A \(120-\mathrm{V}\) house circuit has the following light bulbs turned on:
\(40.0\) \(\mathrm{W}, 60.0 \mathrm{~W}\), and \(175.0 \mathrm{~W}\). Find the
equivalent resistance of these lights.
House circuits are so constructed that each device is connected in parallel
with the others. From \(\mathrm{P}=V I=V^{2} / R\), for the first bulb
$$
R_{1}=\frac{V^{2}}{P_{1}}=\frac{(120 \mathrm{~V})^{2}}{40.0 \mathrm{~W}}=360
\Omega
$$
Similarly, \(R_{2}=240 \Omega\) and \(R_{3}=192 \Omega\). Because devices in a
house circuit are in parallel,
$$
\frac{1}{R_{\mathrm{eq}}}=\frac{1}{360 \Omega}+\frac{1}{240
\Omega}+\frac{1}{192 \Omega} \quad \text { or } \quad R_{\mathrm{eq}}=82.3
\Omega
$$
As a check, note that the total power drawn from the line is \(40.0\)
\(\mathrm{W}+60.0 \mathrm{~W}+75.0 \mathrm{~W}=75.0 \mathrm{~W}\). Then, using
\(\mathrm{P}=V^{2} / R\)
$$
R_{\mathrm{eq}}=\frac{V^{2}}{\text { total power }}=\frac{(120
\mathrm{~V})^{2}}{175.0 \mathrm{~W}}=82.3 \Omega
$$