Three different resistance lightbulbs are connected to a 120-V outlet. The most power will be consumed by the circuit when
A) the bulbs are in series.
B) the bulbs are in parallel.
C) the least resistive bulb is in parallel with a series of the other two.
D) the most resistive bulb is in parallel with a series of the other two.
E) The arrangement is unimportant because the voltage is the same in all cases.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

When lightbulbs are connected in parallel, each bulb receives the full voltage of the outlet (120 V in this case), leading to a higher total power consumption compared to series connections where the voltage is divided among the bulbs. The power consumed by a resistive load is given by P = V^2/R, where V is the voltage across the load and R is the resistance. In parallel, the effective resistance of the circuit decreases, leading to an increase in total power consumption.

Three Different Resistance Lightbulbs Are Connected to a 120-V Outlet