What happens to the reading of a potentiometer if the wire is heated and its resistance increases?
Practice Questions
1 question
Q1
What happens to the reading of a potentiometer if the wire is heated and its resistance increases?
Reading increases
Reading decreases
Reading remains the same
Reading becomes zero
If the wire is heated and its resistance increases, the reading of the potentiometer decreases because the potential gradient will be affected.
Questions & Step-by-step Solutions
1 item
Q
Q: What happens to the reading of a potentiometer if the wire is heated and its resistance increases?
Solution: If the wire is heated and its resistance increases, the reading of the potentiometer decreases because the potential gradient will be affected.
Steps: 7
Step 1: Understand what a potentiometer is. It measures voltage in a circuit.
Step 2: Know that a potentiometer has a wire that can change its resistance.
Step 3: When the wire is heated, its resistance increases.
Step 4: An increase in resistance means that less current can flow through the wire.
Step 5: The potential gradient (voltage per unit length) of the wire is affected by the current.
Step 6: If the potential gradient decreases, the reading on the potentiometer also decreases.
Step 7: Therefore, when the wire is heated and its resistance increases, the reading of the potentiometer decreases.
