Understanding Power Dissipation in Resistors and Ohm's Law

AI Thread Summary
The discussion focuses on understanding power dissipation in resistors using Ohm's Law. A user calculated the total power dissipation in a circuit with resistors, concluding that 8W is dissipated in one resistor, leaving 4W for two others. It was clarified that the resistors are identical, so the power must be equally distributed, resulting in 2W for each of the other resistors. The importance of not arbitrarily assigning resistance values was emphasized, and it was confirmed that the total power from the battery equals the sum of power dissipated across all resistors, regardless of their arrangement. This reinforces the principle of conservation of energy in electrical circuits.
delsoo
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Homework Statement



i let r = 1 ohm, so i get effective r = 1.5 ohm, , since P=VI, i get my I = 8A, so i get the power dissipation of RESISTOR P = 8W , so the 4W remaining for both Q AND R , why power of R is 2W? i hope someone can explain this.

Homework Equations





The Attempt at a Solution

 

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delsoo said:

Homework Statement



i let r = 1 ohm, so i get effective r = 1.5 ohm, , since P=VI, i get my I = 8A, so i get the power dissipation of RESISTOR P = 8W , so the 4W remaining for both Q AND R , why power of R is 2W? i hope someone can explain this.

Homework Equations


The Attempt at a Solution


You can not choose the resistance arbitrary. All resistors have the same resistance, r, an unknown.Find the expression of the current in terms of r, knowing the total power supplied by the battery.
Your argument is correct otherwise. The power is really 8 W through the resistor P, and 4 W on Q and R altogether. The resistors are identical, so the power must be the same on each, adding up to 4 W.

ehild
 
Last edited:
First, you seem to have flipped the statement of the problem and the attempted solution.

Second, your post will be easier to read and will thus tend to get more responses if you use normal orthography.

Third, there is no reason or justification for assigning a particular value to the resistance of each resistor; just use r or some such, and just use I for the current. In fact, you don't really need to do much calculating for this problem.

Fourth, to answer your question, start by thinking of Q and R as a single resistor, and then think of what proportion of the total power would be dissipated in P and in the Q/R combination. Then think of Q and R separately, and how the power dissipated in each must be related.
 
ehild said:
You can not choose the resistance arbitrary. All resistors have the same resistance, r, an unknown.Find the expression of the current in terms of r, knowing the total power supplied by the battery.
Your argument is correct otherwise. The power is really 8 W through the resistor P, and 4 W on Q and R altogether. The resistors are identical, so the power must be the same on each, adding up to 4 W.

ehild

can i say that the power of battery is equal to the sum of all power dissipation of resistor independent of the arrangement of the resistor. which means no matter how the arrangement resistor , the sum of all power of resistor = power of battery?
 
delsoo said:
can i say that the power of battery is equal to the sum of all power dissipation of resistor independent of the arrangement of the resistor. which means no matter how the arrangement resistor , the sum of all power of resistor = power of battery?

Yes.

ehild
 
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