What is the current through the battery in the circuit shown below

step 1: check polarity properly

The battery makes the left node at higher potential than the right node.

Now look at both diodes:

• In the top branch, diode is oriented left → right
• In the bottom branch, diode is also oriented left → right (same direction — just drawn differently)

step 2: circuit simplification

Both branches conduct, so we have:

• two 20 Ω resistors
• in parallel

step 3: equivalent resistance

$$R_{eq}=20∥20=(20\times20)/(20+20)=400/40=10Ω$$

step 4: current through battery

$$I=V/R=5/10=0.5A$$