Does adding more resistors in a parallel circuit increase or decrease the total resistance?

Does adding more resistors in a parallel circuit increase or decrease the total resistance?

• A. Decreases the overall resistance
• B. Increases the overall resistance
• C. Keeps the same
• D. Varies unpredictably

Answer: (A)

In parallel circuits, adding more resistors creates more paths for current to flow while the voltage across each path stays the same. Because current adds up across those paths, the total current increases for the same voltage, and since resistance is V divided by I, the overall resistance must decrease. This is captured by 1/R_total = 1/R1 + 1/R2 + ...; each new resistor adds another positive term to the sum of reciprocals, pushing R_total lower. So the total resistance decreases when you add more finite resistors in parallel. (If the added element were an open circuit with infinite resistance, it wouldn’t change the network, but with normal resistors the total resistance drops.)

In parallel circuits, adding more resistors creates more paths for current to flow while the voltage across each path stays the same. Because current adds up across those paths, the total current increases for the same voltage, and since resistance is V divided by I, the overall resistance must decrease. This is captured by 1/R_total = 1/R1 + 1/R2 + ...; each new resistor adds another positive term to the sum of reciprocals, pushing R_total lower. So the total resistance decreases when you add more finite resistors in parallel. (If the added element were an open circuit with infinite resistance, it wouldn’t change the network, but with normal resistors the total resistance drops.)