Manual
Symbulator 9 9

Part 6

Equivalents and the load question

Equivalent resistance, Thévenin and Norton at a pair of nodes, and the load answers that come with them.

Last updated 2026-09-11

Two of the four tools answer a question about a circuit instead of solving it. Both take a pair of nodes.

Equivalent resistance

Find equivalent → Resistance / impedance, with the two nodes.

Circuit Description
r1,1,2,100
r2,2,0,200
r3,2,0,300

Across 1 and 0:

equivalent resistance
\[R_{eq} = 220\,\Omega\]

100 Ω in series with 200 ‖ 300. No source is needed and none is present: this is a question about the network, not about a circuit that runs.

If the circuit does contain independent sources, they are suppressed first — voltage sources shorted, current sources opened — which is the textbook procedure. Dependent sources are not suppressed, because they are part of the network's behaviour.

In AC the same tool returns an impedance, and the menu says so.

Thévenin and Norton

Find equivalent → Thévenin / Norton, with the two nodes. One run returns both forms, because they are the same two numbers.

Circuit Description
e,1,0,20
r1,1,2,50
r2,2,0,150

Across 2 and 0:

Thévenin voltage
\[v_{th} = 15\,\mathrm{V}\]
equivalent resistance
\[R_{eq} = \dfrac{75}{2}\,\Omega\]
Norton current
\[i_{no} = \dfrac{2}{5}\,\mathrm{A}\]

The Norton current is reported in the direction it actually flows, from the first node to the second. Carry the sign through rather than assuming a positive value.

A fourth answer comes with those three, unasked:

maximum deliverable power
\[p_{max} = \dfrac{3}{2}\,\mathrm{W}\]

pmax is the maximum power transfer result — the power delivered when the load equals R_eq, which for this circuit is 15²/(4×37.5).

The load question

Under the two node boxes is a tick: Are you running a problem with a load connected to this equivalent circuit? It adds three more answers, each an expression in a symbol load:

irlcurrent in the load
vrlvoltage drop in the load
prlpower consumed in the load

Give load a value in Define and all three become numbers.