Question

Amy needs 5.0 V for some integrated circuit experiments. She uses a 9.0 V battery and two resistors to make a voltage divider. One resistor is 310 . She decides to make the other resistor smaller. What value should it have

Answer 1

The value of smaller resistor is 248 Ω.

Step-by-step explanation:

Voltage divider circuit is used to convert a higher voltage to a smaller voltage with the help of resistors which are connected in parallel.

As shown in the circuit, Vs is the source voltage, R₁ and R₂ are the two resistors and V₀ is the output voltage.

Applying KVL in the circuit, the output voltage is given by :

`V_(0) = (V_(s)R_(2) )/(R_(1) + R_(2) )`

According to the problem, R₂ = 310Ω , V₀ = 5 V and Vs = 9 V. Substitute these values in the above equation.

`5 = (9*310 )/(R_(1) + 310 )`

`R_(1)+310 = (9*310)/(5)`

`R_(1) = 558 - 310`

R₁ = 248Ω