CHAPTER TWO

PARALLEL CIRCUITES

2.1 PARALLEL RESISTORS

The term parallel is used so often to describe a physical arrangement between
two elements that most individuals are aware of its general characteristics.
In general,
“Two elements, branches, or circuits are in parallel if they have two points
in common”.

For instance, in Fig. 2.1 (a), the two resistors are in parallel because they are
connected at points a and b. If both ends were not connected as shown, the
resistors would not be in parallel. In Fig. 2.1 (b), resistors R1 and R2 are in parallel
because they again have points a and b in common. R1 is not in parallel with R3
because they are connected at only one point (b). Further, R1 and R3 are not in
series because a third connection appears at point b. The same can be said for
resistors R2 and R3. In Fig. 2.1 (c), resistors R1 and R2 are in series because they
have only one point in common that is not connected elsewhere in the network.
Resistors R1 and R3 are not in parallel because they have only point a in common.
In addition, they are not in series because of the third connection to point a. The
same can be said for resistors R2 and R3. In a broader context, it can be said that
the series combination of resistors R1 and R2 is in parallel with resistor R3.
Furthermore, even though the discussion above was only for resistors, it can be
applied to any two-terminal elements such as voltage sources and meters.

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 Fig. 2.1: (a) Parallel resistors; (b) R1 and R2 are in parallel; (c) R3 is in
parallel with the series combination of R1 and R2.

On schematics, the parallel combination can appear in a number of ways, as

shown in Fig. 2.2. In each case, the three resistors are in parallel. They all have
points a and b in common.

Fig. 2.2: Schematic representations of three parallel resistors.

For resistors in parallel as shown in Fig. 2.3, the total resistance is

determined from the following equation:

𝟏 𝟏 𝟏 𝟏 𝟏 𝟏
= + + + ⋯+ ( = siemens, S) (2.1)
𝑹𝑻 𝑹𝟏 𝑹𝟐 𝑹𝟑 𝑹𝑵 Ω

2
Since G = 1/R, the equation can also be written in terms of conductance levels as
follows:
GT = G1 + G2 + G3 + … + GN (siemens, S) (2.2)

Fig.2.3: Parallel combination of resistors.

Eq. (2.2) is an exact match in format with the equation for the total resistance
of resistors in series: RT= R1 + R2+ R3 + . . . + RN. The result of this duality is that
you can go from one equation to the other simply by interchanging R and G.

In general, however, when the total resistance is desired, the following format is
applied:

𝟏
𝑹𝑻 = 𝟏 𝟏 𝟏 𝟏 (2.3)
𝑹𝟏
+ 𝑹 + 𝑹 +⋯+ 𝑹
𝟐 𝟑 𝑵

Example 2.1: a) Find the total conductance of the parallel network in Fig.2.4.
b) Find the total resistance of the same network using the results of part (a) and
using Eq. (2.3).

Fig.2.4: Parallel resistors for Example 2.1.

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Solutions:
𝟏 𝟏
a) 𝑮𝟏 = = = 0.333 S
𝑹𝟏 𝟑Ω

𝟏 𝟏
𝑮𝟐 = = = 0.167 S
𝑹𝟐 𝟔Ω

GT = G1 + G2 = 0.333 S+ 0.167 S
GT = 0.5 S
𝟏 𝟏
b) RT = = =2Ω
𝑮𝑻 𝟎∙𝟓 𝐒

OR, we can find RT by using Eq. (2.3)

𝟏 𝟏 𝟏 𝟏
𝑹𝑻 = 𝟏 𝟏 = 𝟏 𝟏 = = = 𝟐Ω
+𝑹 + 𝟎∙𝟑𝟑𝟑 𝑺+𝟎∙𝟏𝟔𝟕 𝑺 𝟎∙𝟓 𝑺
𝑹𝟏 𝟐 𝟑Ω 𝟔Ω

Example 2.2: Find the total resistance of the configuration in Fig. 2.5.

Fig. 2.5: Network to be investigated in Example 2.2.

Solution: First the network is redrawn as shown in Fig. 2.6 to clearly demonstrate
that all the resistors are in parallel.

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 Fig. 2.6: Network in Fig. 2.2 redrawn.

