Which instrument is used to test receptacle wiring and polarity?

• A. Lamp and Battery
• B. Bell and Battery
• C. Ohmmeter
• D. Receptacle Tester

Answer: (D)

Testing receptacle wiring and polarity is best done with a receptacle tester. This tool is designed to be plugged into an outlet and, through simple indicators (often a set of lights), shows whether hot, neutral, and ground are connected correctly and flags common miswirings such as reversed polarity, open ground, or open neutral. It provides a quick, clear readout specifically for outlets, making it the practical and safe choice for this task.

Other tools aren’t tailored for this purpose. A lamp and battery can show whether an outlet has power, but they don’t reliably indicate the correct arrangement of hot and neutral or detect grounding issues. An ohmmeter measures resistance between conductors and is useful for continuity checks, but it isn’t designed to assess wiring orientation or identify polarity problems in a live receptacle. A bell and battery is intended for signaling circuits like doorbells and isn’t suited for testing outlet wiring.