Final answer:
Equivalent resistance can be used in a circuit with two series-connected batteries to determine the circuit's total resistance. The voltage is calculated based on the current and the equivalent resistance, with the voltage of series batteries summing up.
Step-by-step explanation:
Yes, you can use equivalent resistance in a system with two batteries connected in series. When dealing with a circuit with both series and parallel components, the key to finding the equivalent resistance is to reduce the circuit step by step. In a scenario where resistors R1 and R2 are in series and R3 and R4 are in parallel, you would first calculate the equivalent resistance of the parallel resistors (R3 and R4) and then add that to the series resistances (R1 and R2) to find the total equivalent resistance.
The voltage supplied by the battery is determined by Ohm's Law, which states that the voltage (V) is the product of the current (I) and total equivalent resistance (Req) of the circuit. When batteries are connected in series, their voltages add, so if you have two 9-V batteries in series, the total voltage supplied to the circuit becomes 18 V. The current through the circuit is the same for both batteries due to the series connection, and the total equivalent resistance of the circuit would be used to calculate the circuit's properties, such as the total current and power dissipation.