Chapter 5 – Parallel Circuits
More Than one Current Path
Node Branch
Node
IT = I1 + I2 + I3 + . . . .
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Electronics Fundamentals, 6e Copyright ©2004 by Pearson Education, Inc.
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Electric Circuit Fundamentals, 6e All rights reserved.
Voltages across parallel branches are the same.
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Electronics Fundamentals, 6e Copyright ©2004 by Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458
Electric Circuit Fundamentals, 6e All rights reserved.
The same voltage appears across each resistor in parallel.
Thomas L. Floyd
Electronics Fundamentals, 6e Copyright ©2004 by Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458
Electric Circuit Fundamentals, 6e All rights reserved.
FIGURE 5-11
V1 = V2 = VS
Thomas L. Floyd
Electronics Fundamentals, 6e Copyright ©2004 by Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458
Electric Circuit Fundamentals, 6e All rights reserved.
Kirchhoff’s current law: The current into a node equals the current out of that node
Current Dividers – Node A IT in = Node A Out (I1 + I2 + I3)
IT = I1 + I2 + I3
Thomas L. Floyd
Electronics Fundamentals, 6e Copyright ©2004 by Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458
Electric Circuit Fundamentals, 6e All rights reserved.
FIGURE 5-13 Generalized circuit node illustrates Kirchhoff’s current law.
Thomas L. Floyd
Electronics Fundamentals, 6e Copyright ©2004 by Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458
Electric Circuit Fundamentals, 6e All rights reserved.
Examples of circuits with two parallel paths.
Sometimes it’s not too Obvious what’s in Parallel with What
Thomas L. Floyd
(Need to Redraw Circuit)
Electronics Fundamentals, 6e Copyright ©2004 by Pearson Education, Inc.
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Electric Circuit Fundamentals, 6e All rights reserved.
Total Parallel Resistance
• When resistors are connected in parallel, the
total resistance of the circuit decreases
• The total resistance of a parallel circuit is
always less than the value of the smallest
resistor
Connecting resistors in parallel reduces total resistance and increases total current.
1/R = Conductance
More Parallel Resistors/Circuits Increases Conductance
And Therefore Total Current
Thomas L. Floyd
Electronics Fundamentals, 6e Copyright ©2004 by Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458
Electric Circuit Fundamentals, 6e All rights reserved.
Formula for Total Parallel
Resistance
1/R = Conductance
Two Resistors in Parallel
• The total resistance for two resistors in
parallel is equal to the product of the two
resistors divided by the sum of the two
resistors
RT = R1R2/(R1 + R2)
Notation for Parallel Resistors
• To indicate 5 resistors, all in parallel, we
would write:
R1||R2||R3||R4||R5
Total current divides between the two branches.
Current Dividers
Thomas L. Floyd
IT = I1 + I2 Copyright ©2004 by Pearson Education, Inc.
Electronics Fundamentals, 6e
Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458
Electric Circuit Fundamentals, 6e All rights reserved.
The branch with the lowest resistance has the most current, and the branch with the highest resistance has the
least current
Thomas L. Floyd
Electronics Fundamentals, 6e Copyright ©2004 by Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458
Electric Circuit Fundamentals, 6e All rights reserved.
Ohms Law
Entire Circuit Individual Parallel
• IT = VS/RT Resistors
• VS = RT IT
• RT = VS/IT • IRX= VRX/RX
• VRX = RX IRX
Circuit Analysis Steps:
1. Determine RT
2. Determine IT
3. Determine Current Through Individual Branches as Necessary
FIGURE 5-29
RT = ? Ohms
IT = VS/RT = > ?mA
Thomas L. Floyd
Electronics Fundamentals, 6e Copyright ©2004 by Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458
Electric Circuit Fundamentals, 6e All rights reserved.
FIGURE 5-29
RT = 35.9 Ohms
IT = VS/RT = > 278mA
Thomas L. Floyd
Electronics Fundamentals, 6e Copyright ©2004 by Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458
Electric Circuit Fundamentals, 6e All rights reserved.
General Current-Divider Formula
• This Formula is for any number of Branches
• The current (Ix) through any branch equals the total parallel
resistance (RT) divided by the resistance (Rx) of that
branch, and then multiplied by the total current (IT)
FIGURE 5-29
278mA
I1 = (35.9 Ohms/100 Ohms)278mA => 99.8mA
I2 = (35.9 Ohms/56 Ohms)278mA => 178mA
Thomas L. Floyd
Electronics Fundamentals, 6e
Electric Circuit Fundamentals, 6e
Total 278mA Copyright ©2004 by Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458
All rights reserved.
Current-Divider Formula for Two
Branches
• This Formula is for Two Branches Only
• The current through one of the branches equals the Other
Branch Divided by the two Branch Resistances Added
together, and then multiplied by the total current (IT)
FIGURE 5-29
278mA
I1 = (56 Ohms/156 Ohms)278mA => 99.8mA
I2 = (100 Ohms/156 Ohms)278mA => 178mA
Thomas L. Floyd
Electronics Fundamentals, 6e
Electric Circuit Fundamentals, 6e
Total 278mA Copyright ©2004 by Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458
All rights reserved.
Power in Parallel Circuits
PT = VSIT
PT = IT2RT
PT = VS2/RT
PT = P1 + P2 + P3 + . . . + Pn
FIGURE 5-29
PT = (10V)(278mA) => 2.78W
Thomas L. Floyd
Electronics Fundamentals, 6e Copyright ©2004 by Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458
Electric Circuit Fundamentals, 6e All rights reserved.
FIGURE 5-27 Examples of parallel circuits in residential wiring and appliances.
Application of Parallel Circuits
Thomas L. Floyd
Electronics Fundamentals, 6e Copyright ©2004 by Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458
Electric Circuit Fundamentals, 6e All rights reserved.
FIGURE 5-26 Simplified diagram of the exterior light system of an automobile. All lights are off when the switches are in the positions
shown.
Application of Parallel Circuits
Thomas L. Floyd
Electronics Fundamentals, 6e Copyright ©2004 by Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458
Electric Circuit Fundamentals, 6e All rights reserved.
Correct? Application of Parallel Circuits
Thomas L. Floyd
Electronics Fundamentals, 6e Copyright ©2004 by Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458
Electric Circuit Fundamentals, 6e All rights reserved.
Troubleshooting
When a lamp filament opens:
1) Total current decreases by the amount of current in the lamp that opened
2) The other branch currents remain unchanged
Thomas L. Floyd
Electronics Fundamentals, 6e Copyright ©2004 by Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458
Electric Circuit Fundamentals, 6e All rights reserved.
Troubleshooting – Open Branch
All other parallel branches have the same voltage and the same current even though total current
decreases.
Thomas L. Floyd
Electronics Fundamentals, 6e Copyright ©2004 by Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458
Electric Circuit Fundamentals, 6e All rights reserved.
Troubleshooting
Open Branch
Measures Full Calculated Current Current Decreases by Current Current Decreases by Current
IT = 50V/85 Ohms = > 589mA Of Open Branch Of Open Branch
IR1 = (85 Ohms/560 Ohms)589mA => 89.3mA
IR2 = (85 Ohms/100 Ohms)589mA => 500mA
Troubleshooting
Shorted Branch
Any Completely Shorted Branch Creates a Short
Directly Across the Source
Thomas L. Floyd
Electronics Fundamentals, 6e Copyright ©2004 by Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458
Electric Circuit Fundamentals, 6e All rights reserved.