Add Resistors: Solve Circuit Value

[magnifik]

Homework Statement

http://img8.imageshack.us/img8/4413/81107636.jpg

i'm a noob, and i am having trouble adding resistors. this circuit can be reduced to 1 resistor. what is its value?

Homework Equations

parallel: 1/Rtot=1/R1+1/R2+1/R3+1/R4
series: Rtot=R1+R2+R3+R4

The Attempt at a Solution

so i thought 3, 2, 2 added up in series and you just do 6/8+1/4, but this isn't right. =/ I'm having trouble discerning which resistors are parallel and which are in series. any help would be appreciated.

 

[willem2]

2 resistors R1 and R2 are in series if one connector of R1 is connected to a connector of R2 and nothing else is connected to these connectors. (or if you can determine that no current can flow through such a connection)

None of the resistors here is in series with any other.
The 3 ohm resistance isn't in series with any of the 2 ohm resistances because the point between the 3 ohm resistance and any of the 2 ohm resistances is also connected to the other 2 ohm resistance

2 resistors are parallels if one connector of R1 is connected to a connector of R2 and the other connector of R1 is connected to the other connector of R2. There's only 1 pair of
resistances here that's parallel.

The direction they are drawn in doesn't matter.

Once you combined those resistances, you can look again for a pair of resistances that is in series or parallel.

 

[magnifik]

huh? so are you saying i can disregard the 3 Ohm resistor?
i know the answer is supposed to be 2. i don't know how to get there though.

 

[willem2]

huh? so are you saying i can disregard the 3 Ohm resistor?
i know the answer is supposed to be 2. i don't know how to get there though.

No. I said the 3 ohm resitor isn't in series with any of the 2 ohm resistances. What you have to do is find the pair of resistances that's parallel, combine those and then look for other series of parallel pairs

 

[magnifik]

is 3 parallel with 4 and 2 is parallel with 2?