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Using Absolute Value to Determine Resistance

Avg difficulty 2.5

Electrical parts, such as resistors and capacitors, come with specified values of their operating parameters: resistance, capacitance, etc. However, due to imprecision in manufacturing, the actual values of these parameters vary somewhat from piece to piece, even when they are supposed to be the same. The best that manufacturers can do is to try to guarantee that the variations will stay within a specified range, often ±1%,±5%, \pm\text{1}\%, \pm \text{5}\%, or ±10%. \pm \text{10}\% .

Suppose we have a resistor rated at 680 ohms, ±5%. \pm 5 \% . Use the absolute value function to express the range of possible values of the actual resistance.

OpenStax Algebra and Trigonometry 2e, 3.6 Absolute Value Functions, exercise 17

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Adapted from College Algebra © 2021 Rice University. Licensed under CC BY 4.0. Sources: College Algebra 2e, Algebra and Trigonometry 2e, Precalculus 2e, College Algebra with Corequisite Support 2e. Imported at revision 4922e46.