In a parallel circuit, what happens to voltage and current?

In a parallel circuit, what happens to voltage and current?

• A. Voltage stays the same, yet current splits.
• B. Voltage is divided among branches.
• C. Voltage increases in each branch.
• D. Voltage is zero.

Answer: (A)

In a parallel circuit, all branches are connected across the same two points, so each branch experiences the same potential difference as the supply. This means the voltage across every branch is the same, not divided or changed. The current, however, has multiple paths to take, so it splits between the branches according to each branch’s resistance (I = V/R for each branch). The total current drawn from the source is the sum of the branch currents. So the correct idea is that voltage stays the same across branches while the current splits among them. The other statements don’t fit: voltage is not divided in parallel (that would happen in a series circuit), voltage doesn’t increase in each branch, and it isn’t zero.

In a parallel circuit, all branches are connected across the same two points, so each branch experiences the same potential difference as the supply. This means the voltage across every branch is the same, not divided or changed. The current, however, has multiple paths to take, so it splits between the branches according to each branch’s resistance (I = V/R for each branch). The total current drawn from the source is the sum of the branch currents. So the correct idea is that voltage stays the same across branches while the current splits among them. The other statements don’t fit: voltage is not divided in parallel (that would happen in a series circuit), voltage doesn’t increase in each branch, and it isn’t zero.