Why Does My Impedance Homework Answer Differ From the Book's?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around a homework problem involving the calculation of current in an electrical circuit using impedance. Participants are examining the discrepancy between a student's calculated answer and the answer provided in the textbook, focusing on the implications of the phase angle difference.

Discussion Character

  • Homework-related
  • Debate/contested
  • Mathematical reasoning

Main Points Raised

  • The student presents their calculations for the current phasor and notes a difference in the phase angle compared to the textbook's answer.
  • Some participants affirm that the student's method and answer appear correct.
  • The student expresses confusion regarding the specific nature of the phase angle difference, which is ##90^o##.
  • One participant suggests that textbooks can sometimes contain incorrect solutions, implying that the discrepancy may not be the student's fault.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally agree on the correctness of the student's method and calculations, but there remains uncertainty regarding the reason for the phase angle difference. The discussion does not reach a consensus on whether the textbook answer is incorrect.

Contextual Notes

The discussion highlights potential limitations in the textbook's solution, but does not resolve the underlying assumptions or calculations that may lead to the differing answers.

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Homework Statement



Find ##i(t)## in the following circuit:

Screen Shot 2014-10-31 at 12.46.32 PM.png


Homework Equations



##Z = \frac{V}{I} \Rightarrow I = \frac{V}{Z}##

The Attempt at a Solution



I've solved this, but I'm wondering why my answer is different than the book's answer. The book lists the answer as ##i(t) = 3.88 cos(377t - 39.2^o) \space A##.

Writing the given voltage as a phasor: ##v(t) = 120 \angle 60^o \space V##.

Calculating the impedances of each component:

##Z_R = 20 \Omega##
##Z_L = j \omega L = (377)(40 \times 10^{-3})j = (15.08j) \Omega##
##Z_C = - \frac{j}{\omega C} = - \frac{j}{(377)(50 \times 10^{-6})} = -(53.05j) \Omega##

Calculating the required equivalent impedances:

##Z_{eq_1} = Z_R + Z_L = (20 + 15.08j) \Omega##

##Z_{eq_2} = (\frac{1}{Z_C} + \frac{1}{Z_{eq_1}})^{-1} = (- \frac{1}{53.05 j} + \frac{1}{20 + 15.08j})^{-1} = (30.56 + 4.97j) = 30.96 \angle 9.24^o \space \Omega##

Finding the current phasor:

##I = \frac{V}{Z} = \frac{120 \angle 60^o}{30.96 \angle 9.24^o} = 3.88 \angle 50.8^o \space A##

##i(t) = 3.88 cos(377t + 50.8^o) \space A##

My answer differs from the books answer by exactly ##90^o## (50.8 + 39.2 = 90). Why is this? Have I done something wrong?
 
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Your method and answer look good to me.
 
gneill said:
Your method and answer look good to me.

That's good to know. Although I'm a little perplexed as to why my answer differs by an angle of ##\frac{\pi}{2}##.
 
Text books have been known to have incorrect solutions on occasion.
 

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