In a parallel circuit, if one lamp goes out, what happens to the others?

In a parallel circuit, if one lamp goes out, what happens to the others?

• A. They go out
• B. They dim
• C. They stay on
• D. They flicker

Answer: (C)

In a parallel circuit, each lamp is connected directly across the same two points of the supply, so every lamp gets the full supply voltage independently of the others. If one lamp stops conducting, its branch opens, but the other branches still have the same voltage across them, so they stay lit with essentially the same brightness. The total current from the source simply decreases by the amount that was flowing through the failed lamp, not by taking power away from the remaining lamps. This is different from a series circuit, where a failure breaks the entire path and all lamps go out.

In a parallel circuit, each lamp is connected directly across the same two points of the supply, so every lamp gets the full supply voltage independently of the others. If one lamp stops conducting, its branch opens, but the other branches still have the same voltage across them, so they stay lit with essentially the same brightness. The total current from the source simply decreases by the amount that was flowing through the failed lamp, not by taking power away from the remaining lamps. This is different from a series circuit, where a failure breaks the entire path and all lamps go out.