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title: "A circuit containing a resistor of resistance \\(R\\) and an inductor of inductance \\(L\\) initially carries a steady-state current \\(I_0\\). At time \\(t = 0\\), the power source is bypassed, allowing the current to decay through the resistor as shown in the \\(I(t)\\) graph below. Which of the following claims correctly describes the magnitude of the potential difference \\(|V_L|\\) across the inductor as time progresses, based on the features of the graph?"
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url: "https://nerd-notes.com/ubq/118643/"
date_modified: "2026-08-04T08:13:29+00:00"
---

# A circuit containing a resistor of resistance \(R\) and an inductor of inductance \(L\) initially carries a steady-state current \(I_0\). At time \(t = 0\), the power source is bypassed, allowing the current to decay through the resistor as shown in the \(I(t)\) graph below. Which of the following claims correctly describes the magnitude of the potential difference \(|V_L|\) across the inductor as time progresses, based on the features of the graph?

A circuit containing a resistor of resistance \(R\) and an inductor of inductance \(L\) initially carries a steady-state current \(I_0\). At time \(t = 0\), the power source is bypassed, allowing the current to decay through the resistor as shown in the \(I(t)\) graph below. Which of the following claims correctly describes the magnitude of the potential difference \(|V_L|\) across the inductor as time progresses, based on the features of the graph?

![A 2D Cartesian plot showing current I on the vertical axis and time t on the horizontal axis. The vertical axis origin is at 0 with a tick mark labeled I_0 at the top. The horizontal axis is labeled t starting at 0. A single smooth curve starts at (0, I_0) and decays exponentially downward toward the horizontal axis, asymptotically approaching I = 0 as time t increases. No other lines, labels, or grid lines appear.](https://nerd-notes.com/wp-content/uploads/ubq-frq-generated/stem-fig-1-1785831208-DgwgXC.jpg)

- **A.** The potential difference \(|V_L|\) is zero at \(t = 0\) because the current reaches its maximum value \(I_0\) at that instant.
- **B.** The potential difference \(|V_L|\) increases over time because the magnitude of the slope of the \(I(t)\) graph increases as current decays.
- **C.** The potential difference \(|V_L|\) is maximum at \(t = 0\) and decreases toward zero because \(|V_L|\) is proportional to the magnitude of the slope of the \(I(t)\) graph.
- **D.** The potential difference \(|V_L|\) remains constant over time because it is determined by the area under the \(I(t)\) curve, which is fixed.

*The answer key and step-by-step explanation are available to logged-in users at https://nerd-notes.com/ubq/118643/*