Cracking the SAT Physics Subject Test

(Marvins-Underground-K-12) #1

Resistors in parallel share the same voltage drop. So we take the voltage drop, V =


4 V, back to diagram. The voltage drop across each of the two parallel resistors


in diagram is 4 V.


Since we know the voltage drop across each resistor, we can figure out the current


through each resistor by using the equation. The current through the 3 Ω


resistor is , and the current through the 6 Ω resistor is.
Notice that the current entering the parallel combination (2 A) equals the total


current passing through the individual resistors ( A + A).


Finally, we will calculate the power dissipated as heat by each resistor. We can use


any of the equivalent formulas: P = IV, P = I^2 R, or P = V^2 /R.

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