Voltage Drops for Parallel Branches

It has been emphasized throughout the Circuits unit of The Physics Classroom
tutorial that whatever voltage boost is acquired by a charge in the battery is lost
by the charge as it passes through the resistors of the external circuit. The total
voltage drop in the external circuit is equal to the gain in voltage as a charge
passes through the internal circuit. In a parallel circuit, a charge does not pass
through every resistor; rather, it passes through a single resistor. Thus, the
entire voltage drop across that resistor must match the battery voltage. It
matters not whether the charge passes through resistor 1, resistor 2, or resistor
3, the voltage drop across the resistor that it chooses to pass through must
equal the voltage of the battery. Put in equation form, this principle would be
expressed as
Vbattery = V1 = V2 = V3 = ...
If three resistors are placed in parallel branches and powered by a 12-volt
battery, then the voltage drop across each one of the three resistors is 12 volts.
A charge flowing through the circuit would only encounter one of these three
resistors and thus encounter a single voltage drop of 12 volts.
Electric potential diagrams were introduced in Lesson 1 of this unit and
subsequently used to illustrate the consecutive voltage drops occurring in series
circuits. An electric potential diagram is a conceptual tool for representing the
electric potential difference between several points on an electric circuit.
Consider the circuit diagram below and its corresponding electric potential
diagram.

As shown in the electric potential diagram, positions A, B, C, E and G are all at a

high electric potential. A single charge chooses only one of the three possible
pathways; thus at position B, a single charge will move towards point C, E or G
and then passes through the resistor that is in that branch. The charge does not
lose its high potential until it passes through the resistor, either from C to D, E to
F, or G to H. Once it passes through a resistor, the charge has returned to nearly
0 Volts and returns to the negative terminal of the battery to obtain its voltage

boost. Unlike in series circuits, a charge in a parallel circuit encounters a single

voltage drop during its path through the external circuit.
The current through a given branch can be predicted using the Ohm's law
equation and the voltage drop across the resistor and the resistance of the
resistor. Since the voltage drop is the same across each resistor, the factor that
determines that resistor has the greatest current is the resistance. The resistor
with the greatest resistance experiences the lowest current and the resistor with
the least resistance experiences the greatest current. In this sense, it could be
said that charge (like people) chooses the path of least resistance. In equation
form, this could be stated as
I1 = V1 / R1
I2 = V2 / R2
I3 = V3 / R3
This principle is illustrated by the circuit shown below. The product of IR is the
same for each resistor (and equal to the battery voltage). Yet the current is
different in each resistor. The current is greatest where the resistance is least
and the current is least where the resistance is greatest.

Mathematical Analysis of Parallel Circuits

The above principles and formulae can be used to analyze a parallel circuit and
determine the values of the current at and electric potential difference across
each of the resistors in a parallel circuit. Their use will be demonstrated by the
mathematical analysis of the circuit shown below. The goal is to use the
formulae to determine the equivalent resistance of the circuit (Req), the current
through the battery (Itot), and the voltage drops and current for each of the three
resistors.

The analysis begins by using the resistance values for the individual resistors in
order to determine the equivalent resistance of the circuit.
1 / Req = 1 / R1 + 1 / R2 + 1 / R3 = (1 / 17 ) + (1 / 12 ) + (1 / 11 )
1 / Req = 0.23306 -1
Req = 1 / (0.23306 -1)
Req = 4.29
(rounded from 4.29063 )
Now that the equivalent resistance is known, the current in the battery can be
determined using the Ohm's law equation. In using the Ohm's law equation (V
= I R) to determine the current in the battery, it is important to use the battery
voltage for V and the equivalent resistance for R. The calculation is shown
here:
Itot = Vbattery / Req = (60 V) / (4.29063 )
Itot = 14.0 amp
(rounded from 13.98396 amp)
The 60 V battery voltage represents the gain in electric potential by a charge as
it passes through the battery. The charge loses this same amount of electric
potential for any given pass through the external circuit. That is, the voltage
drop across each one of the three resistors is the same as the voltage gained in
the battery:
V battery = V1 = V2 = V3 = 60 V
There are three values left to be determined - the current in each of the
individual resistors. Ohm's law is used once more to determine the current values
for each resistor - it is simply the voltage drop across each resistor (60 Volts)
divided by the resistance of each resistor (given in the problem statement). The
calculations are shown below.
I1 = V1 / R1
I1 = (60 V) / (17 )

I2 = V 2 / R2
I2 = (60 V) / (12 )

I3 = V 3 / R3
I3 = (60 V) / (11 )

I1 = 3.53 amp

I2 = 5.00 amp

I3 = 5.45 amp

As a check of the accuracy of the mathematics performed, it is wise to see if the

calculated values satisfy the principle that the sum of the current values for each
individual resistor is equal to the total current in the circuit (or in the battery). In
other words, is Itot = I1 + I2 + I3 ?
Is Itot = I1 + I2 + I3 ?
Is 14.0 amp = 3.53 amp + 5.00 amp + 5.45 amp ?

Is 14.0 amp = 13.98 amp ?

Yes!!
(The 0.02 amp difference is simply the result of having previously rounded the
Itot value from 13.98.)

The mathematical analysis of this parallel circuit involved a blend of concepts and
equations. As is often the case in physics, the divorcing of concepts from
equations when embarking on the solution to a physics problem is a dangerous
act. Here, one must consider the concepts that the voltage drops across each
one of the three resistors is equal to the battery voltage and that the sum of the
current in each resistor is equal to the total current. These understandings are
essential in order to complete the mathematical analysis. In the next part of
Lesson 4, combination or compound circuits in which some devices are in parallel
and others are in series will be investigated.