In a parallel circuit, how does current split?

• A. Proportional to each branch's conductance; more current through lower resistance.
• B. Equally split among all branches.
• C. Inversely proportional to branch length.
• D. Entirely determined by the source voltage.

Answer: (A)

Current in a parallel circuit divides according to each branch’s conductance. Since the voltage across every branch is the same, each branch draws current equal to V divided by its resistance (I = V/R). That means branches with lower resistance (higher conductance) pull more current, while higher-resistance branches draw less. The total source current is the sum of all branch currents, and the distribution reflects the relative conductances. So more current goes through the branch with the lower resistance. The other ideas don’t hold in general: equal sharing only happens if all resistances are equal, length isn’t the controlling factor by itself, and the source voltage sets the voltage across branches but not the split alone.