Question

Occasionally, the electric circuit that produces a coordinated pumping of blood from the four chambers of the heart becomes disturbed. Ventricular fibrillation can occur-random muscle contractions that produce little or no blood pumping. To stop the fibrillation, two defibrillator pads are placed on the chest and a large current (about 20 amps) is sent through the heart, restarting its normal rhythmic pattern. The current lasts 5 ms and transfers 200 J of electric energy to the body. Find the potential difference between the defibrillator pads. Express your answer with the appropriate units.

Answer 1

potential difference between the defibrillator pads = 2000 V

Step-by-step explanation:

We are given;

Current;I = 20A

Time;t = 5 m.s = 5 x 10^(-3) s

Electrical energy;W = 200 J

Now let's find the value of the electric charge from the formula;.

q = It

Where q is charge, I is current and t is time.

Thus; q = 20 x 5 x 10^(-3)

q = 0.1 C

Now, the potential difference between the defibrillator pads would be calculated from;

V = W/q

Where V is potential difference and W and q are as stated earlier.

Plugging in the relevant values gotten earlier, we have;

V = 200/0.1

V = 2000 V