Question

What is the equivalent resistance for the resistors in the figure above?

Answer 1

We will have the following:

We calculate the equivalent resistance as follows:

First, we determine the two resistances in series, that is:

$R_1=6\Omega+10\Omega\Rightarrow R_1=16\Omega$

Now, using this we calculate the equivalent resistance in parallel:

$\begin{gathered} \frac{1}{R_2}=\frac{1}{16\Omega}+\frac{1}{4\Omega}\Rightarrow\frac{1}{R_2}=\frac{5}{16\Omega} \\ \\ \Rightarrow R_2=\frac{16}{5}\Omega\Rightarrow R_2=3.2\Omega \end{gathered}$

And finally, the total equivalent resistance will be given by the two remaining series:

$R_3=2\Omega+3.2\Omega\Rightarrow R_3=5.2\Omega$

So, the total equivalent resistance is 5.2 Ohms.