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Question

Difficulty: EasySeries Circuits

An electrical technician is inspecting a circuit containing three resistive heating elements wired in series with a direct current power source. If one of the heating elements burns out and creates an open circuit, what happens to the current in the circuit?

  1. A
    Current continues to flow at the same level through the other two heating elements.
  2. Current flow stops completely throughout the entire circuit.Answer
  3. C
    Current increases through the remaining heating elements due to reduced total resistance.
  4. D
    Current bypasses the broken heating element and creates a short circuit back to the source.

Answer

Current flow stops completely throughout the entire circuit.
In a series circuit, there is only one continuous path for electrical current to travel from the power source through all connected loads and back. When one component burns out, it creates a physical break in that single conductive path (an open circuit). Because current requires an uninterrupted closed loop, an open circuit anywhere in the series loop causes total current to drop to zero across all components.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the circuit topology and the path rule for series circuits.
In a series circuit, all electrical components are connected end-to-end to form a single continuous loop.
Current must flow sequentially through every component in the loop because there are no alternative branches.
2
Determine the electrical impact of a burned-out component.
A burned-out element creates an open circuit, creating a physical break with infinite electrical resistance (R=∞R = \infty).
Electrons require an uninterrupted conductive path to travel from one terminal of the power source to the other.
3
Apply Ohm's Law to calculate the resulting loop current.
The total circuit current drops to zero (I=0 AI = 0\text{ A}).
According to Ohm's Law (I=VRI = \frac{V}{R}), an infinite resistance in the loop causes the current throughout the entire series circuit to drop to zero.

Key Concept

Single continuous conductive path and open circuit fault behavior in series circuits
Estimated Time:45s
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Topics

Series Circuits

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