Find the Current passing through the Resistor.

[Lawlbear]

Hi, forum. This is my first time posting and I was curious if someone would mind looking over my work for a problem? I need to find the current passing through R1 and R5, the picture below shows the problem and my attempt at a solution.

In the picture there are three main equations I used, left means the left loop of the circuit, middle means the middle loop, and big right means the loop excluding the left loop. Also at the very bottom the follows sentence gets cut off on the scan, it should say: "I5=3.46A so current passing through R5=3.46"

Thanks in advance for any help and corrections!
EDIT: I had originally put "find the resistance through R1 and R2" This was a typo, I meant find the Resistance through R1 and R5.

http://img707.imageshack.us/img707/8044/scan0003tu.jpg

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[gneill]

In your third loop, comprising V1, V2, R5, and R3, note that the two batteries have opposite polarities; as you traverse the loop, you should see a voltage rise from one and a voltage drop from the other.

 

[Lawlbear]

Thank you for your reply. Does this mean I should have subtracted the second voltage(V2) in the equation of my big right loop?

 

[gneill]

It would appear that you're going around the loop clockwise (in the shown directions of I5 and I3, so that V2 would represent a voltage rise, while V1 would represent a voltage drop. That is,

V2 - V1 - I5*R5 - I3*R3 = 0

 

[rwisz]

Hello and welcome to the forum! I am happy to look over your work and provide feedback.

Firstly, I would like to point out that the equations you have used are correct and you have correctly identified the different loops in the circuit. However, there is a small mistake in your solution. You have correctly calculated the current passing through R1 as 3.46A, but the current passing through R5 is not 3.46A. Instead, it should be 3.46A + 2A = 5.46A. This is because the current from the middle loop (2A) also passes through R5.

So, the corrected solution is: I1 = 3.46A, I5 = 5.46A, and the current passing through R5 is 5.46A.

I hope this helps! Keep up the good work and don't hesitate to ask for help if needed. Science is all about collaboration and learning from each other. Good luck!