Answer:
A. The circuit's current drops. b. The circuit's resistance drops c. The voltage across it is zero d. The voltage remains the same.
Step-by-step explanation:
a. What would happen to the circuit's current
Since the circuit is in series and one resistor is shorted, the current in the circuit would drop since it is a series circuit and one resistor has been shorted.
b. What would happen to the circuit's resistance
The resistance of the circuit drops by the value of the resistance shorted since it is a series circuit and the shorting cuts off this resistor from the circuit.
c. What would happen to the voltage across the shorted component
The voltage across the shorted component is zero because, since no current flows through it and we know that voltage V = IR and if I = 0, V = 0 × R = 0 V. So, the voltage across it is zero.
d. What would happen to the voltage across the other components
The voltage across the other components remains the same as the initial voltage because, the short transfers the current across the shorted component and makes the shorted component disappear from the circuit. The short thus makes it seem like the source voltage is directly connected to the other components across the shorted resistor. So, the new voltage across the other components is the initial voltage in the circuit before the short.