In a parallel circuit with three 6-ohm resistors across a 12-volt battery, what is the total current (I)?

• A. 12 amps
• B. 6 amps
• C. 2 amps
• D. 1 amp

Answer: (B)

In a parallel circuit, the voltage across each resistor is the same and currents add up from each branch. Each 6-ohm resistor sees the full 12 volts, so the current in each branch is 12 V / 6 Ω = 2 A. With three branches, the total current is 3 × 2 A = 6 A. You can also view it by combining the resistors in parallel: 1/R_total = 1/6 + 1/6 + 1/6 = 1/2, so R_total = 2 Ω, and I = 12 V / 2 Ω = 6 A. The other currents (12 A, 2 A, 1 A) would require total resistances of 1 Ω, 6 Ω, or 12 Ω, which don’t match three 6-Ω resistors in parallel.