What is the effect on the total current in a circuit if an additional resistor is added in parallel to an existing resistor?
Correct Answer: Total current increases.
- Step 1: Understand that a circuit has a total current flowing through it.
- Step 2: Know that resistance is a measure of how much a component opposes the flow of current.
- Step 3: Recognize that when you add a resistor in parallel, you create an additional path for the current to flow.
- Step 4: Realize that adding a parallel resistor decreases the total resistance of the circuit.
- Step 5: Remember Ohm's Law, which states that current (I) equals voltage (V) divided by resistance (R): I = V / R.
- Step 6: Since the total resistance decreases when you add a parallel resistor, the total current increases if the voltage remains the same.
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