Reply To: Equivalent resistance in parallel circuits

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January 5, 2017 at 12:16 pm #11078
Susan Brown
Keymaster

    Hi David,

    The equation is

    Equivalent resistance parallel circuits

    So, it is actually “1 divided by (1/20 + 1/10)” which is then “1 divided by .15”

    That equation is a mathematical representation of what the equivalent resistance would be if all loads that are in parallel with each other in a particular configuration were somehow combined to be just a single load. In other words, it shows the net affect on the power source (in terms of resistance) of multiple loads that are in parallel.

    When loads are in series with each other, you simply add the resistances to get the same kind of thing (equivalent, or “total”, resistance of the circuit).

    Does that help?