Series and Parallel Circuits
Ammeter
A _____ always has low resistance and is connected in series
Same
Current is __________ in a series circuit
Ammeter
If you want to measure the current in a branch or part of a circuit, use a ______
Voltage
This is the same throughout in a parallel circuit
Current
This is the same throughout in a series circuit
Parallel Circuit
a circuit in which there are several different paths for a current
Series Circuit
a circuit in which there is only one current path
Combination Series-Parallel Circuit
a circuit that has some branches in parallel and some in series
Ground-Fault Interrupter
a device that detects small differences in current caused by an extra current path and opens the circuit
Ammeter
a device used to measure the current in part of a circuit
Voltmeter
a device used to measure the potential difference between two points
Voltage Divider
a series circuit used to produce a voltage source from a higher-voltage battery
Fuse
a short piece of metal that melts if a current that is too large passes through it
High, parallel
a voltmeter has a ______ resistance and is connected in _____ with the part of the the circuit being measured
parallel
a voltmeter should be connected in _______ with a resistor to measure the potential difference across that resistor
series
an ammeter is places in ________ with the resistor if you want to measure the current through the resistor
Circuit Breaker
an automatic switch that opens a circuit when the current some set value, stopping electric charge flow
Ammeter
measures current
Voltmeter
measures the potential difference across a resistor
low
resistance of ammeter should be as ________ as possible so that it will change the current as little as possible
Resistance
the higher the _____ of a voltmeter, the smaller the voltage change
Short Circuit
the occurrence when a circuit forms that has a very low resistance
high
the resistance of a voltmeter should be as _______ as possible so that it will change the current as little as possible
Voltmeter
the result of connecting a _____ across a resistor is to lower the potential difference across it
Equivalent
the value of a single resistor that could replace all resistors in a circuit without changing the current