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(a) In household wiring, a copper wire 2.05mm in diameter is often used. Find the resistance of a 23.8m length of this wire. (b) What diameter must a copper wire have if its resistance is to be the same as that of an equal length of aluminum wire with diameter 3.84mm?

User Bublik
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Final answer:

The resistance of a copper wire of 23.8m length is 0.0589 Ω. The diameter of a copper wire that has the same resistance as an equal length of aluminum wire is 3.69mm.

Step-by-step explanation:

To find the resistance of a copper wire, we can use the formula:

R = (ρL) / A,

where R is the resistance, ρ is the resistivity of copper (1.68 x 10^-8 Ωm), L is the length of the wire (23.8 m), and A is the cross-sectional area of the wire.

The cross-sectional area of the wire can be calculated using the formula:

A = πr^2, where r is the radius of the wire.

Given that the diameter of the wire is 2.05mm, the radius can be calculated as

r = (2.05mm / 2) = 1.025mm = 0.001025m.

Substituting the values into the formulas, we get:

R = (1.68 x 10^-8 Ωm * 23.8m) / (π * (0.001025m)^2) = 0.0589 Ω

To find the diameter of a copper wire that has the same resistance as an equal length of aluminum wire with a diameter of 3.84mm, we can use the formula for the resistance:

R = (ρL) / A.

Since the resistance should be the same, we can set up the equation:

(1.68 x 10^-8 Ωm * L) / (π * (0.001025m)^2) = (2.82 x 10^-8 Ωm * L) / (π * (d/2)^2)

By rearranging the equation, we can solve for the diameter d:

d = √((1.68 x 10^-8 m * 3.84mm^2) / (2.82 x 10^-8 m)) = 3.69mm

User Shivam Ashtikar
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