Parallel Circuits

It is much more common for loads:

To be wired in parallel

With the parallel arrangement:

Each load is wired in a separate path

What If any one of these paths were to have a break or gap?

Current flow would still continue through the other paths, so there would still remain a closed circuit

Since voltage is a measure of the difference in electric potential between two points:

The voltage across alternate paths connecting the same two paths in a circuit must also be equal

How does Current flow become divided?

When there are parallel paths

A larger proportion of electrons will take a path of:

Low Resistance

A smaller proportion of electrons will take a path of:

Higher Resistance

For a parallel circuit, the total current through the circuit is equal to:

The sum of currents through each closed path

When adding a load in parallel, even if that load’s resistance is high, why does the total or effective resistance of a circuit decrease?

Because even though it has resistance, it provides an additional path while doing nothing to constrain the existing one

What is this formula known as?

1/Rt = 1/R1 + 1/R2 + 1/R3

The Parallel resistance formula