Animated Solution for Physics - Current Electricity: The total current supplied to the circuit by the battery is

When you first look at this circuit, the circular arrangement of the wires might seem intimidating. It looks like a complex web, but this is a classic trap! In ideal circuit diagrams, connecting wires are assumed to have zero resistance. This means any continuous stretch of wire without components acts as a single equipotential node, regardless of whether it's drawn as a straight line, a square, or a circle.

If we carefully trace the path from the $6\text{ V}$ battery terminals, we can identify the common nodes where multiple resistors meet. The entire top arc of the circle is one node, and the entire bottom arc is another. By recognizing this, we can beautifully redraw the circuit into a standard, easy-to-read rectangular format.

Once redrawn, look closely at the top right section. The $2\Omega$ and $6\Omega$ resistors are connected between the exact same two points. This means they are strictly in parallel. Let's calculate their equivalent resistance using the product-over-sum rule:

Now, this new $1.5\Omega$ equivalent resistance is in series with the original $1.5\Omega$ resistor on that branch. We simply add them up to find the total resistance of the top branch:

Look at what we have now. A $3\Omega$ top branch, and a $3\Omega$ middle branch. They are in parallel across the battery. Since they are equal, the equivalent resistance is just half of one of them:

Finally, we need the total current supplied by the $6\text{ V}$ battery. Using Ohm's law, current equals voltage divided by total resistance:

And that is our final answer! Always remember, the physical shape of the wires doesn't matter at all. What matters is where the components connect. Try redrawing complex circuits by identifying common nodes, and you'll avoid silly mistakes.