The current is a measure of the amount of charge that passes a given point in a certain amount of time.

To determine how many electrons are passing this point we need to look at the charge of 1 electron and do a conversion.

We often think of current flowing from the top of the battery to the bottom of the battery.  The top of the battery has a higher electrical potential than the bottom of the battery and is associated as being positive.  Charges interact in such a way where like charges repel and opposite charges attract.  Since we think of the charges traveling away from the positive end of the battery and toward the negative end of the battery, this would model the motion of a positive charge (away from positive and toward negative).  Since it is not protons that move through the circuit, but rather electrons.  It is more accurate to describe the flow of electrons from the negative side of the battery to the positive side.

When plugin objects into a single circuit, these objects are connected in parallel as each one will receive the 120V from the electrical outlet. However, as additional objects are added, the current is thereby increased. Circuit breakers are designed to trip once the current reaches a maximum load and shuts down the circuit to protect the wires, and the devices that are plugged into the circuit as high current can damage these devices.

We first need to determine the current coming through the bulb. We can use Ohm’s law to determine this.

Current by definition is the amount of charge per unit time.

We are looking at the number of electrons in one minute which is 60 seconds.

We now know the amount of charge passing through in 60 seconds.  We know that the charge of the electron is .  We can use this to figure out how many electrons are going through.

Electricity travels from the point of highest potential to the lowest potential. We measure the difference between these two potentials as the voltage. Since both of the birds' feet are on the wire, both feet have the same potential. However, if the ladder touches the power line and the bottom of the ladder is on the ground, there is a much higher potential difference (as the ground is at 0 potential).  Therefore the electricity will travel down the ladder!

It's kind of like when you turn on the faucet; the water doesn't have to travel from the water tower to your house before it starts flowing. Similarly, the electrons are always in the circuit. Once the switch is turned on, there is a voltage difference present, which is what then pushes these electrons through the circuit (like turning on the faucet).

For resistors aligned in series, the equivalent resistance is the sum of the individual resistances.

Since all the resistors in this problem are equal, we can simplify with multiplication.

The formula for resistance in parallel is:

We are given the values for each individual resistor, allowing us to solve for the total resistance.

Think of resistors as doors, preventing the flow of people (electrons). Imagine the following scenarios: a large group of people are in a room and all try to leave at once. If the five resistors are in series, that's like having all of these people trying to go through all five doors before they can leave. In a circuit, all the electrons in the current mast pass through every resistor.

If the resistors are in parallel, it's like having five separate doors from the room. All of a sudden, the group can leave MUCH faster, encountering less resistance to their flow out of the room. The path of the electrons can split, allowing each particle to pass through only one resistor.

From a formula perspective, the resistors in series are simply summed together to find the equivalent resistance.

In parallel, however, the reciprocals are summed to find the reciprocal equivalent resistance.

Adding whole numbers will always give you a much greater result than adding fractions. For the exact same set of resistors, arrangement in series will have a greater total resistance than arrangement in parallel.

In basic resistors, energy lost due to resistance is converted into heat. In some cases, other conversions also take place (such as generation of light in a lightbulb), but heat is still dissipated along with any alternative conversations. Lightbulbs, batteries, and other types of resistors will become hot as current passes through them.