Chapter 6

Parallel dc Circuits

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OBJECTIVES
• Become familiar with the characteristics of
a parallel network and how to solve for the
voltage, current, and power to each
element.
• Develop a clear understanding of
Kirchhoff’s current law and its importance
to the analysis of electric circuits.
• Become aware of how the source current
will split between parallel elements and
how to properly apply the current divider
rule.
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OBJECTIVES

• Clearly understand the impact of

open and short circuits on the
behavior of a network.
• Learn how to use an ohmmeter,
voltmeter, and ammeter to measure
the important parameters of a parallel
network.

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PARALLEL RESISTORS

• The term parallel is used so often to

describe a physical arrangement
between two elements that most
individuals are aware of its general
characteristics.
– In general, two elements, branches, or
circuits are in parallel if they have two
points in common.

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PARALLEL RESISTORS

FIG. 6.1 (a) Parallel resistors; (b) R1 and R2 are in parallel; (c) R3 is in parallel with the
series combination of R1 and R2.

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PARALLEL RESISTORS

FIG. 6.2 Schematic representations of three parallel resistors.

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PARALLEL RESISTORS

• For resistors in parallel as shown in Fig.

6.3, the total resistance is determined from
the following equation:

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PARALLEL RESISTORS

• Since G = 1/R, the equation can also be

written in terms of conductance levels as
follows:

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PARALLEL RESISTORS

FIG. 6.3 Parallel combination of resistors.

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PARALLEL RESISTORS

• In general, however, when the total

resistance is desired, the following format
is applied:

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PARALLEL RESISTORS

FIG. 6.5 Parallel resistors for Example 6.2.

FIG. 6.4 Parallel resistors for Example 6.1.

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PARALLEL RESISTORS

FIG. 6.6 Network to be investigated in Example 6.3.

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PARALLEL RESISTORS

FIG. 6.7 Network in Fig. 6.6 redrawn. FIG. 6.8 Adding a parallel 100 resistor to
the network in Fig. 6.4.

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PARALLEL RESISTORS

FIG. 6.9 Three equal parallel resistors to be investigated in Example 6.5.

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PARALLEL RESISTORS

FIG. 6.11 Network in Fig. 6.10

redrawn.

FIG. 6.10 Parallel configuration for

Example 6.6.

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PARALLEL RESISTORS
Special Case: Two Parallel Resistors
• In the vast majority of cases, only two or
three parallel resistors will have to be
combined.
• With this in mind, an equation has been
derived for two parallel resistors that is
easy to apply and removes the need to
continually worry about dividing into 1 and
possibly misplacing a decimal point.
• For three parallel resistors, the equation to
be derived here can be applied twice, or
Eq. (6.3) can be used.
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PARALLEL RESISTORS
Special Case: Two Parallel Resistors

FIG. 6.12 Reduced equivalent in Fig. 6.7.

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PARALLEL RESISTORS
Special Case: Two Parallel Resistors

FIG. 6.13 Parallel network for Example 6.9.

FIG. 6.14 Redrawn network in Fig. 6.13
(Example 6.9).

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PARALLEL RESISTORS
Special Case: Two Parallel Resistors

FIG. 6.15 Parallel network for FIG. 6.16 Parallel network for Example
Example 6.10. 6.11.

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PARALLEL RESISTORS
Instrumentation

FIG. 6.17 Using an ohmmeter to measure the total resistance of a parallel network.

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PARALLEL CIRCUITS
• A parallel circuit can
now be established by
connecting a supply
across a set of parallel
resistors as shown in
Fig. 6.18.
• The positive terminal
of the supply is directly
connected to the top
of each resistor, while
the negative terminal FIG. 6.18 Parallel
is connected to the network.

bottom of each
resistor.

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PARALLEL CIRCUITS

• In general, the voltage is always the

same across parallel elements.
– Therefore, remember that if two
elements are in parallel, the voltage
across them must be the same.
However, if the voltage across two
neighboring elements is the same,
the two elements may or may not be
in parallel.

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PARALLEL CIRCUITS

FIG. 6.19 Replacing the parallel resistors

in Fig. 6.18 with the equivalent total
resistance. FIG. 6.20 Mechanical analogy for
Fig. 6.18.

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PARALLEL CIRCUITS

• For single-source parallel networks, the

source current (Is) is always equal to
the sum of the individual branch
currents.

FIG. 6.21 Demonstrating the duality that exists between series

and parallel circuits.

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PARALLEL CIRCUITS

FIG. 6.23 Parallel network for

FIG. 6.22 Parallel network for Example 6.13.
Example 6.12.

