In a parallel circuit with resistors of 4 Ω and 6 Ω, what is the equivalent resistance?

In a parallel circuit with resistors of 4 Ω and 6 Ω, what is the equivalent resistance?

• A. 2.4 Ω
• B. 10 Ω
• C. 1 Ω
• D. 4 Ω

Answer: (A)

In parallel, the overall resistance comes from adding the reciprocals: 1/R_eq = 1/R1 + 1/R2. For 4 Ω and 6 Ω, 1/R_eq = 1/4 + 1/6 = 3/12 + 2/12 = 5/12, so R_eq = 12/5 = 2.4 Ω. The equivalent resistance in parallel is always smaller than the smallest individual resistor, which makes sense here since having multiple paths lowers the total resistance.

In parallel, the overall resistance comes from adding the reciprocals: 1/R_eq = 1/R1 + 1/R2. For 4 Ω and 6 Ω, 1/R_eq = 1/4 + 1/6 = 3/12 + 2/12 = 5/12, so R_eq = 12/5 = 2.4 Ω. The equivalent resistance in parallel is always smaller than the smallest individual resistor, which makes sense here since having multiple paths lowers the total resistance.