If three identical resistors are connected in series, what is the total resistance?

• A. Sum of the resistances
• B. Product
• C. Half
• D. Difference

Answer: (A)

When components are in series, the same current flows through every piece, and the total resistance is found by adding the individual resistances. Each resistor adds a portion of the overall resistance, so the voltages drop across them add up to the total voltage. If each resistor has resistance R, then the total resistance is R + R + R = 3R. The other options don’t reflect how series circuits behave: multiplying would not describe how resistances combine in series, halving would come from a parallel arrangement of two equal resistors (giving R/2), and taking a difference doesn’t apply to how resistances add in series.