INDIAN SCHOOL, IBRA

ACADEMIC YEAR 2011- 2012

PHYSICS QUESTION BANK – CLASS X

TOPIC – ELECTRICITY

Q. 1.
A coil has a current of 50 mA flowing through it when the voltage is 12 V. What is the
resistance of the coil?
Ans.

Given: Current I = 50 mA = .05A; Voltage V = 12V

R = V/I
R = 12V / .05 A
R = 240 Ω

Q. 2.
A heater of resistance 30 ohm is connected to 220-volt line. How much current will this
heater draw?
Ans.

Given: R = 30Ω ; V = 220 V

Using ohm’s law: V = IR
I = V/R
Or, I = 220V/30 Ω
I = 7.3 A

Q. 3.
A nine-volt battery supplies power to a cordless curling iron with a resistance of 18 ohms.
How much current is flowing through the curling iron?
Ans.

From ohm’s law,

V = IR
I = V/R
Given: R = 18Ω ; V = 9V
I = 9V/18Ω
I = 0.5 A

Q. 4.
Define electric current. State and define its SI unit.
Ans.

Electric current is defined as the rate of flow of electric charge.

Or, electric current is the amount of charge flowing through a particular area in unit time and is given
by:
I=Q/t
The S.I unit of electric current is Ampere (A).
The current through a conductor is said to be one ampere if one coulomb of charge flows through it in
one second.

Q. 5.
Why copper and aluminium wires are usually used for electricity transmission?
Ans.

The resistivity of copper and aluminium are very low, so electric current flows easily through
them. Hence copper and aluminum wires are usually used for electricity transmission.

Q. 6.
Will electric current flow more easily through a thick wire or a thin wire of the same
material, when connected to the same source? Why?
Ans.

We know that;
I = V/R
Since the resistance of a thick wire is less than the resistance of a thin wire,
And R = 1/A
So more current will flow through the thick wire than the thin wire.

Q. 7.

Which of the following has more resistivity?

“A thick wire or a thin wire of the same material.”

Ans.

Resistivity depends on the nature of the substance and temperature. It does not depend on
the dimensions, so resistivity of both is same. However the resistance of the thin wire will
be more than that of the thick wire.

Q. 8.
Alloys are used in electrical heating devices rather than pure metals. Give reason.
Ans.

Alloys are used in electrical heating devices rather than pure metals because the resistivity
of an alloy is more than the resistivity of a pure metal. Moreover alloy does not burn (or
oxidize) easily even at higher temperature.
Q. 9.
Determine the p.d. (voltage), which must be applied to a 2kW resistor in order that a
current of 10mA may flow.
Ans.

Resistance R = 2kΩ = 2X 103 Ω = 2000 Ω

Current I = 10mA = 10 X 10-3 A or 0.01 A.
From Ohm’s law, potential difference,
V = IR = (0.01) (2000) = 20V

Q. 10.
If the current through a resistor is 0.8A and the voltage is 20v - what is the resistance?
Ans.

From ohm’s law,

V = IR
Or, R = V/I
Given, V= 20V; I = 0.8A
Or, R = 20V/ 0.8A
R = 25 Ω

11.
Define ohm’s law. Also draw graph for the same.
Ans.

Ohm’s Law, states:

The current in a metallic conductor is directly proportional to the potential difference between its ends
provided that the temperature and other physical conditions are the same.
According to ohm’s law; V I
Q. 12.
A wire of a material is 5cm long and has a cross-section of 0.5cm2.If the resistance along
the length is 15 ohms, what will be its resistivity?
Ans.

Given: I = 5cm, A = 0.5cm2, R = 15 ohms

Since, R = ρ l /A,

ρ = RA /l = (15 x 0.5) /5 = 1.5 ohm-cm

Or, ρ = .015 ohm-cm.

Q. 13.
What are the factors on which resistance of a wire depends?
Ans.

The resistance of a wire depends on three factors:

i) The length; directly proportional to the length.
ii) The area; inversely proportional to the area.
iii) The material of the wire.

