Two 4 Ω resistors are connected in parallel and then connected in series with a 3 Ω resistor. What is the equivalent resistance of this combination?

Answer 1

Resistance from parallel resistors is given by the following equation.

1/R = 1/4 + 1/4

1/R = 1/2

R = 2

So we can think of the parallel four ohm resistors as being the same as one two ohm resistor that is in series with the three ohm resistor. When two resistors are in series, the equivalent resistance is the simply the sum of the resistances.

So 2 + 3 is 5.

The total equivalent resistance is 5 ohms.