Using thick connecting wires that are very good conductors, a Nichrome wire (”wire 1”) of length L1 and cross-sectional
area A1 is connected in series with a battery and an ammeter (this is circuit 1). The reading on the ammeter is I1. Now the
Nichrome wire is removed and replaced with a different wire (“wire 2”), which is 2.5 times as long and has 5.5 times the
crosssectional area of the original wire (this is circuit 2).
In the following questions, a subscript 1 refers to circuit 1, and a subscript 2 refers to circuit 2. It will be helpful to write out
your solutions to the following questions algebraically before doing numerical calculations. (Hint: Think about what is the
same in these two circuits.)
(a) What is the value of I2/I1, the ratio of the conventional currents in the two circuits?
(b) What is the value of R2/R1, the ratio of the resistances of the wires?
(c) What is the value of E2/E1, the ratio of the electric fields inside the wires in the steady state?