What Is the Current Through a Resistor with Internal Battery Resistance?

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Homework Help Overview

The discussion revolves around calculating the current through an 8.25 ohm resistor connected to a battery with a 0.21 ohm internal resistance and a terminal potential drop of 6V. The subject area is electrical circuits, specifically focusing on series resistances and the impact of internal resistance on current flow.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Conceptual clarification, Mathematical reasoning

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • The original poster attempts to analyze the circuit by treating the internal resistance as part of a series configuration with the external resistor. They express uncertainty about their calculations and seek validation of their reasoning.

Discussion Status

Participants are engaging in clarifying the relationship between the terminal voltage and the internal resistance of the battery. Some guidance has been offered regarding the interpretation of the battery's emf in relation to the internal resistance, but no consensus has been reached on the final calculation.

Contextual Notes

There is a note that the potential drop across the terminals includes the internal resistance of the battery, which may influence the understanding of the problem setup. The discussion also references external resources for further reading.

jimmyting
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[SOLVED] Battery with internal resistor

Homework Statement


What is the current in a 8.25 ohm resistor connected to a battery that has a .21 ohm internal resistance when the potential drop across the terminals of the battery is 6V?

Homework Equations


[tex]R_{s}=R_{1}+R_{2}...[/tex]

[tex]V=IR[/tex]

The Attempt at a Solution


So I believe that the internal resistor can just be considered being in series to the other resistor, allowing me to calculate the equivalent resistor. Then with that, using V=IR, I thought I was able to get the current flowing through the circuit. I got .70921 A
Can someone correct my train of thought?
 
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jimmyting said:

Homework Statement


What is the current in a 8.25 ohm resistor connected to a battery that has a .21 ohm internal resistance when the potential drop across the terminals of the battery is 6V?


Homework Equations


[tex]R_{s}=R_{1}+R_{2}...[/tex]

[tex]V=IR[/tex]

The Attempt at a Solution


So I believe that the internal resistor can just be considered being in series to the other resistor, allowing me to calculate the equivalent resistor. Then with that, using V=IR, I thought I was able to get the current flowing through the circuit. I got .70921 A
Can someone correct my train of thought?
Note that the potential drop across the terminals includes the internal resistance of the battery. The internal resistance of a battery may be depicted thus,
rsint.gif

So the actual emf of the battery is the 6V plus the voltage drop across the internal resistance. Do you follow?

Image courtesy of Hyperphysics
 
Last edited:
Yes I do thank you for your help. Funny that you got the picture off hyperphysics, I was on there trying to read about this
 
jimmyting said:
Yes I do thank you for your help.
No problem.
jimmyting said:
Funny that you got the picture off hyperphysics, I was on there trying to read about this
Hyperphysics is an excellent general physics reference, I'm glad that you chose to look there rather than Wikipedia :rolleyes:
 

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