Notes: Ohm’s Law Word Problems Date:

• “Load” : the load across the battery is the resistors connected to it

• “Series Combinations”: resistors in series
• “Parallel Combination”: resistors in parallel
• “Voltage Drop” or “Potential Difference”: The change in Electric Potential (just voltage, “V”)
• “Resistance”: The resistance from the batteries perspective (just Reff)
Steps For Solving word Problems:
1. Draw the circuit (and effective circuit if possible). 2. Build a table. 3. Box what
stays constant. 4. Fill in given values. 5. Use Ohm’s Law to find unknowns.
6. Check totals (what is not boxed)
Ex) The load across a battery consists of a series combination of 2 resistors: 145W and 250W.
The current through the 145W is 0.6A. Calculate the voltage drop across the 145W resistor, the
voltage drop across the 250W resistor, the potential difference across the battery (Vtot) and the
current flowing through the battery (Itot).

Reff = 395W Itotal = 0.6A Vtot = 237V

145W
R1= 145W I1= 0.6A V1= 87V
0.6A 250W 0.6A 395W
R2= 250W I2= 0.6A V2= 150V