Q. 14.
A high voltage transmission line has an aluminum cable of diameter 3.0 cm, 200 km long.
What is the resistance of this cable?
Ans.

The resistivity of aluminum is 2.8 x 10-8 m. the length of the cable is 200 km or 2 x 105 m. The diameter

of the cable is 3 cm and its cross-sectional area is equal to = 7.1 x 10-4 m2.

Q. 15.
An aluminum wire has a resistance of 0.10 W. If you draw this wire through a die, making it
thinner and twice as long, what will be its new resistance?
Ans.

The initial resistance Ri of the aluminum wire with length L and cross-sectional area A is equal to

The initial volume of the wire is L. A. After passing the wire through the die, it s length has changed to L'
and its cross-sectional area is equal A'. Its final volume is therefore equal to L' A'. Since the density of the
aluminum does not change, the volume of the wire does not change, and therefore the initial and final
dimensions of the wire are related:
The problem states that the length of the wire is doubled (L' = 2 L). The final cross-sectional area A' is
therefore related to the initial cross-sectional area A in the following manner:

The final resistance Rf of the wire is given by

The resistance of the wire has increased by a factor of four and is now 0.40 Ω
1.
What happens to equivalent resistance and current in a parallel circuit when more and more
resistances are added?
Ans.

Increasing the number of resistors in a parallel circuit decreases the total resistance of the
circuit. And with decrease in total resistance, the total current should increase as current
and resistance are inversely proportional for a constant battery voltage.

Q. 2.
What can you say in general about the equivalent resistance when the following are
connected in parallel?
1)1 ohm and 105 ohm

2)1 ohm ,102ohm, 103

Ans.

When resistors are connected in parallel, the equivalent resistance would be less then the smallest resistance. Using this property, the equivalent resistance in

both the circuits would be less than 1 ohm.

Q. 3.

Two resistors of 50 ohms are connected in parallel. Find the equivalent resistance and current in each resistor.

Ans.
Q. 4.

Find the equivalent resistance between two points A and B in the given diagram.

Ans.

The two resistances R and R of 4 ohms are in series therefore their equivalent resistance,
1 2

R’ = 4 +4 =8

Now the resistances R’, R3 and R4 are in parallel so the equivalent resistance of the circuit would be
Q. 5.

Which graph represents the parallel combination in the V - I graphs for parallel and series combination of two metallic resistors are as shown in the figure

below. Justify your answer.

Ans.

The slope of V v/s I graph gives resistance. From figure, slope of curve A is less than that of curve B. Also in parallel, the equivalent resistance is lesser than the least resistance used.
Therefore line A represents parallel combination of resistors.

Q. 6.

A resistance of 6 ohm and a electric toy motor of resistance 20 ohm are connected in series with a 12 V battery.

a) Draw the circuit.

b) Find the total resistance of circuit.

c) Find the total current of the circuit.

d) Find the potential difference across the resistance wire of 6 ohms.

e) Find the potential difference across toy motor.

Ans.

a)

b) Total resistance of the circuit is

R = 6 + 20 = 26
t
c) Current I = Voltage / Resistance

= V/ R
t
= 12/26 = 0.46 Ampere

d) In series current flowing through resistances is same. Therefore

Potential difference across resistance wire V 0.46 x 6=2.76 volts

r=
e) Potential difference across toy motor would be
V =IR = 0.46 x 20 = 9.2 volts
toy toy

Q. 7.

Find the least possible value of resistance and maximum value of resistance that could be obtained by connecting resistances of 2 ohm, 3 ohm, 5ohm and 6

ohm in different type of circuits.

Ans.

Least resistance is obtained in parallel

Q. 8.

Which type of circuit (series/parallel) would you use to decorate the Christmas tree and for light fittings in house. Write reasons for your choice also.

Ans.

