In a potentiometer setup, if the known voltage is increased while keeping the length of the wire constant, what happens to the balance point?
Practice Questions
1 question
Q1
In a potentiometer setup, if the known voltage is increased while keeping the length of the wire constant, what happens to the balance point?
It moves towards the positive terminal
It moves towards the negative terminal
It remains unchanged
It becomes unstable
If the known voltage is increased, the balance point will move towards the positive terminal, as a higher voltage will require a longer length of wire to achieve balance.
Questions & Step-by-step Solutions
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Q
Q: In a potentiometer setup, if the known voltage is increased while keeping the length of the wire constant, what happens to the balance point?
Solution: If the known voltage is increased, the balance point will move towards the positive terminal, as a higher voltage will require a longer length of wire to achieve balance.
Steps: 5
Step 1: Understand that a potentiometer measures voltage by comparing it to a known voltage.
Step 2: Recognize that the balance point is where the voltage across a certain length of wire equals the known voltage.
Step 3: If the known voltage is increased, it means we need more voltage to reach balance.
Step 4: Since the length of the wire is constant, a higher voltage will require a longer length of wire to achieve balance.
Step 5: Therefore, the balance point will move towards the positive terminal of the potentiometer.