Two bulbs of 40W and 60W are connected in series with an AC power

supply of 100V. Which bulb will glow brighter and why?

Rating of bulbs hasn't been specified which is very important. Let's assume each bulb is rated at
120V,50Hz supply. Now what it means is that when 40W (or 60W) bulb will be connected across rated
voltage i.e.120V ac supply then power dissipation across it will be 40W (or 60W). Rating is important
because say if 40W bulb rated at 120V supply is connected across 220V supply then it will not work
(might burn or blow up), meaning thereby a device can not work at a voltage much higher than its rated
voltage.
One more information that you get from rating is the resistance of each bulb.

P=(V*V)/R

Since both bulbs are rated at same voltage, we can say that resistance of each bulb is inversely
proportional to its rated power. Therefore

R (40W bulb) > R (60W bulb)

We should know that the bulb across which power dissipation is more will glow brighter. Now

1. When connected in series: In a series connection, current flowing across each element is same. So
when 40W bulb and 60W bulb are connected in series, same current will flow through them. To find which
bulb will glow brighter we need to find the power dissipation across each of them. From the relation

P=(I*I) R

since current is same we can say that power dissipation will be higher for the bulb with higher resistance
i.e. 40W bulb.

Hence 40W bulb will glow brighter in series connection.

2. When connected in parallel: In a parallel connection, voltage across each element is same. So when
40W bulb and 60W bulb are connected in parallel, voltage across them will be same (100 V in the given
case). To find which bulb will glow brighter we need to find the power dissipation across each of them.
From the relation

P=(V*V)/R

since voltage is same we can say that power dissipation will be higher for the bulb with lower resistance
i.e. 60W bulb.

Hence 60W bulb will glow brighter in parallel connection.

NOW HOW TO REMEMBER THIS-

At our homes, loads (such as bulbs) are connected in parallel and you always see that higher rated bulb
glows more brightly i.e 100W bulb glows more brightly than 60W bulb or 40W bulb.

So always remember if bulbs are connected in parallel, the bulb with higher rated power will
glow brighter and if they are connected in series, the bulb with lower rated power will glow
brighter.
There are already 25 answers while I am answering this question. Most of the answers are correct.
However I am trying to give a simple answer, which is detailed enough to understand and also
correct in all aspects.

40 Watt bulb will glow brighter than 60 Watt, when they are connected in series.

When connected to rated supply voltage, the bulbs will consume rated power (40 watt and 60 watt
respectively). It is obvious that 60 Watt bulb will glow brighter in this condition.

When two bulbs are connected in series, both the bulbs will be consuming less than the respective
rated power. It is too difficult to calculate exact power dissipation the bulbs. However, it is not difficult
to calculate which bulb will consume more power.

In normal operating condition, both the bulbs are connected to the rated voltage directly, not in
series with each other. Under this condition, equation of power is:

Power = Voltage*Current = Voltage *(Voltage/Resistance)=Voltage^2/Resistance

Rearranging the equation gives Resistance = Voltage^2 / Power

As the rated voltage of both the bulbs is going to be same, Resistance of the 100 watt bulb is going
to be less than the resistance of the 60 watt bulb. Ideally resistance of the 100 watt bulb will e 0.6
times of the 60 watt bulb when operating in rated conditions.

When two bulbs are connected in series, current is going to be same. For a given value of current
and resistance, Power = (Current^2)* Resistance. As resistance of 60 watt bulb is higher than 100
watt bulb, power dissipation in 60 Watt bulb will be more and it will glow brighter.