Red Seal Electrician Practice
Meters and troubleshootingQuestion 716 of 1506

Why is it good practice to make all resistor voltage drops have the same polarity on a terminal strip build?

  1. Current would take a wrong path through the resistors and damage them
  2. The resistors would otherwise overheat and fail early
  3. Analog meters peg downscale on reversed polarity
  4. The supply voltage would drop when the polarity is mixed
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Correct answer: Analog meters peg downscale on reversed polarity

The circuit works either way, but consistent polarity avoids confusing the technician and the meter pegging downscale.

Source: Lessons in Electric Circuits I: DC (Kuphaldt), 7.5: Building Series-Parallel Resistor Circuits

Practice meters and troubleshooting

Questions last reviewed: 18 October 2026