What is the effect of increasing the cross-sectional area of a conductor on its resistance?
Practice Questions
1 question
Q1
What is the effect of increasing the cross-sectional area of a conductor on its resistance?
Increases resistance
Decreases resistance
No effect
Depends on the material
Increasing the cross-sectional area decreases the resistance, as R = ρ * (L / A).
Questions & Step-by-step Solutions
1 item
Q
Q: What is the effect of increasing the cross-sectional area of a conductor on its resistance?
Solution: Increasing the cross-sectional area decreases the resistance, as R = ρ * (L / A).
Steps: 6
Step 1: Understand what a conductor is. A conductor is a material that allows electricity to flow through it.
Step 2: Know what resistance is. Resistance is a measure of how much a conductor opposes the flow of electricity.
Step 3: Learn about cross-sectional area. The cross-sectional area is the size of the conductor's surface that electricity flows through.
Step 4: Remember the formula for resistance: R = ρ * (L / A). Here, R is resistance, ρ (rho) is resistivity (a property of the material), L is the length of the conductor, and A is the cross-sectional area.
Step 5: Notice the relationship in the formula. As the cross-sectional area (A) increases, the fraction L / A becomes smaller.
Step 6: Conclude that if A increases, R (resistance) decreases because they are inversely related in the formula.
