The Potential Divider 1) Draw in your book a circuit with two 1k resistors in series with a 12V battery.

Calculate the total resistance of the circuit, assuming the internal resistance of the battery is negligible. Hence determine the current through the circuit, and the potential difference across each resistor. The circuit you have drawn is used to obtain an output voltage Vout across one of the resistors. This divides the input voltage Vin . What are the values of Vin and Vout ? In place of the two 1k resistors, a set of ten 200 resistors are put in series with the 12V battery. If Vout is taken across one of these resistors, what will its value be? How about if Vout is taken across two of these resistors? How about three? Complete the following sentences: The current around the circuit depends upon _____________________________. Because the circuit is a series circuit, conservation of __________ tells us that the ___________ must be constant throughout the circuit. Therefore, the relationship V = IR tells us that the p.d. across each part of the circuit must be proportional to its ______________. 5) In the case of the ten 200 resistors in series, what is the total resistance of the circuit? What fraction of the total resistance will each resistor make up? What fraction of the total resistance would three resistors make up? What fraction of the input voltage would the p.d. across these three resistors be? What would be the advantage of using a 1k variable resistor in series with a 1k resistor instead of the two resistors described in question 1? What would be the maximum and minimum values of Vout across the variable resistor for the above circuit? How could this range be increased?

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From the January 2010 paper: