Question

Suppose you are doing a physics lab that asks you to put a resistor into a circuit, but all the resistors supplied have a larger resistance than the requested value. How would you connect the available resistances to attempt to get the smaller value asked for?

a) Connect them in series.

b) Connect them in parallel.

c) Connect them in series-parallel combination.

d) It is not possible to achieve a smaller value.

Answer 1

To get a smaller resistance value, connect the available resistors in parallel.

Step-by-step explanation:

In order to get a smaller resistance value, you can connect the available resistors in parallel. When resistors are connected in parallel, the total resistance decreases. In a parallel circuit, each resistor has the same potential drop across it, and the currents through each resistor may be different. The sum of the individual currents equals the current that flows into the parallel connections.