Series Resistor Problem: Finding the Equivalent Resistance

[Mdhiggenz]

Homework Statement

Homework Equations

The Attempt at a Solution

What I did was I knew that the their are two resistors in series

1/req= 1/R + 1/R = 1/2R

req= 2R

Where I get confused is how do I include the other resistor since I believe that it is in series?

 

[Basic_Physics]

The two resistors on the left are in parallel , that is the current splits up through the two branches before going through the last one.

 

[Mdhiggenz]

Wow my addition was off... I figured it out, it is supposed to be 2/R and since like you said it splits up the total resistance would be req=R/2

R/2 +R = 3R/2

 

[Basic_Physics]

Got it.

 

[Nickie]

In this problem, we are trying to find the equivalent resistance (req) of a series circuit with two resistors. To solve this, we can use the formula 1/req = 1/R1 + 1/R2, where R1 and R2 are the individual resistances. Based on the given information, we know that R1 = R and R2 = R, as both resistors are in series. Substituting these values into the formula, we get 1/req = 1/R + 1/R = 2/R. To find the equivalent resistance, we can take the reciprocal of both sides, giving us req = R/2. This means that the equivalent resistance is half of the individual resistance. We can also see that this is the same result as what you calculated, which is req = 2R. This shows that both methods are correct and can be used to solve series resistor problems.