Parallel resistors

DC circuits · Beginner · about 10 minutes · part of Zen’s Electronics Design Mastery

Every branch sees the full supply voltage. Each branch draws its own current, and the branch currents add up to the total.

Open this lesson in the labFree, in your browser, no account needed.

How it works

Try it on the bench

1. Remove R3 (select it, press Delete). The other branch currents do not change, but the total drops.
2. Set R1 to 10 Ω and watch which part complains first.

Parts on the bench

• Bench power supply
• 2 × Digital multimeter
• 3 × Resistor

In the course

Zen’s Electronics Design Mastery, module “DC Fundamentals”.

More on dc circuits

• Series resistors
• Series-parallel network
• Voltage divider
• Current divider
• Wheatstone bridge
• Light sensor (LDR divider)
• Continuity and short-finding