General exam question G5B02
Subelement G5, ELECTRICAL PRINCIPLES· Group G5B
How does the total current relate to the individual currents in a circuit of parallel resistors?
- A.It equals the average of the branch currents
- B.It decreases as more parallel branches are added to the circuit
- C.It equals the sum of the currents through each branch (correct answer)
- D.It is the sum of the reciprocal of each individual voltage drop
WhyThe total current in a circuit of parallel resistors equals the sum of the currents through each branch. In a parallel resistor circuit, each branch has the same voltage across it but draws its own independent current, and by Kirchhoff's current law the total current supplied equals the sum of all the individual branch currents, answer C. Total current isn't an average of the branch currents, doesn't decrease as branches are added (adding parallel paths only gives current more ways to flow, increasing the total), and isn't computed from the reciprocal of voltage drops, so A, B, and D misstate the relationship.
Published 2026-08-28 · Last updated 2026-08-28 · Question text is verbatim from the 2023-2027 NCVEC Element 3 pool (public domain); the explanation above is original writing, see our methodology.
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