To maintain the original circuit current after reducing the circuit resistance to 1/4, what change must be made to the voltage?

In order to understand the relationship between voltage, current, and resistance in a circuit, you can refer to Ohm's Law, which states that voltage (V) equals current (I) multiplied by resistance (R), or V = I × R.

When the resistance in a circuit is reduced to one-fourth of its original value, the relationship described by Ohm's Law tells us that to maintain the same current (I), you must adjust the voltage accordingly.

If the original resistance is denoted as R and the original voltage as V, after reducing the resistance to R/4, the equation for the new voltage (V') required to maintain the original current becomes:

V' = I × (R/4).

To find the new voltage in terms of the original voltage, you can rearrange this to:

V' = (I × R) / 4 = V / 4.

This shows that in order to keep the current constant while reducing the resistance to a quarter, the voltage must be reduced to one-fourth of its original value. Therefore, the correct answer reflects this necessary adjustment, confirming that the voltage should indeed change to achieve the desired outcome of maintaining the original circuit current.