Electronic – How to calculate the voltage at these locations

parallelvoltagevoltage divider

I'm wondering how to calculate the voltage on the following charts (series circuit and parallel circuit). I'm interested in the math process involved, not the answer.

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I'm mostly confused about how to find Vb as I believe Va will always be 5 volts and Vc will typically be close to 0. Any help and explanation is greatly appreciated.

Best Answer

\$V_c\$ is exactly 0 since it is connected to GND which is defined as zero volts.

\$ V_a\$ is exactly 5 volts since it is connected to the positive end of a 5 volt battery whose negative terminal is connected to GND.

\$V_b\$ is at the junction of resistors connected across the battery so its voltage depends on the relative values of the resistors. The first circuit is a simple series connection. In accordance with Ohm's law, the current is equal to the voltage (5 volts) divided by the total series resistance \$(R1 + R2)\$. \$V_b\$ is equal to the voltage across \$R2\$ which is found by multiplying its resistance by the current. In this case, then, \$V_b\$ is equal to \$5/(R_1 +R_2)\$ times \$R_2\$ or \$5R_2/(R_1 +R_2)\$.

In the second circuit, the calculation is identical except that \$R_3\$ is now in parallel with \$R_2\$. The equivalent resistance of 2 parallel resistors is given by their product divided by their sum or \$R_2 R_3 / (R_2 + R_3) \$. \$V_b\$ in this circuit can then by found by substituting this equivalent resistance for \$R_2\$ in the previous equation.