Red Seal Electrician Practice
AC theoryQuestion 966 of 1506

A voltmeter is placed across the resistor in a series R-C circuit. What does the meter show?

  1. Only the real part of the rectangular value
  2. Only the imaginary part of the rectangular value
  3. The sum of the real and imaginary parts
  4. The vector length (magnitude) of the voltage
Show answer

Correct answer: The vector length (magnitude) of the voltage

Real instruments read the magnitude, which matches the polar form of the calculation.

Source: Lessons in Electric Circuits II: AC (Kuphaldt), 4.3: Series Resistor-Capacitor Circuits

Practice ac theory

Questions last reviewed: 18 October 2026