The Basic lessons · Basic electronics and theory · B-005-005

Series and Parallel Circuits: Current and Resistance

Learn how adding resistors in a line versus side-by-side changes total resistance and current flow. Master the simple rules to calculate values for any combination of series or parallel components.

This lesson is part of SignalPrep Pro. The subsection's 11 exam questions are free to practise: practise B-005-005.

What this subsection asks

• In a parallel circuit with a voltage source and several branch resistors, how is the total current related to the current in the branch resistors?
• You connect four 100-ohm resistors in parallel across a 12-volt battery. How many milliamperes of current are drawn from the battery?
• Several resistors of various values are connected in parallel. How does the total resistance of the combination compare to the individual resistors?
• Two 1000-ohm resistors are connected in parallel across a 12-volt battery. What is the total current?
• The total resistance of resistors connected in series is:
• What is the total resistance of five 10-ohm resistors in series?
• Which of these series combination of resistors would replace a single 120-ohm resistor?
• If ten resistors of equal value "R" are wired in parallel, what formula yields the total resistance?
• What is the total resistance of four 68-ohm resistors wired in parallel?
• Two resistors are in parallel. Resistor "A" carries twice the current of resistor "B," which means that:
• The total current in a parallel circuit is equal to the: