A circuit is powered by a battery. Conventional current (positive current) flows ____________.
2 points
A.out of the battery and into the circuit. It does not return to the battery.
B.through the battery and the rest of the circuit.
C.from the negative terminal to the positive terminal of the battery.
D.around and around in the entire circuit until the circuit is switched off.
Within the battery, C is the answer. In the circuit, if flows from positive battery terminal, thru the circuit, to the negative terminal of the battery.
The correct answer is option A: "out of the battery and into the circuit. It does not return to the battery."
To understand why, it's important to know how current flows in an electrical circuit. In a circuit, current is the flow of electric charge. The flow of current happens because of the presence of an electric field created by a voltage source, such as a battery.
A battery has two terminals: a positive terminal and a negative terminal. The positive terminal has excess positive charge, while the negative terminal has excess negative charge. This charge difference creates an electric field inside the battery.
Conventional current is defined as the flow of positive charge. Even though the actual flow of electrons (which carry the charge) is from the negative terminal to the positive terminal, conventional current is defined in the opposite direction, from the positive terminal to the negative terminal.
When a circuit is connected to a battery, the positive terminal of the battery is connected to one end of the circuit, and the negative terminal of the battery is connected to the other end of the circuit. As a result, the positive charge (conventional current) flows out of the positive terminal of the battery, through the circuit components (such as resistors, lamps, etc.), and back to the negative terminal of the battery. This flow of current is unidirectional, meaning it does not return to the battery to complete a loop.
Therefore, the correct statement is that conventional current flows out of the battery and into the circuit, but it does not return to the battery.