People walking one behind the other in a long chain are walking in Series. People walking side by side across a broad front are walking in Parallel. The same terminology applies to whatever it is that you are connecting up. You don’t say what context you are in.
Series Circuit
- Only ONE path for current to flow in a closed circuit
- Current remains the SAME in all parts of the circuit
- Voltage is DIFFERENT from each component
- total power supplied is the sum of powers consumed in each circuit components like P_Total=P_1+P_2+…
Parallel Circuit
- Current is DIFFERENT through each component of the circuit (according to their resistance values)
- Voltage remains the same across each component of the circuit
- total power supplied is the sum of powers consumed in each circuit components like P_Total=P_1+P_2+…
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Source: https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-difference-between-a-series-circuit-and-a-parallel-circuit