Prepare for the Automotive Service Technician Period 1 exam. Study with flashcards and multiple choice questions, each question has hints and explanations. Get ready for your exam!

Multiple Choice

Resistance of a circuit decreases if which condition occurs?

A short creates a path of nearly zero resistance, so the overall resistance of the circuit drops. When a short occurs, current takes the easiest route and bypasses other resistive elements. In a series arrangement, bypassing components reduces the total resistance by removing parts of the circuit from contributing to resistance. In a parallel arrangement, the short adds a very low-resistance branch, pulling the equivalent resistance down toward zero. The other options don’t reliably lower resistance: increasing temperature usually raises resistance in most conductors; adding a resistor in series increases the total resistance; increasing voltage changes current but not the resistance of a fixed element.

A short creates a path of nearly zero resistance, so the overall resistance of the circuit drops. When a short occurs, current takes the easiest route and bypasses other resistive elements. In a series arrangement, bypassing components reduces the total resistance by removing parts of the circuit from contributing to resistance. In a parallel arrangement, the short adds a very low-resistance branch, pulling the equivalent resistance down toward zero. The other options don’t reliably lower resistance: increasing temperature usually raises resistance in most conductors; adding a resistor in series increases the total resistance; increasing voltage changes current but not the resistance of a fixed element.