Consider two electric bulbs with different resistances connected in parallel

Which bulb will use more power?

A. Bulb #1 B. Bulb #2 C. The bulbs will use the same amount of power.

Answer

Bulb #1 will use more power.

In this scenario, we have two electric bulbs - Bulb #1 and Bulb #2 - with different resistances connected in parallel. The question is, which bulb will consume more power?

The power consumed by an electrical device can be calculated using the formula: Power = (Voltage)^2 / Resistance

Assuming that the voltage drop across both bulbs is the same, let's denote this voltage as V. Now, let's consider the resistances of the two bulbs. Bulb #1 has a resistance twice as large as Bulb #2.

For Bulb #1, let's denote its resistance as R1. Therefore, the power consumed by Bulb #1 can be expressed as: Power1 = V^2 / R1

For Bulb #2, let's denote its resistance as R2. Since Bulb #1 has twice the resistance of Bulb #2, we can express it as R1 = 2R2. Hence, the power consumed by Bulb #2 is: Power2 = V^2 / R2

Comparing the power expressions for Bulb #1 and Bulb #2, we can see that Power1 will be greater than Power2 if R1 is larger than R2. Since R1 is twice as large as R2, Bulb #1 will have a higher resistance, and consequently, it will consume more power than Bulb #2.

Therefore, the correct answer is:A. Bulb #1 will use more power.

← The importance of using the hook grip in weightlifting Resultant vectors understanding vector addition →