In the case of series and parallel circuits, you can use the analogy of ten water hoses each being ten feet long.
If you connected each hose to a separate valve and turned on the water, all ten hoses would deliver an equal amount. When each hose has a separate supply, they are said to be in parallel.
If, however, you connected ten hoses end to end and made a single hundred foot hose, then they would be in series (one after the other).
Ten hoses end to end would deliver much less than a tenth of the water than ten parallel hoses can supply.
Answers & Comments
Verified answer
Most electrical problems have a simple analogy.
In the case of series and parallel circuits, you can use the analogy of ten water hoses each being ten feet long.
If you connected each hose to a separate valve and turned on the water, all ten hoses would deliver an equal amount. When each hose has a separate supply, they are said to be in parallel.
If, however, you connected ten hoses end to end and made a single hundred foot hose, then they would be in series (one after the other).
Ten hoses end to end would deliver much less than a tenth of the water than ten parallel hoses can supply.