What happens to the total resistance in a parallel circuit when more resistors are added? (2019)
Practice Questions
1 question
Q1
What happens to the total resistance in a parallel circuit when more resistors are added? (2019)
It increases
It decreases
It remains the same
It becomes infinite
In a parallel circuit, adding more resistors decreases the total resistance because the total resistance is given by 1/R_total = 1/R1 + 1/R2 + ...
Questions & Step-by-step Solutions
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Q
Q: What happens to the total resistance in a parallel circuit when more resistors are added? (2019)
Solution: In a parallel circuit, adding more resistors decreases the total resistance because the total resistance is given by 1/R_total = 1/R1 + 1/R2 + ...
Steps: 7
Step 1: Understand what a parallel circuit is. In a parallel circuit, all components are connected across the same voltage source.
Step 2: Know that each resistor in a parallel circuit provides an alternative path for the current to flow.
Step 3: Remember the formula for total resistance in a parallel circuit: 1/R_total = 1/R1 + 1/R2 + ... (where R1, R2, etc. are the resistances of the individual resistors).
Step 4: When you add more resistors (R3, R4, etc.) to the circuit, you are adding more terms to the right side of the equation.
Step 5: As you add more resistors, the sum of the fractions (1/R1, 1/R2, ...) increases, which means that 1/R_total becomes larger.
Step 6: Since R_total is the reciprocal of that sum, a larger sum means a smaller total resistance.
Step 7: Therefore, adding more resistors in a parallel circuit decreases the total resistance.