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PARALLEL CIRCUITS

FIG. 6.24 Parallel network for Example 6.14.

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PARALLEL CIRCUITS
Instrumentation

FIG. 6.25 Measuring the voltages of a parallel dc

network.

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PARALLEL CIRCUITS
Instrumentation

FIG. 6.26 Measuring the source current of a parallel network.

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PARALLEL CIRCUITS
Instrumentation

FIG. 6.27 Measuring the current through

resistor R1.

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POWER DISTRIBUTION IN A
PARALLEL CIRCUIT
• Recall from the discussion of series circuits
that the power applied to a series resistive
circuit equals the power dissipated by the
resistive elements.
• The same is true for parallel resistive
networks.
– In fact, for any network composed of
resistive elements, the power applied by the
battery will equal that dissipated by the
resistive elements.

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POWER DISTRIBUTION IN A
PARALLEL CIRCUIT

FIG. 6.28 Power flow in a dc parallel

network.

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POWER DISTRIBUTION IN A
PARALLEL CIRCUIT

FIG. 6.29 Parallel network for Example 6.15.

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KIRCHHOFF’S CURRENT LAW
• In the previous chapter, Kirchhoff’s voltage
law was introduced, providing a very
important relationship among the voltages
of a closed path.
• Kirchhoff is also credited with developing
the following equally important relationship
between the currents of a network, called
Kirchhoff’s current law (KCL):
– The algebraic sum of the currents entering
and leaving a junction (or region) of a
network is zero.

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KIRCHHOFF’S CURRENT LAW

FIG. 6.30 Introducing Kirchhoff ’s current law.

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KIRCHHOFF’S CURRENT LAW

FIG. 6.31 (a) Demonstrating Kirchhoff ’s current law; (b) the water analogy for
the junction in (a).

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KIRCHHOFF’S CURRENT LAW

• In technology, the term node is commonly

used to refer to a junction of two or more
branches.

FIG. 6.32 Two-node configuration for Example 6.16.

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KIRCHHOFF’S CURRENT LAW

FIG. 6.33 Four-node configuration for Example 6.17.

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KIRCHHOFF’S CURRENT LAW

FIG. 6.34 Network for Example 6.18.

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KIRCHHOFF’S CURRENT LAW

FIG. 6.35 Parallel network for Example 6.19.

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KIRCHHOFF’S CURRENT LAW

FIG. 6.36 Redrawn network in Fig.

6.35.
FIG. 6.37 Integrated circuit for
Example 6.20.

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CURRENT DIVIDER RULE

• For series circuits we have the

powerful voltage divider rule for
finding the voltage across a resistor in
a series circuit.
• We now introduce the equally
powerful current divider rule (CDR)
for finding the current through a
resistor in a parallel circuit.

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CURRENT DIVIDER RULE

• In general:
– For two parallel elements of equal
value, the current will divide equally.
– For parallel elements with different
values, the smaller the resistance, the
greater is the share of input current.
– For parallel elements of different
values, the current will split with a
ratio equal to the inverse of their
resistance values.

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CURRENT DIVIDER RULE

FIG. 6.38 Discussing the manner in FIG. 6.39 Parallel network for Example
which the current will split between three 6.21.
parallel branches of different resistive
value.

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CURRENT DIVIDER RULE

FIG. 6.40 Deriving the current divider rule: (a) parallel network of N parallel resistors; (b)
reduced equivalent of part (a).

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CURRENT DIVIDER RULE

FIG. 6.41 Using the current divider rule to calculate

current I1 in Example 6.22.

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CURRENT DIVIDER RULE

• Note also that for a parallel network,

the current through the smallest
resistor will be very close to the
total entering current if the other
parallel elements of the
configuration are much larger in
magnitude.

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CURRENT DIVIDER RULE
Special Case: Two Parallel Resistors

FIG. 6.42 Deriving the current divider rule

for the special case of only two parallel
resistors.

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CURRENT DIVIDER RULE
Special Case: Two Parallel Resistors

FIG. 6.44 A design-type problem for two

FIG. 6.43 Using the current divider parallel resistors (Example 6.24).
rule to determine current I2 in
Example 6.23.

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CURRENT DIVIDER RULE
Special Case: Two Parallel Resistors

FIG. 6.45 Demonstrating how current divides through equal and unequal parallel
resistors.

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VOLTAGE SOURCES IN PARALLEL

• Because the voltage is the same

across parallel elements, voltage
sources can be placed in parallel
only if they have the same voltage.
• The primary reason for placing two or
more batteries or supplies in parallel
is to increase the current rating above
that of a single supply.