Applying Eq. (2.3):

𝟏 𝟏
𝑹𝑻 = 𝟏 𝟏 𝟏 = 𝟏 𝟏 𝟏
𝑹𝟏
+𝑹 +𝑹 + +
𝟏Ω 𝟒Ω 𝟓Ω
𝟐 𝟑

𝟏 𝟏
RT = = = 0.69 Ω
𝟏 𝑺 + 𝟎∙𝟐𝟓 𝑺 + 𝟎∙𝟐 𝑺 𝟏∙𝟒𝟓 𝑺

 If you review the examples above, you will find that “The total resistance
of parallel resistors is always less than the value of the smallest resistor”
 This is particularly important when you want a quick estimate of the total
resistance of a parallel combination. Simply find the smallest value, and
you know that the total resistance will be less than that value. It is also a
great check on your calculations.
 In addition, you will find that “if the smallest resistor of a parallel
combination is much smaller than the other parallel resistors, the total
resistance will be very close to the smallest resistor value” , as will be
shown in example 2.3.
Example 2.3: a) By inspection, which parallel element in Fig. 2.7 has the least
conductance? Determine the total conductance of the network and note whether
your conclusion was verified.

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 Fig. 2.7: Parallel resistors for Example 2.3.

b) Determine the total resistance from the results of part (a) and by applying
Eq. (2.3).

Solutions:
a) Since the 1 kΩ resistor has the largest resistance and therefore the largest
opposition to the flow of charge (level of conductivity), it will have the least level
of conductance.

1 1 103
𝐺1 = = = 0.5S = 0.5 × S = 500 mS ,
𝑅1 2Ω 103

1 1
𝐺2 = = = 0.005 S = 5 × 10-3 S = 5 mS
𝑅2 200 Ω

1 1 1
𝐺3 = = = = 10-3 S = 1 mS
𝑅3 1 𝐾Ω 103 Ω

GT = G1 + G2 + G3 = 500 mS + 5 mS + 1mS

GT = 506 mS

Note the difference in conductance level between the 2 Ω (500 mS) and the 1 kΩ
(1 mS) resistor.
1 1 1
b) RT = = = −3 = 0.00197 × 103 Ω = 1.976 Ω
𝐺𝑇 506 𝑚𝑆 506∗ 10 𝑆

OR by using Eq. (2.3)

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 𝟏 𝟏 𝟏 𝟏
𝑅𝑇 = 𝟏 𝟏 𝟏 = 𝟏 𝟏 𝟏 = =
+𝑹 +𝑹 + + 𝟎∙𝟓 𝑺 + 𝟎∙𝟎𝟎𝟓 𝑺 + 𝟎∙𝟎𝟎𝟏 𝑺 𝟎∙𝟓𝟎𝟔 𝑺
𝑹𝟏 𝟐 𝟑 𝟐 Ω 𝟐𝟎𝟎 Ω 𝟏 𝒌Ω

𝑅𝑇 = 1.976 Ω
Example 2.4: a) What is the effect of adding another resistor of (100 Ω) in parallel
with the parallel resistors of Fig. 2.8 to be as shown in Fig. 2.9?
b) What is the effect of adding a parallel 1 Ω resistor to the configuration
in Fig. 2.9?

Fig. 2.8 Fig. 2.9: Adding a parallel 100 Ω resistor

to the network in Fig. 2.8.

Solutions:
a) Applying Eq. (2.3):
𝟏 𝟏 𝟏 𝟏
RT (in Fig 2.8) = 𝟏 𝟏 = 𝟏 𝟏 = 𝟎∙𝟑𝟑𝟑 𝑺+𝟎∙𝟏𝟔𝟕 𝑺 = 𝟎∙𝟓 𝑺
= 𝟐Ω
𝑹𝟏
+𝑹 +
𝟑Ω 𝟔Ω
𝟐

𝟏 𝟏 𝟏
RT (in Fig 2.9) = 𝟏 𝟏 𝟏 = 𝟏 𝟏 𝟏 =
+𝑹 +𝑹 + + 𝟎∙𝟑𝟑𝟑 𝑺 + 𝟎∙𝟏𝟔𝟔𝟕 𝑺 + 𝟎∙𝟎𝟏 𝑺
𝑹𝟏 𝟐 𝟑 𝟑 Ω 𝟔 Ω 𝟏𝟎𝟎 Ω

𝟏
= = 1.962 Ω
𝟎∙𝟓𝟎𝟗𝟕 𝑺

The total resistance of Fig 2.8 is 2 Ω. The effect of adding a resistor in parallel of
100 Ω had little effect on the total resistance because its resistance level is

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significantly higher (and conductance level significantly less) than the other two
resistors. The total change in resistance was less than 2%. However, do note that
the total resistance dropped with the addition of the 100 Ω resistor.

b) Applying Eq. (2.3):

