Two identical light bulbs are connected to a battery. Will the light bulbs be brighter if they are connected in series or in parallel?

Short Answer

Expert verified
Answer: The light bulbs will be brighter when connected in parallel.

Step by step solution

01

Recall the difference between series and parallel configurations

In a series connection, all components are connected end to end, so that there is only one path for the current to flow. In a parallel connection, the components are connected in multiple paths such that the current is divided among the paths.
02

Understand the effect of the connections on the voltage and current

In a series connection, the voltage across each component is different and the current through each component is the same. In a parallel connection, the voltage across each component is the same and the current through each component is different.
03

Determine the brightness of the bulbs in a series connection

The voltage from the battery is divided equally across both light bulbs in a series connection. Since the bulbs are identical, they will each get half of the total voltage from the battery. The brightness of a light bulb depends on the power it consumes (P=IV), and since the voltage across each bulb is lower in a series connection, their brightness will be less.
04

Determine the brightness of the bulbs in a parallel connection

In a parallel connection, the voltage across each bulb is the same as the voltage of the battery. The current through each bulb is also the same, as they are identical. The power consumed by each bulb will therefore be higher, making them brighter when connected in parallel.
05

Conclusion

The light bulbs will be brighter when connected in parallel compared to a series connection, as they receive the full voltage from the battery and consume more power in a parallel configuration.

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Most popular questions from this chapter

Before bendable tungsten filaments were developed, Thomas Edison used carbon filaments in his light bulbs. Though carbon has a very high melting temperature \(\left(3599^{\circ} \mathrm{C}\right)\) its sublimation rate is high at high temperatures. So carbonfilament bulbs were kept at lower temperatures, thereby rendering them dimmer than later tungsten-based bulbs. A typical carbon-filament bulb requires an average power of \(40 \mathrm{~W}\), when 110 volts is applied across it, and has a filament temperature of \(1800^{\circ} \mathrm{C}\). Carbon, unlike copper, has a negative temperature coefficient of resistivity: \(\alpha=-0.0005^{\circ} \mathrm{C}^{-1}\) Calculate the resistance at room temperature \(\left(20^{\circ} \mathrm{C}\right)\) of this carbon filament.

The resistivity of a conductor is \(\rho=1.00 \cdot 10^{-5} \Omega \mathrm{m}\). If a cylindrical wire is made of this conductor, with a crosssectional area of \(1.00 \cdot 10^{-6} \mathrm{~m}^{2},\) what should the length of the wire be for its resistance to be \(10.0 \Omega ?\)

A modern house is wired for \(115 \mathrm{~V}\), and the current is limited by circuit breakers to a maximum of \(200 .\) A. (For the purpose of this problem, treat these as DC quantities.) a) Calculate the minimum total resistance the circuitry in the house can have at any time. b) Calculate the maximum electrical power the house can consume.

The most common material used for sandpaper, silicon carbide, is also widely used in electrical applications. One common device is a tubular resistor made of a special grade of silicon carbide called carborundum. A particular carborundum resistor (see the figure) consists of a thick-walled cylindrical shell (a pipe) of inner radius \(a=\) \(1.50 \mathrm{~cm},\) outer radius \(b=2.50 \mathrm{~cm},\) and length \(L=60.0 \mathrm{~cm} .\) The resistance of this carborundum resistor at \(20 .{ }^{\circ} \mathrm{C}\) is \(1.00 \Omega\). a) Calculate the resistivity of carborundum at room temperature. Compare this to the resistivities of the most commonly used conductors (copper, aluminum, and silver). b) Carborundum has a high temperature coefficient of resistivity: \(\alpha=2.14 \cdot 10^{-3} \mathrm{~K}^{-1} .\) If, in a particular application, the carborundum resistor heats up to \(300 .{ }^{\circ} \mathrm{C},\) what is the percentage change in its resistance between room temperature \(\left(20 .{ }^{\circ} \mathrm{C}\right)\) and this operating temperature?

A charged-particle beam is used to inject a charge, \(Q_{0}\), into a small, irregularly shaped region (not a cavity, just some region within the solid block) in the interior of a block of ohmic material with conductivity \(\sigma\) and permittivity \(\epsilon\) at time \(t=0\). Eventually, all the injected charge will move to the outer surface of the block, but how quickly? a) Derive a differential equation for the charge, \(Q(t)\), in the injection region as a function of time. b) Solve the equation from part (a) to find \(Q(t)\) for all \(t \geq 0\). c) For copper, a good conductor, and for quartz (crystalline \(\mathrm{SiO}_{2}\) ), an insulator, calculate the time for the charge in the injection region to decrease by half. Look up the necessary values. Assume that the effective "dielectric constant" of copper is \(1.00000 .\)

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