Physics 220 General Physics II Grist

Physics 220 Exam 2 Solutions

Multiple Choice Section (5 pts. ea.)

More than one version of Exam - same questions, different orders.

1) Three 8 Ω resistors are connected in series. What is their equivalent resistance?

REq ,Series = R1 + R2 + R3 ∴ REq ,Series = 8Ω + 8Ω + 8Ω = 24Ω

2) Three 8 Ω resistors are connected in parallel. What is their equivalent resistance?

1 1 1 1
= + +
REq ,Parallel R1 R2 R3
1 1 1 1 = 2.7Ω
∴ REq ,Parallel = = = =
1 1
+ +
1 1
+
1
+
1 0.125Ω + 0.125Ω + 0.125Ω 0.375Ω
R1 R2 R3 8Ω 8Ω 8Ω

3) The two ends of a 3.0 Ω resistor are connected to a 9V battery. What is the current
through the resister?

V 9V
From Ohm’s Law… V = IR ∴ I = = = 3.0 A
R 3Ω

4) The two ends of a 3.0 Ω resistor are connected to a 9V battery. What is the total power
delivered by the battery to the circuit?

V 2 ( 9V )
2

P= = = 27W
R 3Ω

5) What is Kirchhoff’s 1st equation for this junction?

I1 I2

I1 = I 2 + I 3
I3
Physics 220 General Physics II Grist

6) A proton is released so that its initial velocity is from right to left across this page. As it
moves, the protons path is deflected towards the bottom of the page due to the presence of a
magnetic field. What is the direction of the magnetic field?

If you point your fingers from right to left across the page (the direction of the velocity), then
using the right hand rule the only way you could point your thumb towards the bottom of the
page (the direction of the resultant force) is if you bend you fingers into the page. Into the page
must be the direction of the magnetic field.

7) A straight wire of length l is oriented east-west and is in a magnetic field B which is pointing
north. The wire is moving south at a constant speed v. Which end of the wire is positively
charged?

If you point your fingers south (the direction of the velocity), then using the right hand rule you
bend you fingers around to the north. Your thumb now points to the east. This is the direction
of force on a positive charge, so it must be the positively charged end. Another way to think of
this is that the force on a negative charge is the opposite so the negatively charged electrons
are moving towards the west end, leaving a net positive charge on the east end.

8) The principle or law that says “an induced emf in a circuit loop produces a current whose
magnetic field opposes further change of magnetic flux” is credited to:

This is Lenz’s Law.

9) A series AC circuit consists of a 10 Ω resister, a coil with 12 Ω of inductive reactance and a

capacitor with 7 Ω of capacitive reactance. What is the impedance?

Z = R2 + ( X l − X c ) = (10Ω ) + (12Ω − 7Ω )
2 2 2

(10Ω ) + ( 5Ω ) (100Ω ) + ( 25Ω ) = (125Ω )

2 2
= = = 11.2Ω

10) The primary winding of a transformer for a model electric train has 400 turns and the
secondary has 50 turns. If the input voltage is 120Vrms, what is the output voltage?

Vp Np Ns 50
= ∴Vs = Vp = (120VRMS )
Vs Ns Np 400 = 15VRMS
Physics 220 General Physics II Grist

Long Answer Section (50 pts. total)

Partial credit will be given, but be sure to show all work. No work, or work insufficient to show
correct problem solving, will receive NO CREDIT.

11) Analyze the following circuit. R1-6 = 100Ω or 300Ω

R1 R2

R3
R4
10 v

R5 R6

a) (10) What is the equivalent resistance of the circuit?

Solution: Start at the outside and work in. First R2, R4 and R6 are in series (Req,s), then this is in
parallel with R3 (Req, p), and then this is in series with R1 and R5 (REq).

For 100Ω For 300Ω

Req ,s = 100Ω + 100Ω + 100Ω = 300Ω Req ,s = 300Ω + 300Ω + 300Ω = 900Ω
1 1
R eq , p = = 75Ω R eq , p = = 225Ω
1 1 1 1
+ +
300Ω 100Ω 900Ω 300Ω
REq = 75Ω + 100Ω + 100Ω = 275Ω REq = 225Ω + 300Ω + 300Ω = 825Ω

b) (10) What is current through R5?

Solution: Using Ohm’s Law find the total circuit current. Remember “your gazintas have to
equal your gazoutas” so this must be the current through R5.
V 10V
For 100Ω I = = = 0.0364 A = 36.4mA
REq 275Ω
V 30V
For 300Ω I = = = 0.0364 A = 36.4mA
REq 825Ω

c) (10) What would the current be if R5 = 1 kΩ ?

Solution: redo the last part of a) to find the new equivalent resistance and then use this new
value in Ohm’s Law to solve for the current.
V 10V
For 100Ω REq = 75Ω + 100Ω + 1k Ω = 1,175Ω I= = = 0.0085 A = 8.5mA
REq 1175Ω
V 30V
For 300Ω REq = 225Ω + 300Ω + 1k Ω = 1,525Ω I= = = 0.0197 A = 19.7mA
REq 1525Ω
Physics 220 General Physics II Grist

12) You are given a box with the following components:

Three batteries (12v, 9v, 1.5v)
Three capacitors (10.0µF, 1.0µF, 0.1µF)
Four resistors (1MΩ, 330kΩ, 100kΩ, 10kΩ)
Using the minimum number of components, build an RC circuit with a time constant of 1.0s or 0.1s.

a) (5) What are the correct values for the resistor, capacitor and battery?
First off, τ is not dependent on the voltage, so any battery will do.
For 1.0s τ = RC = (1M Ω )(1µ F ) = 1.0 s For 0.1s τ = RC = (1M Ω )( 0.1µ F ) = 0.1s

b) (10) Draw the circuit in the box provided. Use standard schematic symbols and label them.

c) (5) Draw the discharge curve for one time constant on the graph provided.
Label axis with proper units.

Bonus Section
(10 pts) An inductor (L=133mh) in a 60 Hz circuit that has a maximum current of 2.8A. What is
the RMS voltage drop (Vrms) across the inductor?

⎛ I ⎞ ⎛ 2.8 ⎞
X L = 2π fL
VRMS = I RMS X L = ⎜ o ⎟ ( 2π fL ) = ⎜ ⎟ ( 2π ( 60 Hz )( 0.133h ) )
⎝ 2⎠ ⎝ 2⎠ ≅ 100V