What effect does increasing R2 have in a voltage divider?

In a voltage divider circuit, the output voltage is determined by the ratio of the resistance values and the total input voltage. The voltage across R2 can be calculated using the formula:

[ V_{R2} = \frac{R2}{R1 + R2} \times V_{in} ]

where ( V_{in} ) is the total input voltage, R1 is the resistance connected to the ground, and R2 is the resistance connected to the input voltage. When you increase R2 while keeping R1 constant, the fraction ( \frac{R2}{R1 + R2} ) increases. This directly results in an increase in the output voltage across R2.

Thus, as R2 increases, the voltage drop across R2 also increases because the total voltage drop is distributed according to the resistance values in the circuit. The relationship showcases how altering one component can effectively influence the overall voltage distribution in a voltage divider setup.