𝟏 𝟏 𝟏
𝑹𝑻 = 𝟏 𝟏 𝟏 𝟏 = 𝟏 𝟏 𝟏 𝟏 =
+ + + + + + 𝟎∙𝟑𝟑𝟑 𝑺 + 𝟎∙𝟏𝟔𝟔𝟕 𝑺 + 𝟎∙𝟎𝟏 𝑺 +𝟏𝑺
𝑹𝟏 𝑹𝟐 𝑹𝟑 𝑹𝟒 𝟑 Ω 𝟔 Ω 𝟏𝟎𝟎 Ω 𝟏 Ω

1
= = 0.66 Ω
1∙5097 𝑆

The adding of the 1 Ω resistor reduced the total resistance from 2 Ω to only
0.66 Ω, a decrease of almost 67%. The fact that the added resistor has a resistance
level less than the other parallel elements and one-third that of the smallest
contributed to the significant drop in resistance level.
In part (a) of Example 2.4, the total resistance dropped from 2 Ω to 1.96 Ω. In
part (b), it dropped to 0.66 Ω. The results clearly reveal that “the total resistance
of parallel resistors will always drop as new resistors are added in parallel,
irrespective of their value”.
Recall that this is the opposite of series resistors, where additional resistors of any
value increase the total resistance.

 For equal resistors (R1= R2 = R3 = … = RN = R) in parallel, the equation for

the total resistance becomes significantly easier to apply. For N equal
resistors in parallel, Eq. (2.3) becomes:
𝟏 𝟏 𝟏 𝟏
𝑹𝑻 = 𝟏 𝟏 𝟏 𝟏 =𝟏 𝟏 𝟏 𝟏 = 𝟏 = 𝑵
+ + +⋯+ + + +⋯+ 𝑵( )
𝑹𝟏 𝑹𝟐 𝑹𝟑 𝑹𝑵 𝑹 𝑹 𝑹 𝑹𝑵 𝑹 𝑹

𝑹
RT = for equal parallel resistances (2.4)
𝑵

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In other words,
“the total resistance of N parallel resistors of equal value is the resistance of
one resistor divided by the number (N) of parallel resistors”

Example 2.5: Find the total resistance of the parallel resistors in Fig. 2.10.

Fig. 2.10

Solution: Applying Eq. (2.4):

𝑹 𝟏𝟐 Ω
RT = = =4Ω
𝑵 𝟑

Example 2.6: Find the total resistance for the configuration in Fig. 2.11.

Fig 2.11: Parallel configuration for Example 2.6.

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Solution: Redrawing the network results in the parallel network in Fig. 2.12.

Fig.2.12: Network in Fig. 2.11 redrawn.

Since all resistances have the same value, so to find RT we can apply Eq. (2.4):
𝑹 𝟐Ω
RT = = = 0.5 Ω
𝑵 𝟒

Special Case: Two Parallel Resistors

In the vast majority of cases, only two or three parallel resistors will have to
be combined. With this in mind, an equation has been derived for two parallel
resistors that is easy to apply and removes the need to continually worry about
dividing into 1 and possibly misplacing a decimal point.
For two parallel resistors, the total resistance is determined by Eq. (2.1):

𝟏 𝟏 𝟏
= +
𝑹𝑻 𝑹𝟏 𝑹𝟐

𝟏 𝑹𝟐 𝑹𝟏
= +
𝑹𝑻 𝑹𝟏 𝑹𝟐 𝑹𝟏 𝑹𝟐

𝟏 𝑹𝟐 + 𝑹𝟏
=
𝑹𝑻 𝑹𝟏 𝑹𝟐

𝑹𝟏 𝑹𝟐
𝑹𝑻 = (for two parallel resistances only) (2.5)
𝑹𝟏 + 𝑹𝟐

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In words, the equation states that “the total resistance of two parallel resistors
is simply the product of their values divided by their sum”.
Example 2.7: Find the total resistance for the configuration in Fig. 2.13 using
Eq. (2.5).

Fig. 2.13: network of Example 2.7

𝑹𝟏 𝑹𝟐 (𝟑Ω)×(𝟔Ω) 𝟏𝟖Ω𝟐
Solution: 𝑹𝑻 = 𝑹𝟏 + 𝑹𝟐
= = = 𝟐Ω
(𝟑Ω) +(𝟔Ω) 𝟗Ω

Example 2.8: Determine the total resistance for the parallel combination in
Fig. 2.14 using two applications of Eq. (2.5).

Fig. 2.14: Parallel configuration for Fig. 2.15: Reduced

Example 2.8. equivalent in Fig. 2.14.

