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kiwikahuna
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Homework Statement
4 identical light bulbs are connected either in series (circuit 1) or parallel (circuit 2) to a constant voltage battery with negligible internal resistance as shown.
http://img413.imageshack.us/img413/7250/seriesoz2.th.jpg
http://img413.imageshack.us/img413/327/parallelfe8.th.jpg
(Sorry about the sloppy diagram but that's pretty much the gist of it)
Compared to the individual bulbs in circuit 1, the individual bulbs in circuit 2 are:
A) 1/4 as bright
B) less than 1/4 as bright
C) 4 times brighter
D) the same brightness
E) more than 4 times brighter
The Attempt at a Solution
The resistance in Circuit 1 would be 4R while the resistance in Circuit 2 would 1/4 R. Because the parallel has a lower resistance, it has a greater current therefore there is more power in the parallel configuration. I thought the right answer was C) 4 times brighter but it is wrong and I can't understand why that is. What am I missing here?
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