A series circuit connected to an AC source has a power factor of . If the source of emf is changed to , the new power factor of the circuit will be:
- A
- B
- C
- D
A series circuit connected to an AC source has a power factor of . If the source of emf is changed to , the new power factor of the circuit will be:
Correct answer:C
Standard Method
Given: A series circuit has initial source and initial power factor . The source is changed to .
Find: The new power factor of the circuit.
For a series circuit, the power factor is
where
Initially,
and
Squaring and simplifying gives
so
Therefore,
which means
Now the new angular frequency is
Hence the new inductive reactance becomes
So the new power factor is
Therefore, the new power factor is and the correct option is C.
Using tan relation
Given: Initial power factor for a series circuit.
Find: The new power factor when angular frequency changes from to .
Since
we get
Hence initially,
When frequency doubles, inductive reactance also doubles because
So at the new frequency,
Now,
Therefore,
Therefore, the new power factor is .
A common mistake is to think that changing the voltage amplitude from to changes the power factor. This is wrong because power factor in a series circuit depends on the phase relation between and , not on source amplitude. Focus on the change in angular frequency instead.
Students often use the initial power factor directly as the final answer. This is incorrect because inductive reactance changes with frequency as . Recalculate the reactance ratio after the frequency changes.
Another mistake is to assume reactance doubles but then substitute it as without relating it to . From the initial condition, first establish that or equivalently initial , and only then compute the new reactance as .
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