---
title: "A single-loop direct current circuit consists of an ideal battery and two resistors, \\(R_1\\) and \\(R_2\\), connected in series with a reference ground point (\\(V = 0\\text{ V}\\)) located between the resistors. The graph shows the electric potential \\(V\\) as a function of position as one travels clockwise around the loop, starting at point \\(P\\) at the negative battery terminal, crossing the battery to \\(Q\\), passing through resistor \\(R_1\\) between \\(R\\) and \\(S\\), and passing through resistor \\(R_2\\) between \\(S\\) and \\(T\\). Which of the following claims is correctly supported by the graph?"
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url: "https://nerd-notes.com/ubq/120433/"
date_modified: "2026-08-23T04:34:38+00:00"
---

# A single-loop direct current circuit consists of an ideal battery and two resistors, \(R_1\) and \(R_2\), connected in series with a reference ground point (\(V = 0\text{ V}\)) located between the resistors. The graph shows the electric potential \(V\) as a function of position as one travels clockwise around the loop, starting at point \(P\) at the negative battery terminal, crossing the battery to \(Q\), passing through resistor \(R_1\) between \(R\) and \(S\), and passing through resistor \(R_2\) between \(S\) and \(T\). Which of the following claims is correctly supported by the graph?

A single-loop direct current circuit consists of an ideal battery and two resistors, \(R_1\) and \(R_2\), connected in series with a reference ground point (\(V = 0\text{ V}\)) located between the resistors. The graph shows the electric potential \(V\) as a function of position as one travels clockwise around the loop, starting at point \(P\) at the negative battery terminal, crossing the battery to \(Q\), passing through resistor \(R_1\) between \(R\) and \(S\), and passing through resistor \(R_2\) between \(S\) and \(T\). Which of the following claims is correctly supported by the graph?

![A Cartesian coordinate graph showing electric potential V in volts on the vertical axis versus position along a circuit loop on the horizontal axis. The vertical axis has labeled tick marks at -6, 0, 6, 12, and 18. A horizontal dashed line extends along V = 0. The horizontal axis has tick marks labeled in sequence from left to right: P, Q, R, S, T, and P. A solid line traces the potential: starting at P with a value of -6 V, a vertical upward line segment rises to +12 V at Q; a horizontal line segment runs at +12 V from Q to R; a straight line segment slopes downward from +12 V at R to 0 V at S; another straight line segment slopes downward from 0 V at S to -6 V at T; and a horizontal line segment runs at -6 V from T to the final tick P. No other labels, lines, text, or axes appear.](https://nerd-notes.com/wp-content/uploads/ubq-frq-generated/stem-fig-1-1787459678-6LUwXG.jpg)

- **A.** The resistance of resistor \(R_1\) is equal to \(2R_2\) because the potential drop across \(R_1\) has twice the magnitude of the potential drop across \(R_2\).
- **B.** The electromotive force (emf) of the battery is \(12\text{ V}\) because the maximum electric potential on the graph is \(+12\text{ V}\).
- **C.** The current flows in opposite directions through \(R_1\) and \(R_2\) because the electric potential across \(R_2\) is negative.
- **D.** Resistor \(R_2\) dissipates more thermal power than resistor \(R_1\) because the electric potential at the exit of \(R_2\) reaches a lower value than at the exit of \(R_1\).

*The answer key and step-by-step explanation are available to logged-in users at https://nerd-notes.com/ubq/120433/*