🔍 Key Concepts
• Electric power formula in DC circuits: P=V×I and alternatives P=I2R, P=RV2
• Behavior of voltage and current in a parallel circuit (what is the same across each branch, what is different)
• How total current and total power relate to the sum of the branch currents and powers
💭 Think About
• In a parallel circuit, what is the same across each load: voltage or current? How does that affect the power used by each branch?
• If you plug several heaters into the same bus (parallel), does the ship’s generator see only the largest heater, or all of them together? What does that suggest about total power?
• Write the power for each branch as P1,P2,P3,.... How would you express what the generator must supply to feed all branches at once?
✅ Before You Answer
• Verify how total current in a parallel circuit is calculated compared to individual branch currents.
• Check whether total power can ever be less than every individual branch’s power when all branches are operating.
• Confirm whether any option that involves dividing by the number of loads matches what you know about conservation of energy and how generators are sized.