Final answer:
Given a power factor of 86% for an RL series circuit, the voltage and current are out of phase by approximately 30.5 degrees, or 31 degrees when rounded to the nearest degree.
Step-by-step explanation:
The power factor of an RL series circuit determines the phase difference between voltage and current. The power factor is the cosine of the phase angle, which implies that the phase angle can be calculated using the inverse cosine function. Given that the power factor is 86% (or 0.86), we can calculate the phase angle ϕ as follows:
ϕ = cos⁻¹(power factor) = cos⁻¹(0.86)
Calculating this value yields a phase angle of approximately 30.5 degrees. However, if we need to round to the nearest degree, then the voltage and current are out of phase by 31 degrees.