What would happen to the total current if you added another resistor in parallel and kept
the power supply at 15 V? Would it increase, decrease or stay the same ?
Suppose you have a parallel circuit with a fixed voltage. When you add more resistors in
parallel, what happens to a) the current? b) the total resistanance?
a resistor in parallel provides another path for the current, so the total current will increase.
So, what do you think that means for the total resistance?
a. The current will increase.
b. Decrease to a value less than either resistor:
R = R1*R2/(R1+R2).
If you add another resistor in parallel while keeping the power supply at 15 V, the total current in the circuit would increase.
Explanation:
a) When resistors are connected in parallel, the total current flowing through the circuit increases. This is because the total resistance in the circuit decreases when resistors are added in parallel. According to Ohm's Law (V = I * R), for a fixed voltage (V), if the resistance (R) decreases, the current (I) increases.
b) The total resistance of a parallel circuit decreases when more resistors are added in parallel. This is because the reciprocal of the total resistance is the sum of the reciprocals of the individual resistances. So, adding more resistors in parallel decreases the total resistance in the circuit.
When adding another resistor in parallel and keeping the power supply at 15 V, the total current in the circuit would increase.
To understand why this happens, we need to consider the behavior of resistors in parallel. In a parallel circuit, the voltage across each individual resistor is the same, which in this case is 15 V. However, adding another resistor in parallel effectively provides an additional pathway for the current to flow. This means that the total resistance in the circuit decreases, leading to an increase in the overall current.
To calculate the total current, you would need to use Ohm's Law, which states that current (I) is equal to voltage (V) divided by resistance (R). Since the power supply voltage is fixed at 15 V, and the total resistance of the circuit decreases when more resistors are added in parallel, the current will increase.
Now, let's address the second part of your question:
a) When more resistors are added in parallel, the current flowing through the circuit increases. This is because adding more parallel pathways allows for additional current to flow.
b) The total resistance in a parallel circuit decreases as more resistors are added. This is because the equivalent resistance of resistors in parallel can be calculated using the formula 1/R(total) = 1/R1 + 1/R2 + ... + 1/Rn, where R1, R2, etc. are the individual resistances. As more resistors are added in parallel, the sum of the reciprocals of the resistance values increases, resulting in a lower total resistance.