Question

You are given an aluminum bar of dimensions 12 cm x 6 cm x 3 cm and asked to attach leads to it in order to make it a resistor. If you want to achieve the smallest possible resistance, you should attach the leads to the opposite faces that measure

Answer 1

To minimize resistance, attach leads to faces measuring 12 cm x 6 cm on the aluminum bar. For smaller resistance value in a lab, connect available resistors in parallel.

Step-by-step explanation:

To achieve the smallest possible resistance using an aluminum bar with dimensions of 12 cm x 6 cm x 3 cm, the leads should be attached to the opposite faces that measure 12 cm x 6 cm. This configuration provides the shortest path for current to travel through the bar, thus minimizing resistance according to the formula R = ρ(L/A), where R is resistance, ρ is resistivity, L is the length of the conductor, and A is the cross-sectional area. As for Question 10, to get a smaller resistance value in a physics lab, you can connect the available resistors in parallel. This is because resistances in parallel combine to create an effective resistance that is less than the smallest individual resistance in the setup.