# A student uses a joulemeter to investigate the energy used by two identical resistors connected in series with a battery. The student then reconnects the same two resistors in parallel with the same battery and repeats the investigation over the same time period. Explain why the resistors connected in parallel use more total energy than when they are connected in series.

> Eduqas GCSE Physics — 1.1 Electric circuits · Explain · 4 marks

## Mark scheme (4 marks)

1. In parallel, each resistor has the full battery voltage across it (whereas in series the voltage is shared/split between the two resistors).
2. The total resistance of the parallel circuit is less than the total resistance of the series circuit.
3. A lower total resistance means a larger current is drawn from the battery in the parallel circuit.
4. Greater current (and/or greater voltage) means more energy is transferred per second / power is greater, so more energy is used in the same time.

## Key terms

- [series](https://www.gradenine.co.uk/glossary/series)
- [parallel](https://www.gradenine.co.uk/glossary/parallel)

## Related

- [Revision notes for Eduqas GCSE Physics](https://www.gradenine.co.uk/learn)
- [How to answer "Explain" questions](https://www.gradenine.co.uk/tools/command-word-cheatsheet)
- [Practice this with AI marking (free)](https://www.gradenine.co.uk/start)

---
Source: [GradeNine](https://www.gradenine.co.uk/q/a-student-uses-a-joulemeter-to-0f32615f) · Published by Druglandscape Ltd.