In that same circuit, the blue branch draws 0.80 A and the red branch draws 0.60 A from the 12 V battery. What is the total current supplied by the battery?
A0.20 A
B0.48 A
C1.4 A
D2.0 A
Answer & Solution
Correct answer: C. 1.4 A
1. Charge that leaves the battery splits between the two parallel branches and must recombine before returning, so the branch currents add up to the total.
2. Total current: I = I_blue + I_red = 0.80 A + 0.60 A.
3. I = 1.4 A.
4. 0.20 A is the difference of the two branch currents, not their sum, and does not represent the battery current.
_Source: OpenStax Physics (CC BY 4.0), Ch 19 "Electrical Circuits", section Strange-Looking Circuit Diagrams_
Keep practising Electrical Circuits
Browse all Electrical Circuits questions for HSC (New South Wales), or explore more Physics topics.
Related questions
Three 10 ohm resistors are connected in parallel across a 9.0 V battery. What power is disAn older incandescent light bulb is rated at 60 W and operates at 120 V. What current flowA circuit has 0.12 A flowing through it across a potential drop of 3.0 V. What power is diA resistor of 100 ohm is connected across a 12 V source. What electric power is dissipatedHow is electric power defined in terms of energy?A 45 ohm resistor and a 60 ohm resistor are wired in parallel with each other. What is theA 10 ohm resistor is connected in parallel with a second resistor R, giving a combined equTen identical resistors, each of resistance R, are connected in parallel. What is the equi