Question

2

A simple circuit contains a battery and a resistor.
Over 3.0 hours, 29 000 C of charge passes through the resistor.
Calculate the current flowing through the circuit during this time.
Give your answer to two significant figures.

Answer 1

Approximately
`2.69\; {\rm A}`.

Step-by-step explanation:

Ensure that all values are measured in standard units. Charge should be measured in coulombs, while time should be measured in seconds:

`\begin{aligned}t &= 3.0\; {\rm hr} * \frac{3600\; {\rm s}}{1\; {\rm hr}} = 10800\; {\rm s}\end{aligned}`.

Electric current
`I` is the rate of flow of electric charge.

In order to find the electric current, divide electric charge
`q` by the time
`t` required to transfer these charge. If charge
`q\!` is measured in coulombs and time
`t\!` is measured in seconds, the unit of current
`I`would be amperes:

`\begin{aligned}I & = (q)/(t) \\ &= \frac{29000\; {\rm C}}{10800\; {\rm s}} \approx 2.69\; {\rm A}\end{aligned}`.