of series circuit. The total resistance is calculated by adding all the resistances in series.

In a series circuit, where components are connected end-to-end in a single path for the electric current to flow, the voltage is distributed among all the components. This means that the total voltage provided by the power source is shared across all the elements in the circuit. Each component experiences a portion of the total voltage, depending on its resistance or impedance.

Series Circuit

How to Find Voltage in a Series Circuit ?

In a series circuit the applied voltage is divided among the components of the circuit. So, the applied voltage is represented by the sum of the voltages across each component. We know that constant current flows through the components in the series circuit so, we can also apply Kirchoff’s law to find voltage in a series circuit.

Ciircuit

In the above diagram resistors R₁, R₂ and R₃ are connected in series and a current ‘I’ is flowing through the circuit. The supplied voltage of V Volts in connected to the series circuit. We know that the current in the series circuit is same for all the components connected in series so, the same current I flow through R1, R2 and R3 whereas the supplied voltage V is divided among the resistors R1, R2 and R3. The voltage drops across R₁, R₂ and R₃ is V₁, V₂ and V₃ respectively. Therefore, to find the voltage in a series circuit we add all the voltage drops across each component in the circuit. Alternatively, we can also express the voltage in the form of current and resistance using the Kirchoff’s law. The resultant voltage is equivalent to the product of the current and the total resistance in the series circuit.

Required Formulas to Find Voltage in a Series Circuit

The following formulas used to find voltage in a series circuit. Let V be the applied voltage on the series circuit with three resistors R₁, R₂ and R₃ with current ‘I’ flowing through the circuit. The voltages across the resistors R1, R₂ and R₃ be V₁, V₂ and V₃ respectively. Then, the formula for the applied voltage is given by:

V = V₁ + V₂ + V₃

where,

V₁ is voltage across resistor R₁

V₂ is voltage across resistor R₂

V₃ is voltage across resistor R₃

According to Kirchoff’s Law V = IR

V₁ = IR₁

V₂ = IR₂

V₃ = IR₃

Putting in above equation

V = IR₁ + IR₂ + IR₃

V = I × (R₁ + R₂ + R₃)

So, according to the given data we can use the above two formula to find the voltage in a series circuit.

Solved Examples

Example: Find the applied voltage in a series circuit where voltages across resistors R₁, R₂ and R₃ are V₁ = 3V, V₂ = 5V and V₃ = 8V respectively.

Question

Solution:

Formula for calculating the applied voltage in a series circuit is:

V = V₁ + V₂ + V₃

V = 3 + 5 + 8

V = 16 V

The applied voltage in a series circuit is 16V.

Example: Find the supplied voltage in a series circuit with three resistors R₁ = 10Ω, R₂ = 8Ω and R₃ = 5Ω with 2A current flowing through it.

Solution:

Formula for calculating the supplied voltage in a series circuit using current and resistors is:

V = I × (R₁ + R₂ + R₃)

V = 2 × (10 + 8 + 5)

V = 2 × 23

V = 46 V

The supplied voltage is 46V.

Example: Find the voltage V₁ across resistor R₁ with the supplied voltage 20V and the voltages across other resistors R₂ and R₃ are 5V and 2V respectively.

Solution:

Formula for calculating the applied voltage in a series circuit is:

V = V₁ + V₂ + V₃

20 = V₁ + 5 + 2

V₁ = 20 – 7

V₁ = 13 V

The voltage across resistor R₁ = 13V

Advantages and Disadvantages

There are several advantages and disadvantages of voltage in a series circuit. Some of these advantages and disadvantages of series circuit are listed below.

Advantages

Below are some advantages of series circuit:

• In the series circuit the resultant voltage is larger than the voltage across the components.
• The overheating of the circuit in series does not occur easily.
• It is simple and easy to connect with less components.

Disadvantages

Below are some disadvantages of series circuit:

• In series circuit the failure of the one component results in failure of entire circuit i.e., if one resistor fails the whole circuit will fail.
• The increase in the number of resistors increases the total resistance.

Applications

There are multiple applications of voltage in a series circuit. Some of these applications of the voltage in a series circuit are as follows:

• It can be used as the voltage divider. Voltage divider is series circuit in which the output voltage is the sum of multiple input voltages.
• It can be used for various lighting.
• Voltage in series is used in fire alarms.
• It can also be in batteries like remotes etc.

Conclusion

From the above discussion we can conclude that in series circuit the current is constant, and the voltages is variable across the components connected in series. Voltage in a series circuit can be calculated by adding all voltages across each component of the circuit as the voltage applied in the series circuit is the sum of the voltages across each component. Also, to find voltage in series circuit we can use the current flowing through the circuit and the total resistance in the circuit by using the Kirchoff’s Law.

FAQs on How To Find Voltage In A Series Circuit

What is Voltage in Series Circuit?

Voltage in a series circuit is divided among all the components in the circuit. It can be calculated by taking summation of all the voltages across the components.

What is the Formula for Voltage in a Series Circuit?

The formula for voltage in a series circuit is given by:

V = V₁ + V₂ + V₃ = I × (R₁ + R₂ + R₃)

What is the Unit of Voltage?

The unit of voltage is Volts.

How to Find Total Resistance in a Series Circuit?

The total resistance is calculated by adding all the resistors value present in the series circuit. If the series circuit has two resistors with resistance R₁ and R₂ then, the total resistance R = R₁ +R₂.

What is Series Circuit?

Series circuit is a circuit in which the components are connected in a line in successive manner.