Which instrument is used to measure current in a circuit?

Which instrument is used to measure current in a circuit?

• A. Voltmeter
• B. Ammeter
• C. Ohmmeter
• D. Multimeter

Answer: (B)

To measure current, you use an ammeter. It’s placed in series with the part of the circuit whose current you want to measure, so all the current flows through it. The ammeter is designed with very low resistance to minimize any voltage drop or disturbance to the circuit. In contrast, a voltmeter is connected in parallel to measure voltage, and an ohmmeter measures resistance (usually with the circuit powered off). A multimeter can measure current as well, but the dedicated instrument for this task in a simple circuit is the ammeter.

To measure current, you use an ammeter. It’s placed in series with the part of the circuit whose current you want to measure, so all the current flows through it. The ammeter is designed with very low resistance to minimize any voltage drop or disturbance to the circuit. In contrast, a voltmeter is connected in parallel to measure voltage, and an ohmmeter measures resistance (usually with the circuit powered off). A multimeter can measure current as well, but the dedicated instrument for this task in a simple circuit is the ammeter.