Grade 10 & 11 Electric Circuits - Theory
By Ms Tshabalala.
This document covers the electric circuits theory as taught in Grade 10 and 11 of the South
African CAPS curriculum.
1. Basic Concepts Recap (Grade 10)
• Electric current (I): Flow of electric charge (measured in amperes, A).
• Potential difference/Voltage (V): Energy per unit charge (measured in volts, V).
• Resistance (R): Opposition to current flow (measured in ohms, Ω).
• Ohm’s Law: V = IR (Used to relate voltage, current, and resistance in a circuit).
2. Series Circuits
• Components are connected end-to-end in a single path.
• Current (I): Same through all components.
• Voltage (V): Shared across components.
V_total = V₁ + V₂ + ...
• Resistance (R): Adds up directly.
R_total = R₁ + R₂ + R₃ + ...
• Ammeter reading: Same anywhere in the circuit.
Example:
A 12V battery with two resistors in series: R₁ = 4Ω and R₂ = 2Ω.
Total Resistance = 6Ω
Total Current = 12V ÷ 6Ω = 2A
Ammeter anywhere = 2A
V across R₁ = 2A × 4Ω = 8V
V across R₂ = 2A × 2Ω = 4V
3. Parallel Circuits
• Components connected across the same two points.
• Voltage (V): Same across each branch.
• Current (I): Divides among branches.
I_total = I₁ + I₂ + ...
• Resistance (R): Inverse adds up.
1/R_total = 1/R₁ + 1/R₂ + ...
• Ammeter readings: Different in each branch depending on resistance.
Example:
12V battery with R₁ = 4Ω and R₂ = 2Ω in parallel.
Voltage across both = 12V
I₁ = 12V ÷ 4Ω = 3A
I₂ = 12V ÷ 2Ω = 6A
Total Current = 3A + 6A = 9A
4. Combination Circuits (Series + Parallel)
These are circuits that include both series and parallel components.
Steps to Solve:
1. Simplify parallel parts first.
2. Replace them with equivalent resistances.
3. Add series resistors.
4. Use Ohm’s Law to find total current.
5. Work backward to find branch currents and voltages.
Example:
R₁ = 2Ω in series with a parallel branch of R₂ = 6Ω and R₃ = 3Ω. Battery = 12V
Step 1: Parallel part
1/R_parallel = 1/R₂ + 1/R₃ = 1/6 + 1/3 = 1/2
R_parallel = 2Ω
Step 2: Total Resistance
R_total = R₁ + R_parallel = 2Ω + 2Ω = 4Ω
Step 3: Total Current
I_total = 12V ÷ 4Ω = 3A
Step 4: Voltage across R₁ = I × R₁ = 3A × 2Ω = 6V
Voltage across the parallel part = 12V - 6V = 6V
Current through R₂ = 6V ÷ 6Ω = 1A
Current through R₃ = 6V ÷ 3Ω = 2A
✔ Check: 1A + 2A = 3A = total current
5. Ammeter Readings vs Total Current
• In a series section, the ammeter shows the same value throughout.
• In a parallel section, the current splits. An ammeter in each branch shows different
readings depending on the resistance.
• The total current from the battery equals the sum of all branch currents (Kirchhoff’s
Current Law):
I_in = I₁ + I₂ + ...
6. Voltage in Combination Circuits
• Series parts: Voltage divides proportionally to resistance.
V = IR for each resistor
• Parallel parts: Voltage across each branch is the same.
• Use Kirchhoff’s Voltage Law:
Total voltage in a loop equals the sum of the voltage drops across each component.
7. Summary Formulas
• Series:
V_total = V₁ + V₂ + …
I_same = through all
R_total = R₁ + R₂ + …
• Parallel:
V_same = across all branches
I_total = I₁ + I₂ + …
1/R_total = 1/R₁ + 1/R₂ + …
