An electric immersion heater draws 5.0 A from a 230 V mains supply

PHYSICS · Multi-part · A Level · Physics · Electricity · Electricity

Problem

An electric immersion heater draws 5.0 A from a 230 V mains supply. The heating element is rewound before reuse. (i) Calculate the resistance of the heater element while it is operating on the mains. (ii) The same wire is now rewound so that its length becomes double while its cross-sectional area remains unchanged. If it is again connected to the 230 V mains, determine the current it will draw. (iii) Using your answers to (i) and (ii), compute the power consumed by the heater before and after rewinding, and comment quantitatively on the change in power rating.

Related theory

Browse the problem library