Industrial Maintenance Technician Practice Test 2025 – Your All-in-One Guide to Exam Success!

In order to calculate the apparent power in an electrical circuit, both the voltage and current must be considered, as they directly contribute to the overall power in the circuit. Apparent power is defined as the product of the root mean square (RMS) voltage and the RMS current, and is measured in volt-amperes (VA).

While it is true that the phase angle does impact the real and reactive power in a circuit, apparent power itself is not affected by the phase angle but is calculated purely from voltage and current measurements. This means that for the purposes of calculating apparent power, the phase relationship (i.e., the phase angle) does not need to be considered. Instead, the calculation uses the magnitudes of voltage and current alone.

Other factors like resistance and frequency do influence various aspects of power in a circuit, but they are not needed for the calculation of apparent power specifically. Therefore, focusing solely on voltage and current, without the need for phase angle, accurately reflects the method for determining apparent power.