The formula above is Ohm’s law for an electric circuit with current I, in amperes, potential difference V, in volts, and resistance R, in ohms. A circuit has a resistance of 500 ohms, and its potential difference will be generated by n six-volt batteries that produce a total potential difference of volts. If the circuit is to have a current of no more than 0.25 ampere, what is the greatest number, n, of six-volt batteries that can be used?
The correct answer is 20. For the given circuit, the resistance R is 500 ohms, and the total potential difference V generated by n batteries is volts. It’s also given that the circuit is to have a current of no more than 0.25 ampere, which can be expressed as
. Since Ohm’s law says that
, the given values for V and R can be substituted for I in this inequality, which yields
. Multiplying both sides of this inequality by 500 yields
, and dividing both sides of this inequality by 6 yields
. Since the number of batteries must be a whole number less than 20.833, the greatest number of batteries that can be used in this circuit is 20.