A 20 V potential difference is applied across a 10 Ω resistor and a 30 Ω resistor connected in parallel. The current in the 10 Ω resistor is

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A 20 V potential difference is applied across a 10 Ω resistor and a 30 Ω resistor connected in parallel. The current in the 10 Ω resistor is

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The setup has two resistors in parallel, each across the same potential difference of 20 V.
Option 1: 1/2 A. This would imply a branch resistance of V/I = 20 V / 0.5 A = 40 Ω if it were the current through a single branch, which does not match either resistor value here, so it’s incorrect for the 10 Ω branch.
Option 2: 3 A. This would require a branch current of 3 A, giving a branch resistance of 20 V / 3 A ≈ 6.67 Ω, not equal to the 10 Ω resistor, so this cannot be the current in the 10 Ω branch.
Option 3: 2 A. For a resistor of 10 Ω with 20 V across it, the current is I = V/R = 20/10 = 2 A. This directly matches Ohm’s law for the 10 Ω branch, making it the correct branch current.
Option 4: 2.67 A. This value is the total current supplied by the source to the parallel combination, computed from the equivalent resistance: parallel of 10 Ω and 30 Ω gives Req = (10×30)/(10+30) = 300/40 = 7.5 Ω, so Itotal = 20/7.5 ≈ 2.667 A. This is not the current in the 10 Ω resistor, but the combined current through both branches.
Thus, the 10 Ω branch current is 2 A, while 2.67 A represents the total current in the circuit, not the current through the 10 Ω resistor.

APPHYSC142-031 with labs Exam Review - Final

A 20 V potential difference is applied across a 10 Ω resistor and a 30 Ω resistor connected in parallel. The current in the 10 Ω resistor is

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