Ohm's Law and DC Circuits

Ohm's law relates voltage, current, and resistance: V = IR. It is the foundation for analyzing simple and combined resistor circuits.

Voltage, current, and resistance

Current is the rate of charge flow. Resistance opposes that flow. For an ohmic resistor, doubling the voltage doubles the current.

Series and parallel combinations

Resistors in series add directly. In parallel, the reciprocal of the equivalent resistance equals the sum of reciprocals of each branch.

Measure it interactively

Build circuits in the Circuits lab, attach meters, and verify Ohm's law with live readings as you change resistance or battery voltage.