Practice question · Match the pairs
Match each measuring instrument to what it reads and how it connects.
- Voltmeter
- Ammeter
- Micrometer screw gauge
- Oscilloscope
- Current, in series, near-zero internal resistance
- Potential difference, in parallel, high internal resistance
- Voltage as a function of time
- Lengths to 0.01 mm
Hints
- Each electrical meter is built to disturb the circuit as little as possible, that requirement fixes both its resistance and its placement.
- Parallel taps a potential; series intercepts a flow.
Show the answer
- Voltmeter → Potential difference, in parallel, high internal resistance
- Ammeter → Current, in series, near-zero internal resistance
- Micrometer screw gauge → Lengths to 0.01 mm
- Oscilloscope → Voltage as a function of time
Why
The design rule is "measure without disturbing": voltmeters siphon negligible current (high R, parallel), ammeters drop negligible voltage (low R, series). The instrument’s connection is not convention, it is physics.
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