In a series circuit, which statement is true about the current through components?

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Multiple Choice

In a series circuit, which statement is true about the current through components?

In a series circuit the same current flows through every component because there is only one path for the current to take. Whatever current leaves the source must pass through each element in turn, so the current is identical at every point in the loop. The total current is set by the source voltage and the combined resistance (I = V / R_total), and the voltage across each component adds up to the source voltage, with each drop depending on that component’s resistance. The other statements don’t fit a series arrangement: the voltage across components is not the same in a series circuit—each device drops a different amount of voltage, though the drops sum to the total. Currents do not add together in series; the current remains the same through all components. Voltages are not zero across all components; there is a voltage drop across each component.

In a series circuit the same current flows through every component because there is only one path for the current to take. Whatever current leaves the source must pass through each element in turn, so the current is identical at every point in the loop. The total current is set by the source voltage and the combined resistance (I = V / R_total), and the voltage across each component adds up to the source voltage, with each drop depending on that component’s resistance.

The other statements don’t fit a series arrangement: the voltage across components is not the same in a series circuit—each device drops a different amount of voltage, though the drops sum to the total. Currents do not add together in series; the current remains the same through all components. Voltages are not zero across all components; there is a voltage drop across each component.

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