the source
Electrical circuits are often modeled by using water in a river. The potential energy of the water is the highest at the source of the river and decreases as the water flows down the river toward the end. When the water reaches the ocean, its potential energy has become zero. The circuit shown below has a similar situation. The current in this circuit is drawn in the direction of the electron flow. It starts at the battery on the left, where electrons leave the negative terminal and travel around the circuit. Since all of the current travels across each resistor, these resistors are said to be in series . A series circuit is one in which all of the current must pass through every resistor in the circuit. Returning to the water analogy, there is only one riverbed from the top of the mountain to the ocean.