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

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

• A. The current is the sum of currents through each component.
• B. The current is the same wherever measured in the circuit.
• C. The current is greater on the supply side than on the return path.
• D. The current is zero anywhere except the source and load.

Answer: (B)

In a series circuit the current is the same through every component because there is only one path for charge to flow. Charge cannot accumulate at a point in steady state, so the amount of current entering any point must equal the amount leaving, and with a single loop, that means the current is identical at all locations along the circuit. This is why that statement is true: the current staying constant as it passes through the source, the conductors, and each component is a direct result of the single-path nature of a series arrangement. The other ideas don’t fit because, in a series circuit, currents do not split, so you don’t add currents through different components; the current on the supply side isn’t greater than on the return path since the same current travels around the loop; and current isn’t zero everywhere except the source and load—there is current through every element in a closed series circuit.

In a series circuit the current is the same through every component because there is only one path for charge to flow. Charge cannot accumulate at a point in steady state, so the amount of current entering any point must equal the amount leaving, and with a single loop, that means the current is identical at all locations along the circuit.

This is why that statement is true: the current staying constant as it passes through the source, the conductors, and each component is a direct result of the single-path nature of a series arrangement.

The other ideas don’t fit because, in a series circuit, currents do not split, so you don’t add currents through different components; the current on the supply side isn’t greater than on the return path since the same current travels around the loop; and current isn’t zero everywhere except the source and load—there is current through every element in a closed series circuit.