Al the wires in FIGURE Q27.6 are made of the same material and have the same diameter. Rank in order, from largest to smallest, the currents Iato Id. Explain.

Short Answer

Expert verified

Ia=Id>Ib=Ic. Conservation of current insures that the current into the top junction point, Ia, must equal the current out of that point Ib+Ic. Similarly at the bottom junction point Ib+Ic=Id. Since the wires are identical, Ib=Ic.

Step by step solution

01

Concept Introduction

As Kirchhoff's current law states, a node's total current will never exceed zero. According to this law, electric charges are conserved.

02

Explanation

The material of the wires and the diameter are all identical as shown in the above figure.

According to Kirchhoff's rules, the current Iais equally divided into two equal parts.

Let Ia=I, then at the point Athe current Iis divided equally as I2.

So, Ib=Ic=I2

And at the point B, the two currents Iband Icare combined together and flows asId.

So the value ofId=I
So finally we have Ia=Id=Iand Ib=Ic=I2

03

Final Answer

Hence, the rank order isIa=Id>Ib=Ic.

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