How do you calculate the total current in a parallel circuit?

In a parallel circuit, the total current can be calculated by adding the currents through each individual branch together. This is due to the nature of parallel circuits, where each branch operates independently of the others. When a voltage is applied across the parallel branches, the total current supplied by the source is equal to the sum of the currents flowing through all the branches.

This principle is rooted in Kirchhoff's Current Law, which states that the total current entering a junction must equal the total current leaving the junction. In practical terms, if you have multiple paths for current to flow, the overall current supplied to the circuit is distributed among those paths, determined by the resistance or impedance of each branch.

The other choices do not effectively represent how current behaves in parallel circuits. Multiplying currents from different branches would not yield a meaningful value and does not reflect the additive nature of current in parallel configurations. Taking an average does not account for the individual characteristics of each branch and similarly would not provide a correct representation of total current. Lastly, focusing on the current from the largest branch ignores contributions from all other branches, which would result in an incomplete and inaccurate calculation of total current.