Illuminate Your Future: Ace the Get Wired 102 Lighting & Circuits Challenge 2026!

In parallel circuits, all branches are connected across the same two points, so each branch experiences the same potential difference as the source. That common voltage is the voltage that is applied to the circuit by the power source, often called the applied (or supply) voltage. The current may split across branches, but the voltage across each branch stays equal to this applied voltage. Ground voltage isn’t a specific branch drop here, and while the voltage across a load in a branch matches the branch voltage, the term that best fits this statement is the applied voltage, since it uniquely identifies the source-driven voltage across every branch.