How do you calculate the total resistance in a parallel circuit?
1 Answer
In a parallel circuit, the total resistance (R_total) is calculated differently than in a series circuit. In a parallel circuit, the resistors are connected in such a way that there are multiple paths for current to flow. The total resistance is less than the smallest individual resistance in the circuit.
To calculate the total resistance in a parallel circuit, you can use the following formula:
1/R_total = 1/R1 + 1/R2 + 1/R3 + ... + 1/Rn
Where:
R_total = Total resistance of the parallel circuit
R1, R2, R3, ... Rn = Resistances of individual resistors connected in parallel
Once you have the sum of the reciprocals of all the individual resistances, take the reciprocal of that sum to obtain the total resistance:
R_total = 1 / (1/R1 + 1/R2 + 1/R3 + ... + 1/Rn)
Alternatively, you can use the conductance method, where conductance (G) is the reciprocal of resistance (G = 1/R). For parallel resistors, the total conductance (G_total) is calculated as the sum of individual conductances:
G_total = G1 + G2 + G3 + ... + Gn
And then, find the total resistance using the reciprocal of the total conductance:
R_total = 1 / G_total
In practice, you can use either method, but the first one (summing the reciprocals of resistances) is more commonly used and intuitive for most circuit analysis scenarios.
To calculate the total resistance in a parallel circuit, you can use the following formula:
1/R_total = 1/R1 + 1/R2 + 1/R3 + ... + 1/Rn
Where:
R_total = Total resistance of the parallel circuit
R1, R2, R3, ... Rn = Resistances of individual resistors connected in parallel
Once you have the sum of the reciprocals of all the individual resistances, take the reciprocal of that sum to obtain the total resistance:
R_total = 1 / (1/R1 + 1/R2 + 1/R3 + ... + 1/Rn)
Alternatively, you can use the conductance method, where conductance (G) is the reciprocal of resistance (G = 1/R). For parallel resistors, the total conductance (G_total) is calculated as the sum of individual conductances:
G_total = G1 + G2 + G3 + ... + Gn
And then, find the total resistance using the reciprocal of the total conductance:
R_total = 1 / G_total
In practice, you can use either method, but the first one (summing the reciprocals of resistances) is more commonly used and intuitive for most circuit analysis scenarios.