Solution: First the 1 Ω and 4 Ω resistors are combined using Eq. (2.5), resulting
in the reduced network in Fig. 2.15.

𝑹𝟏 𝑹𝟐 (𝟏Ω)×(𝟒Ω) 𝟒Ω𝟐
𝑹′𝑻 = = = = 𝟎 ∙ 𝟖Ω
𝑹𝟏 + 𝑹𝟐 (𝟏Ω) +(𝟒Ω) 𝟓Ω

Then Eq. (2.5) is applied again using the equivalent value in Fig.2.15

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 𝑹′𝑻 𝑹𝟑 (𝟎∙𝟖Ω)×(𝟓Ω) 𝟒Ω𝟐
𝑹𝑻 = = = = 𝟎 ∙ 𝟔𝟖𝟗Ω
𝑹′𝑻 + 𝑹𝟑 (𝟎∙𝟖Ω) +(𝟓Ω) 𝟓∙𝟖Ω

Example 2.9: Determine the total resistance of the parallel elements in Fig. 2.16.

Fig. 2.16: Parallel network for Example 2.9.

Solution: The network is redrawn as in Fig. 2.17.

𝑅′ 𝑇 2Ω 𝑅" 𝑇 8Ω

Fig. 2.17: Redrawn network in Fig. 2.16.

𝑹 𝟔Ω
By using Eq. (2.4) 𝑹′𝑻 = = =2Ω
𝑵 𝟑
𝑹𝟐 𝑹𝟒 (𝟗Ω)×(𝟕𝟐Ω) 𝟔𝟒𝟖Ω𝟐
By using Eq. (2.5) 𝑹"𝑻 = = = =𝟖Ω
𝑹𝟐 + 𝑹𝟒 (𝟗Ω) +(𝟕𝟐Ω) 𝟖𝟏Ω

𝑹′𝑻 𝑹"𝑻 (𝟐Ω)×(𝟖Ω) 𝟏𝟔Ω𝟐

By using Eq. (2.5) 𝑹𝑻 = = = =𝟏∙𝟔Ω
𝑹′𝑻 + 𝑹"𝑻 (𝟐Ω) +(𝟖Ω) 𝟏𝟎Ω

From above example we can found that: In parallel networks, “parallel resistors
can be interchanged without affecting the total resistance”.

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Example 2.10: Determine the value of R2 in Fig. 2.18 to establish a total
resistance of 9 kΩ.

Fig.2.18: Parallel network for Example 2.10.

𝑹𝟏 𝑹𝟐
Solution: 𝑹𝑻 =
𝑹𝟏 + 𝑹𝟐

RT (R1 + R2) = R1 R2
RT R1 + RT R2 = R1 R2
RT R1 = R1 R2 - RT R2
RT R1 = R2 (R1 - RT)
𝑹 𝑻 𝑹𝟏
R2 =
𝑹𝟏 − 𝑹𝑻

Substituting values:
(𝟗 𝐤Ω)×(𝟏𝟐 𝐤Ω) 𝟏𝟎𝟖 𝐤 𝟐 Ω𝟐
R2 = = = 36 kΩ
𝟏𝟐 𝐤Ω− 𝟗 𝐤Ω 𝟑 𝐤Ω

Homework 2.1: Determine the values of R1, R2 and R3 in Fig. 2.19 if R2 = 2R1,
R3 = 2R2, and the total resistance is 16 kΩ.

Fig. 2.19: Parallel network for the homework.

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2.2 PARALLEL CIRCUITS
A parallel circuit can now be established by connecting a supply across a set
of parallel resistors as shown in Fig. 2.20. The positive terminal of the supply is
directly connected to the top of each resistor, while the negative terminal is
connected to the bottom of each resistor. Therefore, it should be quite clear that
the applied voltage is the same across each resistor. In general,
the voltage is always the same across parallel elements.

Fig. 2.20: Parallel network.

For the voltages of the circuit in Fig. 2.20, the result is that

V1 = V2 = E (2.6)

The source current can then be determined using Ohm’s law:

𝑬
Is = (2.7)
𝑹𝑻

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Since the voltage is the same across parallel elements, the current through each
resistor can also be determined using Ohm’s law. That is:

𝑽𝟏 𝑬
I1 = =
𝑹𝟏 𝑹𝟏

(2.8)
𝑽𝟐 𝑬
I2 = =
𝑹𝟐 𝑹𝟐

The relationship between the source current and the parallel resistor currents can
be derived by simply taking the equation for the total resistance in parallel:

1 1 1
= +
𝑅𝑇 𝑅1 𝑅2

Multiplying both sides by the applied voltage (E):

