There are 45 number of cells with internal resistance of each cell is 0.5Ω To get the maximum current through a resistance of 2.5Ω, one can use m rows of cells, each row having n cells. The values of m and n are:
Let's go through a more detailed, step-by-step approach to solving the problem correctly, and we’ll arrive at the answer
and
.
Given:
- 45 cells, each with an internal resistance of 0.5Ω.
- External resistance
.
- We want to determine the configuration that maximizes the current.
We are arranging the cells in series and parallel, so:
= number of rows (parallel branches of cells)
= number of cells in each row (connected in series)
Step 1: Internal resistance of one row
When
cells are connected in series, the internal resistance for each row (denoted as
) is the sum of the internal resistances of each cell:
Step 2: Internal resistance of the entire arrangement
Since there are
rows connected in parallel, the total internal resistance
of the entire setup is:
Step 3: Total resistance in the circuit
The total resistance in the circuit is the sum of the external resistance
and the total internal resistance of the cells
:
Step 4: Total current using Ohm's Law
The current through the circuit can be calculated using Ohm's Law,
, where
is the total voltage supplied by the cells.
For maximum current, we want to minimize
, which means minimizing
.
Step 5: Constraint on
and
We are given that there are 45 cells in total, so:
Thus,
.
Step 6: Substituting
into the total resistance formula
Substitute
into the formula for
:
Simplifying this:
Step 7: Minimizing
Now, to minimize the total resistance, we need to minimize
.
Since
decreases as
increases, we need to check the values of
that are divisors of 45.
Step 8: Trying possible values of
Let’s try a few possible values for
:
- For
:
- For
:
- For
:
- For
:
Step 9: Conclusion
The configuration that minimizes the total resistance and maximizes the current is when
and
, which results in a total resistance of 5Ω. Thus, the answer is:



