resistance help

[roxas]

what is the smallest resistance that can be obtained by using onlu a 3 ohm resistor and a 12 ohm resistor??

can anyone please tell me why the answer is 2.4ohm??????

i calculATED USING 1/3 = 1/2 AND I GOT 4 OHMS:mad:

thx anyway

[Hootenanny]

Okay, if the resistors are placed in series the effective resistance of the system is simply the sum of the individual resistances (i.e. R_{t}=3+12=15\Omega).

However, if we place the resitors are placed in parallel the effective resistance of the array is....?