alleryStart learning →How is the battery voltage shared among resistors joined in series?
AEach resistor carries the full battery voltage
BThe largest resistor takes the whole voltage
CEvery resistor takes an equal share of it
DThe resistors divide it between themselves
Answer & Solution
Correct answer: D. The resistors divide it between themselves
1. Each series resistor drops IR, and the current I is common to all of them.
2. Adding those drops returns the full battery voltage, so the resistors divide it between them.
3. The shares are equal only when the resistances happen to be equal, since a larger resistance takes a larger drop.
4. Only a resistor connected on its own across the battery, which is a parallel connection, gets the whole voltage.
_Source: OpenStax College Physics (CC BY 4.0), Ch 21 "Circuits and DC Instruments", section 21.1 Resistors in Series and Parallel_
Keep practising Circuits and DC Instruments
Browse all Circuits and DC Instruments questions for B.Tech EEE, or explore more Electrical Engineering topics.
Related questions
A defibrillator with a time constant of 8.00 ms starts at 10.0 kV. About how long does it In an RC charging circuit, when is the current largest?A charged capacitor discharges through a resistor. What fraction of its starting voltage iAn uncharged capacitor is charged through a resistor from a battery. What fraction of its A 1.00 kilohm resistance charges an 8.00 microfarad capacitor. What is the time constant oWhat makes a circuit an RC circuit?Why is the Wheatstone arrangement called a bridge?A potentiometer balances at 1.200 ohm of slide wire for an unknown cell, and at 1.247 ohm