Equivalent Resistance

The actual amount of current always varies inversely with the amount of overall
resistance. There is a clear relationship between the resistance of the individual
resistors and the overall resistance of the collection of resistors. To explore this
relationship, let's begin with the simplest case of two resistors placed in parallel
branches, each having the same resistance value of 4 . Since the circuit offers
two equal pathways for charge flow, only one-half the charge will choose to pass
through a given branch. While each individual branch offers 4 of resistance to
any charge that flows through it, only one-half of all the charge flowing through
the circuit will encounter the 4 resistance of that individual branch. Thus, as
far as the battery that is pumping the charge is concerned, the presence of two
4- resistors in parallel would be equivalent to having one 2- resistor in the
circuit. In the same manner, the presence of two 6- resistors in parallel would
be equivalent to having one 3- resistor in the circuit. And the presence of two
12- resistors in parallel would be equivalent to having one 6- resistor in the
circuit.

Now let's consider another simple case of having three resistors in parallel, each
having the same resistance of 6 . With three equal pathways for charge to flow
through the external circuit, only one-third the charge will choose to pass
through a given branch. Each individual branch offers 6 of resistance to the
charge that passes through it. However, the fact that only one-third of the
charge passes through a particular branch means that the overall resistance of
the circuit is 2 . As far as the battery that is pumping the charge is concerned,
the presence of three 6- resistors in parallel would be equivalent to having one
2- resistor in the circuit. In the same manner, the presence of three 9-
resistors in parallel would be equivalent to having one 3- resistor in the circuit.
And the presence of three 12- resistors in parallel would be equivalent to
having one 4- resistor in the circuit.

This is the concept of equivalent resistance. The equivalent resistance of a

circuit is the amount of resistance that a single resistor would need in order to
equal the overall effect of the collection of resistors that are present in the
circuit. For parallel circuits, the mathematical formula for computing the
equivalent resistance (Req) is
1 / Req = 1 / R1 + 1 / R2 + 1 / R3 + ...
where R1, R2, and R3 are the resistance values of the individual resistors that are
connected in parallel. The examples above could be considered simple cases in
which all the pathways offer the same amount of resistance to an individual
charge that passes through it. The simple cases above were done without the
use of the equation. Yet the equation fits both the simple cases where branch
resistors have the same resistance values and the more difficult cases where
branch resistors have different resistance values. For instance, consider the
application of the equation to the one simple and one difficult case below.
Case 1: Three 12 resistors
are placed in parallel

1/Req = 1/R1 + 1/R2 + 1/R3

1/Req = 1/(12 ) + 1/(12 ) + 1/(12 )
Using a calculator ...
1/Req = 0.25 -1
Req = 1 / (0.25 -1)
Req = 4.0

Case 2: A 5.0 , 7.0 , and

1/Req = 1/R1 + 1/R2 + 1/R3

12 resistor are placed in

parallel

1/Req = 1/(5.0 ) + 1/(7.0 ) + 1/(12 )

Using a calculator ...
1/Req = 0.42619 -1
Req = 1 / (0.42619 -1)
Req = 2.3