Question

Consider a large 1.54 V carbon-zinc dry cell used in a physics lab to supply 1.85 A to a circuit. The internal resistance of the cell is 0.15 Ω.

(a) What is the terminal voltage, V, of the cell, in volts?
(b) What is the total electric power, P, in watts, that the cell produces?
(c) How much power, PL, in watts, is supplied to the external circuit?

Answer 1

The terminal voltage of the carbon-zinc dry cell is 0.2775 V. The total electric power produced by the cell is 2.849 W. The power supplied to the external circuit cannot be determined without the load resistance value.

Step-by-step explanation:

(a) To find the terminal voltage, we can use Ohm's Law, which states that V = IR, where V is the voltage, I is the current, and R is the resistance. In this case, the current is 1.85 A and the internal resistance is 0.15 Ω. Plugging these values into the equation, we get V = 1.85 A * 0.15 Ω = 0.2775 V.

(b) To find the total electric power produced by the cell, we can use the formula P = VI, where P is the power, V is the voltage, and I is the current. Plugging in the values, we have P = 1.54 V * 1.85 A = 2.849 W.

(c) To find the power supplied to the external circuit, we can use the formula PL = VI - I^2*R, where PL is the power supplied to the load, V is the voltage, I is the current, and R is the resistance. Since the load resistance is not given, we cannot calculate the exact power supplied to the load.