Question

Three incandescent bulbs of $100\mathrm{W}$ each are connected in series in an electric circuit. In another circuit, another set of three bulbs of the same wattage is connected in parallel to the same source. (a) Will the bulb in the two circuits glow with the same brightness? Justify your answer. (b) Now let one bulb in both the circuits get fused. Will the rest of the bulbs continue to glow in each circuit? Give reason.

Answer 1

Series circuit:

1. When the same amount of current passes through the resistors, the circuit is said to be linked in series. The voltage throughout each resistor in such circuits varies.
2. Whether any resistor in a series connection fails or a fault happens, the entire circuit immediately shut down.

Parallel circuit:

1. All constituents in a parallel circuit are linked across each other, producing approximately two sets of electrical commonalities.
2. The voltage between each subsidiary of a parallel circuit is the same, but the currents might differ.

In the case of (a):

1. The resistance of such bulbs connected in series will be three times that of a single bulb.
2. As a consequence, the current in the series combination is one-third that of the current in each bulb inside the parallel combination. The lights in the parallel arrangement will glow brighter.

In the case of (b):

1. Whenever the circuit is cut as well as the current is zero, the bulbs in sequence will stop burning.
2. The bulbs in parallel, however, must continue to shine at the same brightness.