What is the difference between a parallel circuit and a series circuit?
 

Series Circuit:
 

• Has only a single path between two points
• In other words, every component of the circuit above (battery, switch, ammeter, load) are all in “series” with each other.
• Therefore, all loads in a closed series circuit are controlled by only 1 switch, the status of all loads must be either on or off at the same time.

Parallel Circuit

• Has several paths connected side by side between two points, each parallel path is called a branch in a parallel circuit
• The current splits up and flow through different paths and delivers energy to all loads, then joins together again.
• Therefore, there are multiple switches in a parallel circuit that controls each load as they’re in different paths of the circuit.
• The voltmeter must be in parallel in a circuit.