When resistors are connected in parallel, the total resistance is:
AUnchanged
BInfinite
CLower down
DHigher up
Answer & Solution
Correct answer: C. Lower down
1. Adding parallel paths gives current more routes.
2. When resistors are connected in parallel, more current flows from the source.
3. More flows than would for any of them individually.
4. So the total resistance is lower.
_Source: OpenStax College Physics for AP Courses 2e (CC BY 4.0), Ch 21 'Circuits and DC Instruments', sections 21.1-21.6_
Keep practising Circuits and DC Instruments
Browse all Circuits and DC Instruments questions for AP Physics 2, or explore more Physics topics.
Related questions
Complete the circuit rulesMatch each circuit termStack the circuit factsSort the circuit rulesPull the rope to series or parallelAn ammeter wired in parallel rather than in series would fail to work because current mustKirchhoff's two rules together encode the conservation of which two quantities?Power dissipated by each resistor is described as considerably higher in parallel than in