For decorating Christmas tree it would be better to join bulbs in a series as bulbs joined in series could be controlled by a single switch. Series circuit is also

safer as amount of current in it would be smaller. Joining the bulbs in series has one disadvantage if a bulb in series fuses because of any reason the whole

circuit would break and all bulbs would be turned off.

For light connection in house it would be better to join bulbs in parallel because

i. In parallel circuit we could have separate switches for all lights or appliances. Thus lights or appliances could be individually turned on or off.

ii. In parallel circuit each light/ appliance would get same voltages that of power supply due to this all lights would glow brightly as compared to when

connected in series .

iii. In parallel connection of electrical appliances, the overall resistance of the house holds circuit is reduced due to which current from the power supply is

high. Therefore appliances could draw the requires amount of current for its working.

Q. 9.
Ans.

a)

Total effective resistance = 2.5 ohms

b)

Ammeter shows amount of current in the circuit

I = V/R = 6 / 2.5 = 2.4 ohms

Q. 10.

How can you join three resistors of 2 ohms, 4 ohms, and 8 ohms to get

1) least equivalent resistance, 2) maximum equivalent resistance

3) resistance in between the least and maximum equivalent resistance

Ans.

1) Join all resistors in parallel.

2) Join all resistors in series. R = 2+4+8= 14 Ohms

s

3) For resistance between 1.14 and 14 ohm any of the following configurations are possible
1.
Are there any applications of heating effects of current?
Ans.
Yes there are applications of heating effect of current. For example: electric iron, heater, electric oven and
kettle. In a device the heat released due to electric energy is used to heat either the coils or plates and
then used for practical purposes.

Q. 2.
An electric heater is joined in parallel with a 40W bulb and then connected to mains. If the
40 W bulb is replaced by a 100 W bulb, will the rate of heat produced by the heater remain
same, would increase or decrease?
Ans.
Resistance of 40 W bulb is more than that of a 100 W bulb. So equivalent resistance of the network drops
on placing 100 W bulb in the circuit and therefore power or heat (V²t/R) would increase.

Q. 3.
Calculate the time required to produce 24000J of heat when a current of 2A flows through
an electric kettle under a supply of 240V.
Ans.
According to Joules Law of Heating
H = I2Rt or H = VIt
24000 = 240 x 2 x t
t = 24000 / 480
t = 50 sec

Q. 4.
Which material is used to make heating coils in electric home appliances and why?
Ans.
Heating coils in electric home appliances are made up of Nichrome, an alloy of nickel, chromium,
manganese and iron. And the reasons for using Nichrome in a heating coil are
 a) Nichrome has high melting point
b) The Nichrome coil can remain in red-hot condition for a long time.

c) It has high resistance.

Q. 5.
A fan becomes warm when used continuously. Why?
Ans.
A fan become warm on when used continuously as some of the electric energy is used in driving the fan
where as some is dissipated as heat. So if we use it continuously, there is a continuous dissipation of
heat which makes fan warm.

Q. 6.
What is Joule’s Law of heating?
Ans.
According to the Joule’s Law of Heating heat produced in a resistor is
(i)Directly proportional to the square of current for a given resistance,
(ii)Directly proportional to resistance for a given current, and
(iii)Directly proportional to the time for which the current flows through the resistor.

Q. 7.
An electric geyser works in a 230V supply which draws a current of 6A for 5 minutes.
Find out the quantity of heat produced in the heater.
Ans.
V= 230V
I = 6A
t = 5 minute = 5 x 60 seconds = 300 seconds

H = I²Rt = VIt
= 230 x 6 A x 300 s
= 414000J

Q. 8.
Find out the quantity of heat produced in a when 2A current is supplied to it for
8 resistance 10Ω minutes.
Ans.
The heat produced , H
H = I2Rt
H = 2 x 2 x 10 x 8 x 60
H = 19200 Joules.
Q. 9.
10 joules of heat is produced in 10 ohm resistance in 1 second. Calculate the amount of
heat produced in 3 ohm resistance in 1 second.

