what is one basic step to reduce a combination circuit to its simplest form

Since this is not my area of expertise, I searched Google under the key words "reduce combination circuit" to get these possible sources:

http://books.google.com/books?id=kddgHk0P3NcC&pg=PA188&lpg=PA188&dq=reduce+combination+circuit&source=web&ots=86jA3Wjmls&sig=ZKM8IWI9zwTer_lmlQRQCz-sdbE&hl=en
http://www.allaboutcircuits.com/vol_1/chpt_7/2.html
http://www.allaboutcircuits.com/vol_1/chpt_10/1.html

In the future, you can find the information you desire more quickly, if you use appropriate key words to do your own search.

I hope this helps. Thanks for asking.

To reduce a combination circuit to its simplest form, one basic step is to apply the rules of series and parallel combinations for resistors. These rules can be summarized as follows:

1. Series Combination:
When two or more resistors are connected in a series, the total resistance (R_total) is equal to the sum of the individual resistances (R1, R2, R3, ...). This can be represented as:
R_total = R1 + R2 + R3 + ...

2. Parallel Combination:
When two or more resistors are connected in parallel, the reciprocal of the total resistance (1/R_total) is equal to the sum of the reciprocals of the individual resistances. This can be represented as:
1/R_total = 1/R1 + 1/R2 + 1/R3 + ...

To reduce a combination circuit to its simplest form using these rules, you follow these steps:

Step 1: Identify series and parallel resistor combinations:
- Look for resistors that are directly connected in a row without any other components in-between. These are in series.
- Look for nodes where multiple resistors are connected together at both ends. These are in parallel.

Step 2: Replace series resistors:
- Calculate the total resistance of each series combination using the series combination rule.
- Replace the series combination with a single resistor with the calculated total resistance.

Step 3: Replace parallel resistors:
- Calculate the equivalent resistance of each parallel combination using the parallel combination rule.
- Replace the parallel combination with a single resistor with the calculated equivalent resistance.

Step 4: Repeat steps 2 and 3:
- Continue these steps until the entire combination circuit is reduced to a single equivalent resistor.

By following these steps, you can simplify a combination circuit to its simplest form.