1 1 1
E ( ) = 𝐸( + )
𝑅𝑇 𝑅1 𝑅2

𝐸 𝐸 𝐸
= +
𝑅𝑇 𝑅1 𝑅2

𝐸 𝐸
Then note that = I1 and = I2 to obtain
𝑅1 𝑅2

Is = I1 + I2 (2.9)

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So (for a parallel circuit, the source current equals the sum of the branch
currents, while for a series circuit, the applied voltage equals the sum of the
voltage drops)

EXAMPLE 2.11 For the parallel network in Fig. 2.21:

a. Find the total resistance.
b. Calculate the source current.
c. Determine the current through each parallel branch.
d. Show that Eq. (2.9) is satisfied

Fig 2.21: Parallel network for Example 2.11

Solution:
a. Using Eq. (2.5):
𝑹𝟏 𝑹𝟐 (𝟗Ω)×(𝟏𝟖Ω) 𝟏𝟔𝟐Ω𝟐
𝑹𝑻 = = = = 𝟔Ω
𝑹𝟏 + 𝑹𝟐 (𝟗Ω) +(𝟏𝟖Ω) 𝟐𝟕Ω

b. Applying Ohm’s law:

𝑬 𝟐𝟕 𝑽
Is = = = 4.5 A
𝑹𝑻 𝟔Ω

c. Applying Ohm’s law:

𝑽𝟏 𝑬 𝟐𝟕 𝑽
I1 = = = =3A
𝑹𝟏 𝑹𝟏 𝟗Ω
𝑽𝟐 𝑬 𝟐𝟕 𝑽
I2 = = = = 1.5 A
𝑹𝟐 𝑹𝟐 𝟏𝟖 Ω

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d. Substituting values from parts (b) and (c):
Is = I1 + I2 = 3A + 1.5 A = 4.5 A
Example 2.12 For the parallel network in Fig. 2.22.
a. Find the total resistance.
b. Calculate the source current.
c. Determine the current through each branch.

Fig 2.22: Parallel network for Example 2.12

Solution:
a. Applying Eq. (2.3):

𝟏 𝟏
𝑹𝑻 = 𝟏 𝟏 𝟏 = 𝟏 𝟏 𝟏
+𝑹 +𝑹 + +
𝑹𝟏 𝟐 𝟑 𝟏𝟎 Ω 𝟐𝟐𝟎 Ω 𝟏∙𝟐 𝒌Ω

𝟏 𝟏
= 𝟏 𝟏 𝟏 = 𝟏 𝟏 𝟏
+ +
𝟏𝟎 Ω 𝟐𝟐𝟎 Ω 𝟏∙𝟐 × 𝟏𝟎𝟑 Ω
+ +
𝟏𝟎 Ω 𝟐𝟐𝟎 Ω 𝟏𝟐𝟎𝟎Ω

𝟏 𝟏
= =
𝟎∙𝟏 𝑺 + 𝟎∙𝟎𝟎𝟒𝟓 𝑺 + 𝟎∙𝟎𝟎𝟎𝟖𝟑 𝑺 𝟎∙𝟏𝟎𝟓𝟑𝟑 𝑺

= 9.494 Ω

b. Using Ohm’s law:

𝑬 𝟐𝟒 𝑽
Is = = = 2.53 A
𝑹𝑻 𝟗∙𝟒𝟗𝟒 Ω

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c. Applying Ohm’s law: V1 = V2 = V3 = E (for parallel circuit)
𝑽𝟏 𝑬 𝟐𝟒 𝑽
I1 = = = = 2.4 A
𝑹𝟏 𝑹𝟏 𝟏𝟎 Ω
𝑽𝟐 𝑬 𝟐𝟒 𝑽
I2 = = = = 0.11 A
𝑹𝟐 𝑹𝟐 𝟐𝟐𝟎 Ω
𝑽𝟑 𝑬 𝟐𝟒 𝑽
I3 = = = = 0.02 A
𝑹𝟑 𝑹𝟑 𝟏∙𝟐 𝒌 Ω

A careful examination of the results of Example 2.12 reveals that the larger the
parallel resistor, the smaller the branch current. In general, therefore,
for parallel resistors, the greatest current will exist in the branch with the least
resistance.
A more powerful statement is that (current always seeks the path of least
resistance).

Homework 2.2: Given the information provided in Fig. 2.23.

a. Determine R3.
b. Find the applied voltage E.
c. Find the source current Is.
d. Find I2.

Fig 2.23: Parallel network for Example 2.13

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