Ans.
H= I²Rt
10= I² x 10 x 1
I= 1A
Rcd = 7+3
Rcd and RAB are in parallel , so voltage would be same.
I1 RAB = I2 RCD
I1 x10= I2 x 10
I1 = I2
But I =I1 + I2 = 1A
Which implies I1= ½ A and I2= ½ A
Heat produced in 3 ohm resistance per second would be
H= I2² Rt=( ½)² x 3 x 1= 0.75 J

Q. 10.
A electric kettle connected to a 220 V has a resistance of 150 ohm. How long will it take for
this coil to heat 0.5 kg of water from 20 º C to 50 º C, assuming that all heat is taken by
water.
Ans.
Heat required to heat water = ms∆t = 0.5 x 4186 J/Kg º C x 30 = 62790 joule
Heat produced by electric kettle= V²t/R
Equating we get
t = 62790 x R / V²= 62790 x 150 / (220)² = 194.59 seconds

. 1.
Is it true that voltage is the force which pushes electrons through wires?
Ans.
No. Voltage is not a force. Voltage gives us just an indication of electric potential energy per unit of
charge . Unit of electric potential is volt and 1 volt = joule/coulomb. Where as the unit of force is Newton.
Q. 2.
In cold places it is difficult to start the car. Why?
Ans.
It is difficult to start the car in a cold place as the engine oil becomes viscous and needs higher amount of
current to warm up the oil.

Q. 3.
Calculate the number of electrons in 1C?
Ans.

Q. 4.
Why a bird sitting on electric wire does does not get electrocuted?
Ans.
For an electric current to flow there should be a difference in potential difference, as current flow from
high potential difference to low potential difference. When a bird is perched on electricity transmission
wire both its feet are on same voltage line so bird does not get electric shock.

Q. 5.
If 8 C of charge passes through point 'X' in 4 seconds then how much charge would flow
through point 'X' in 10 seconds?
Ans.
The current (I) is the quantity of charge (Q) flowing through a point in a given amount of time (t).
That is, I = Q/t.
Therefore, the current at point X is (8 C) / (4 s) = 2 amperes.
Thus the Q/t ratio is 2 regardless of the time.
Now to find amount of charge through x in 10 seconds we would solve the equation
2 = Q / (10 s)
Q = 20 C

Q. 6.
Current flows opposite to the direction of flow of electrons. Is it a scalar quantity or a
vector quantity? Why.
Ans.
Current flows opposite to the direction of flow of electrons. It’s a scalar quantity because:
a) Current in a circuit is added algebraically.
b) Current remains same throughout the cross section of the wire even if it varies.
 Q. 7.
Work done in carrying a 5C charge from point A to point B in a circuit is 35 J. Calculate the
electric potential.
Ans.

Q. 8.
Three bulbs are connected in series and parallel. If a bulb gets fused from each circuit what
will happen?
Ans.

If a bulb fuses from both the circuit then

i) In the series circuit all the other bulbs will go off as the circuit breaks and hence the flow of current is
stopped to the other bulbs.
ii) In the parallel circuit the other bulbs remain on as the potential difference across them remains and the
current flow doesn’t break.

Q. 9.
What instruments are used to measure electric current and voltage in an electric circuit and
how are they connected?
Ans.
Ammeter is used to measure electric current in a circuit and it is connected in series. Voltmeter is used to
measure voltage or potential difference in a circuit and it is connected in parallel in an electric circuit. The
 diagram below shows how voltmeter and ammeter are connected in an electric circuit to find the current
and voltage passing through a resistor.

Q. 10.
Using the graphs, identify the various types of current.

Ans.
The various types of currents are

1) Direct Current: Current which moves in a single direction in a steady flow.

2) Varying Current: Current doesn’t vary periodically , varies irrespective of time
3) Alternating Current: the direction of current flowing in a circuit is constantly being reversed back and forth
periodically.