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VOLTAGE SOURCES IN PARALLEL

FIG. 6.46 Demonstrating the effect of placing two ideal supplies of the same voltage
in parallel.

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VOLTAGE SOURCES IN PARALLEL

• If for some reason two batteries of different

voltages are placed in parallel, both will become
ineffective or damaged because the battery with
the larger voltage will rapidly discharge through
the battery with the smaller terminal voltage.

FIG. 6.47 Examining the impact of placing

two lead-acid batteries of different terminal
voltages in parallel.

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VOLTAGE SOURCES IN PARALLEL

• In general, it is always
recommended that when you are
replacing batteries in series or
parallel, replace all the batteries.

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OPEN AND SHORT CIRCUITS

• Open circuits and short circuits can

often cause more confusion and
difficulty in the analysis of a system
than standard series or parallel
configurations.
• An open circuit is two isolated
terminals not connected by an
element of any kind, as shown in Fig.
6.48(a).

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OPEN AND SHORT CIRCUITS

• Since a path for conduction does not exist,

the current associated with an open circuit
must always be zero.
• The voltage across the open circuit,
however, can be any value, as determined
by the system it is connected to.
– In summary, therefore, an open circuit can
have a potential difference (voltage) across
its terminals, but the current is always zero
amperes.

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OPEN AND SHORT CIRCUITS

FIG. 6.48 Defining an open

circuit.

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OPEN AND SHORT CIRCUITS

FIG. 6.49 Examples of

open circuits.

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OPEN AND SHORT CIRCUITS

• A short circuit is a
very low
resistance, direct
connection
between two
terminals of a
network.
FIG. 6.50 Defining a short
circuit.

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OPEN AND SHORT CIRCUITS

• In summary, therefore, a short

circuit can carry a current of a level
determined by the external circuit,
but the potential difference
(voltage) across its terminals is
always zero volts.

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OPEN AND SHORT CIRCUITS

FIG. 6.51 Demonstrating the effect of a short circuit on current levels.

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OPEN AND SHORT CIRCUITS

FIG. 6.52 Examples of short circuits.

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OPEN AND SHORT CIRCUITS

FIG. 6.53 Network for Example 6.25. FIG. 6.54 Network for Example 6.26.

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OPEN AND SHORT CIRCUITS

FIG. 6.55 Circuit in Fig. 6.54

redrawn.

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OPEN AND SHORT CIRCUITS

FIG. 6.56 Networks for Example 6.27.

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OPEN AND SHORT CIRCUITS

FIG. 6.57 Solutions to Example 6.27.

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OPEN AND SHORT CIRCUITS

FIG. 6.58 Network for Example 6.28. FIG. 6.59 Network in Fig. 6.58 with R2
replaced by a jumper.

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SUMMARY TABLE
• Now that the series and parallel
configurations have been covered in detail,
we will review the salient equations and
characteristics of each.
• The equations for one can often be
obtained directly from the other by simply
applying the duality principle.
• Duality between equations means that the
format for an equation can be applied to
two different situations by just changing the
variable of interest.
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SUMMARY TABLE

TABLE 6.1 Summary table.

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TROUBLESHOOTING TECHNIQUES

• The art of troubleshooting is not

limited solely to electrical or electronic
systems.
– In the broad sense, troubleshooting is
a process by which acquired
knowledge and experience are used
to localize a problem and offer or
implement a solution.

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TROUBLESHOOTING TECHNIQUES

FIG. 6.62 A malfunctioning network.

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PROTOBOARDS (BREADBOARDS)

FIG. 6.63 Using a protoboard to set up the circuit in Fig. 6.17.

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APPLICATIONS

• One of the most important advantages of

the parallel configuration is that if one
branch of the configuration should fail
(open circuit), the remaining branches
will still have full operating power.
• Another important advantage is that
branches can be added at any time
without affecting the behavior of those
already in place.

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APPLICATIONS
Car System

FIG. 6.64 Expanded view of an automobile’s electrical system.

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APPLICATIONS
Car System

FIG. 6.65 Car fuses: (a) fuse link; (b) plug-in.

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APPLICATIONS
House Wiring

FIG. 6.66 Single phase of house wiring: (a) physical details; (b) schematic representation.

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APPLICATIONS
House Wiring

FIG. 6.67 Continuous ground

connection in a duplex outlet.

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APPLICATIONS
Parallel Computer Bus Connections

FIG. 6.68 (a) Motherboard for a desktop computer;

(b) the printed circuit board connections for the
region indicated in part (a).

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COMPUTER ANALYSIS
Multisim

FIG. 6.70 Using the indicators of Multisim to display

the currents of a parallel dc network.

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