Question

Figure 26-19 shows four situations in which positive and negative charges move horizontally and gives the rate at which each charge moves. Rank the situations according to the effective current through the regions, greatest first.

Short answer

The ranking of situations according to the effective current through the given regions is$l_a=l_b=l_c>l_d$

Step-by-step solution

The given data

Figure 26-19 is the region of the current’s flow.

Understanding the concept of the current

Electrical charge carriers, such as electrons, flow as current. From negative to positive points, current flows.Taking the direction of positive charge as positive, we can find the net current in the region by adding the rate at which the charges move.

Formula:

The net current according to the current equation, $l=l_1+l_2$ …(i)

Calculation of the rank of situations according to effective current

The direction of the positive charge is the direction of the current. Hence,

For region a), the net current is given by:$l_a=7\mathrm{C}/\mathrm{s}$

For region b), the net current is given using equation (i) as:

$$\begin{gathered} l_a=4+3 \\ =7\mathrm{C}/\mathrm{s} \end{gathered}$$

For region c), the net current is given using equation (i) as:

$$\begin{gathered} l_c=5+2 \\ =7\mathrm{C}/\mathrm{s} \end{gathered}$$

For region d), the net current is given using equation (i) as:

$$\begin{gathered} l_d=6-1 \\ =5\mathrm{C}/\mathrm{s} \end{gathered}$$

So the ranking of the effective current is$l_a=l_b=l_c>l_d$