How Do You Calculate Current in Different Parts of a Circuit?

[mblair90]

1. In the circuit of the figure, find the current supplied by the battery.

2. Find the current through the 6\Omega resistor.

Attempt at a solution:

To find the total current supplied by the battery I tried:

\frac{6*4*2}{6+4+2} = 4\Omega

Then I did that resistance in series with the other:

4 + 1 = 5\Omega

Then I figured to find the current I would use I=\frac{V}{R} giving I=\frac{6}{5}. But 6/5 is not the answer for part A apparently. And I have no idea how to get part B.

 

[Brian-san]

To find the total current in the circuit provided by the battery, you need the total resistance. Have you learned the equations for combining resistors in series/parallel? You use that to determine the total effective resistance for the parallel section if it was replaced by a single resistor in series. Then combine that value with the 1ohm one in series.

To find the current through a resistor in parallel, you need to know how current is split in parallel circuits.