Effective resistance between two points

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To determine the effective resistance between two points in a circuit, it's crucial to identify whether resistors are in series or parallel. In the discussed circuit, three 6-ohm resistors are confirmed to be in parallel since they share the same voltage difference but have different currents. The effective resistance can be calculated using the formula for parallel resistors, resulting in a total resistance of 2 ohms. This method of identifying parallel versus series resistors by analyzing current and voltage is applicable to all resistor circuits. Understanding these principles is essential for accurate circuit analysis.
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Hey guys, I'm having a little troublt with rearranging resistors in a circuit to identify which are parallel and which are in series so I can decide how they should be added; RTotal = R1 + R2 or RTotal = 1/R1 + 1/R2.

Taking that each of the three resistors in the circuit shown (diagram attached) has a resistance of 6 ohms, what is the effective resistance between X and Y? The answer key shows that the three are parallel and if that is so, I knw how to calculate the effective resistance to get 2 ohms.

However, I'm not sure how to identify if they are parallel or not from the diagram. Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks.
 

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One little rule to make that decision is this: series elements have the same current, while parallel elements have the same voltage difference.
 
One little rule to make that decision is this: series elements have the same current, while parallel elements have the same voltage difference.

Ok, so from the diagram I can see that the three resistors have different current passing through them but have the same voltage difference so the MUST be parallel, right? Is this method standard for all examples? Thanks for the help.
 
Yes, same voltage means they are in parallel. And I'm pretty sure this method does work for any resistor circuit.
 

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