Question

An 1,810 W toaster, a 1,340 W electric frying pan, and an 85 W lamp are plugged into the same outlet in a 15 A, 120 V circuit. (The three devices are in parallel when plugged into the same socket.)(a) What current (in A) is drawn by each device?Itoaster= AIpan= AIlamp= A

Answer 1

• I(toaster) = 15.08 A

,

• I(pan) = 11.17 A

,

• I(lamp) = 0.71 A

Step-by-step explanation

Given:

• The toaster's power, P(toaster) = 1810 W

,

• The frying pan's power, P(pan) = 1340 W

,

• The lamp's power, P(lamp) = 85 W

,

• The total current supported by the circuit, I = 15 A

,

• The voltage of the circuit, V = 120 V

Find:

• The current across each device

Power is the product of current and voltage,

`P=I\cdot V`

We know that all three devices are connected in parallel, which means that they all have the same voltage, 120 V.

Solving the equation above for I,

`I=(P)/(V)`

So, for each device,

`I_(toaster)=(P_(toaster))/(V)=(1810W)/(120V)\approx15.08A`
`I_(pan)=(P_(pan))/(V)=(1340W)/(120V)\approx11.17A`
`I_(lamp)=(P_(lamp))/(V)=(85W)/(120V)\approx0.71A`

Hence, the current drawn by each device is:

• I(toaster) = 15.08 A

,

• I(pan) = 11.17 A

,

• I(lamp) = 0.71 A