If the resistance R1 in a Wheatstone bridge is increased, what happens to the current through the galvanometer?
Practice Questions
1 question
Q1
If the resistance R1 in a Wheatstone bridge is increased, what happens to the current through the galvanometer?
It increases.
It decreases.
It remains the same.
It becomes zero.
Increasing R1 will unbalance the bridge, causing a current to flow through the galvanometer, which indicates a decrease in current through it.
Questions & Step-by-step Solutions
1 item
Q
Q: If the resistance R1 in a Wheatstone bridge is increased, what happens to the current through the galvanometer?
Solution: Increasing R1 will unbalance the bridge, causing a current to flow through the galvanometer, which indicates a decrease in current through it.
Steps: 6
Step 1: Understand what a Wheatstone bridge is. It is a circuit used to measure resistance by balancing two legs of a bridge circuit.
Step 2: Identify the components of the Wheatstone bridge. It has four resistors (R1, R2, R3, R4) and a galvanometer.
Step 3: Know that the bridge is balanced when the ratio of R1/R2 equals R3/R4, resulting in no current flowing through the galvanometer.
Step 4: When R1 is increased, the ratio R1/R2 changes, making the bridge unbalanced.
Step 5: An unbalanced bridge causes a current to flow through the galvanometer, indicating a difference in potential between the two sides of the bridge.
Step 6: As the current flows through the galvanometer, it shows that the bridge is no longer balanced.