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Celluhh
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Homework Statement
ceiling light are connected in a parallel circuit, if one of the light bulbs burns out, will the other two bulbs be brighter?
pls help me >.< my science exam is tomorrow.:(
Celluhh said:it shouldn't affect right?
That is true. Emphasise how, with parallel branches, the current through each branch is independent of that through the others, because the arrangement causes the full mains voltage to be applied across each branch.Celluhh said:erm well the voltage supplied to each of both bulbs doesn't change and their resistance doesn't change either which is why the current and brightness of the bulbs do not change. is this correct?
That's true, as far as it goes. But if the voltmeter did draw a lot of current, then, in general, it will affect the voltage that is powering the bulb. This won't happen with mains voltage, but is likely to happen where you are using batteries or lower-power sources. To ensure that you can connect a voltmeter to practically any circuit, and be confident that it will not upset that circuit, voltmeters are designed to have a high resistance.Celluhh said:why does a voltmeter have to have high resistance? shouldn't it not affect the brightness of the bulb in the circuit at all cos it is connected in parallel to the bulb?
NascentOxygen said:That's true, as far as it goes. But if the voltmeter did draw a lot of current, then, in general, it will affect the voltage that is powering the bulb. This won't happen with mains voltage, but is likely to happen where you are using batteries or lower-power sources.
Because no voltage source is perfect. It's as though they have a smallish resistor in series with their terminals. If you cause more current to be drawn from the source, the voltage it supplies decreases by a bit.Celluhh said:but why would it affect?
NascentOxygen said:Because no voltage source is perfect. It's as though they have a smallish resistor in series with their terminals. If you cause more current to be drawn from the source, the voltage it supplies decreases by a bit.
Celluhh said:oh so now your viewing it as overall resistance in a parallel circuit? by the way, how do we know when to view the total resistance in the circuit and when to view the individual reisistance of the sub circuits?
NascentOxygen said:Yes, the imperfection in a voltage source appears like a small series resistor; it's in series with whatever circuit you connect to the battery. Most of the time, you can ignore it because its effect is generally slight. But the designer needs to keep it in mind, to ensure it doesn't become a significant problem.
Generally you only consider the resistors that you are told about, in school science questions.
NascentOxygen said:Going back to your original question. If one of the ceiling bulbs burns out, the others will continue glowing unaffected.
But if you were powering 3 small light bulbs off a couple of C cells, and one of the bulbs burnt out, you would probably notice the other two glow a tiny bit brighter, because with fewer bulbs to power, the battery would be supplying slightly more voltage. That's a characteristic of batteries: the more current you draw from them, the lower (slightly) the voltage the battery puts out.
The one you gave earlier on. If one of the ceiling bulbs burns out, the others will continue glowing unaffected for the reasons you gave.Celluhh said:hmm ok but what's the proper answer i should give if this were an exam question?
A parallel circuit is a type of electrical circuit where the components are connected in such a way that each component has its own unique path for electricity to flow. This means that if one component fails, the others will still continue to function.
In a parallel circuit, each ceiling light is connected to the power source through its own individual pathway. This means that each light can be turned on or off independently without affecting the other lights in the circuit.
One advantage of using a parallel circuit for ceiling lights is that if one light burns out or malfunctions, the other lights in the circuit will still continue to function. This allows for easier maintenance and troubleshooting. Additionally, the overall brightness of the lights will not decrease as more lights are added to the circuit.
The components of a parallel circuit include a power source, wires, and multiple branches with individual components such as ceiling lights. Each branch is connected to the power source and allows electricity to flow through it independently.
The total resistance in a parallel circuit can be calculated by using the formula 1/Rtotal = 1/R1 + 1/R2 + ... + 1/Rn, where R1, R2, and so on represent the individual resistances in each branch. This means that the total resistance will always be less than the smallest individual resistance in the circuit.