Q.A galvanometer of resistance is converted into a voltmeter of range using a resistor of . If it is to be converted into a voltmeter of range , the resistance required will be ______.
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
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Start your 14-day free trial to unlock the full solution →A galvanometer becomes a voltmeter by adding a high resistance in series; the same full-scale deflection current must flow in both configurations, so we first find from the setup, then calculate the series resistance needed for . The answer is (C) .
Why a galvanometer needs a series resistor to measure voltage
A galvanometer is fundamentally a current-measuring device. Its coil deflects fully when a specific current (the full-scale deflection current) flows through it. To measure voltage instead, we exploit Ohm's law: place a large resistance in series with the galvanometer so that when the desired maximum voltage appears across the combination, exactly flows through the circuit.
The total resistance and the voltage are related by:
where is the galvanometer resistance. The key insight is that and are fixed properties of the galvanometer—they don't change when we reconfigure the circuit.
Step-by-step solution
1. Extract the full-scale deflection current from the first configuration
When the galvanometer is converted to a voltmeter using in series:
This current is an intrinsic property of the galvanometer. Any voltmeter configuration must respect this same for full-scale deflection.
2. Determine the series resistance for the range
For the new voltmeter to read up to , the same current must flow when is applied. Let the required series resistance be :
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