Physics E1bx Feb. 17, 2015-Feb.

24, 2015

Physics E1bx: Assignment for Feb. 17 - Feb. 24

Homework #2: Conductors, Current, Resistance, and DC Circuits
Due Tuesday, Feb. 24, at 6:00 PM

This assignment must be turned in by 6:00 pm on Tuesday, Feb. 24. Late homework will not be
accepted. Please write your answers to these questions on a separate sheet of paper with your name and
your section TF’s name written at the top. Turn in your homework to the mailbox marked with your
section TF’s name in the row of mailboxes outside of Sci Ctr 108.

You are encouraged to work with your classmates on these assignments, but please write the names of
all your study group members on your homework.

After completing homework 2, you should be able to…

• Determine the potential anywhere on or within a conductor at equilibrium when given
information about the potential at one point on the conductor
• Understand how conductivity and resistivity are related
• Understand how resistance is related to resistivity and conductivity, and geometric properties
• Understand current in the context of charges moving
• Calculate the drift velocity of electrons in a current
• know the relationship between capacitance, charge, and potential difference
• know that resistors in series have the same current
• know that resistors in parallel have the same potential difference
• be able to reduce a given circuit into its equivalent resistor

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Here are summaries of important concepts to help you complete this homework:

Conductors at Equilibrium

- at equilibrium, the potential must be the same at every point on a conductor, as well as at every
point within any cavities
- no potential gradient exists within a conductor at equilibrium
- all charges appear on the surface of the conductor

Current and Drift Velocity

- current is defined as charge per unit time:

Δ𝑄
𝑖 =  
Δ𝑡
- drift velocity is the average rate at which charges are moving and is equal to
𝑖
𝑣!"#$% =
𝑛𝐴𝑞
where i is current, n is the number of atoms per unit volume (number density or concentration),
A is the cross-sectional area, and q is the magnitude of the charge.

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1. Conceptual Questions. (2 pts)

a) How are resistivity and conductivity related? Are these intrinsic or extrinsic properties? What
does it mean for something to be an intrinsic or extrinsic property?

Resistivity ρ and conductivity σ are inverses of each other; that is,

1
𝜌=
𝜎
Resistivity and conductivity are measures of how well or poorly a particular material conducts an
electric current. For example, a conductor is a material on which charges are free to move, and
has a high conductivity and low resistivity. A resistor, on the other hand, is a material that
impedes electric current, and has a high resistivity and a low conductivity. Because resistivity
and conductivity are inverses of each other, this means that a good resistor is a poor conductor
and vice versa. The units of resistivity are ٟm and the units of conductivity are (ٟm)-1.

Both of these are intrinsic properties, which means that their value is dependent on the material
present. Neither resistivity nor conductivity is dependent on the amount, shape, or size of the
material.

b) Is resistance an intrinsic or extrinsic property? How is resistance related to resistivity and

conductivity?

Resistance R is an extrinsic property. This means that resistance is dependent on the size and
shape of the material. In terms of conductivity σ, resistance is equal to
𝐿
𝑅 =  
𝜎𝐴
where L is the length of the material and A is the cross-sectional area. In terms of resistivity ρ,
resistance is equal to
𝜌𝐿
𝑅 =  
𝐴

2. An Isolated Conductor. (1 pts)

Two students are discussing the problem of an isolated spherical conductor at potential V. Student 1
says, “This isolated spherical conductor is a capacitor.” Student 2 responds saying, “No, a capacitor is
always made up of two conducting plates with charge +Q and –Q separated by a distance d.

Which student is incorrect? Explain your answer.

Student 2 is incorrect. This student is describing what is known as a parallel-plate capacitor, which is
just one type of capacitor. Another type of capacitor can be formed by two concentric spheres or
cylinders. Yet another example of a capacitor is just a single spherical conductor at some potential V,
which is what Student 1 is referring to. For this capacitor, the capacitance is given by
𝐶 = 4𝜋𝜀! 𝑅

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3. Putting Everything Together (3 pts)
Shown below is a schematic for an apparatus for gel electrophoresis. Proteins are denatured (unfolded)
and scrubbed by a detergent like SDS, such that they acquire a charge proportional to their length. A
potential difference is applied across the gel using a pair of electrodes above and below it, and the
resulting potential gradient pushes charged proteins through the gel such that small and large proteins
move different distances. Thus the protein composition of the substance can be analyzed.
a) If the electric potential difference between the electrodes above and below the gel is 200
volts (with the positive electrode on the bottom), what is the potential gradient inside the gel?
The proteins start at the top and are pushed downward. Are the proteins positively or
negatively charged? Explain.

The potential gradient is equal to

𝛥𝑉 200  𝑉 𝑽
= = 𝟐𝟎𝟎𝟎 ,
𝛥𝑦 10  cm 𝐦
where the bottom plate is at a higher potential than the top one.

Since the proteins move towards high V, they must be negatively charged.

b) Proteins moving through this gel experience a viscous drag force of magnitude Fdrag = fv,
where f is the drag coefficient and v is the protein’s speed. What are the dimensions of f?
Draw the free-body diagram for a protein and derive an expression for its terminal speed.
Neglect gravity.

The drag coefficient f has dimensions of:

𝑀𝐿
[𝐹! ] [ 𝑇 ! ] [𝑴]
𝑓 = = = .
[𝑣] 𝐿 [𝑻]
[𝑇 ]
The FBD for the protein is shown at right. At terminal velocity, the net force
on the protein is zero, so:
𝐹!"!#$%&# = 𝐹!"#$ .
Δ𝑉
𝑞 = 𝑓𝑣! ,
Δ𝑦
𝒒 𝚫𝑽
𝒗𝒕 =
𝒇 𝚫𝒚

c) It turns out that f for denatured proteins of length L

in this gel is proportional to L2. Using this fact,
derive an expression showing why small proteins
will move further through the gel in the same amount
of time than large ones. Show the “bands” that will
result if you have a mixture of three different
proteins, each with different lengths, and you run that mixture through the gel.

Since f is proportional to L2 and q is proportional to L, the terminal speed vt is inversely

proportional to length:

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Physics E1bx Feb. 17, 2015-Feb. 24, 2015
1
vt ∝
L.

This means that large proteins will move more slowly than small proteins. Therefore, letting
all the proteins run for the same time means that the small proteins will move further. Here’s
what we would expect the gel to look like if we ran a sample with three different proteins of
different lengths:

3. Putting Everything Together (3 pts)

Running along each side of the back of a squid is a tube-like

structure that can be as large as 1.5 mm in diameter in some
species. Originally thought to be blood vessels, in the late 1930s the
anatomist J.Z. Young discovered that the structures are connected
to the nervous system, not to the heart. Although the vast majority
of axons in the squid range in diameter from about 10 µm to 50 µm,
as squid develop, axons from about 30,000 neurons fuse together to
form the giant axons.

In this problem, you will compare the resistance of the giant axon
to that of a smaller axon.

a) First, write an expression for the resistance of the giant

axon and an expression for the resistance of a small
axon. Let RG and RS denote the resistance for the giant
and small axons, respectively, and let DG be the
diameter of a giant axon and DS be the diameter of a small axon. Your expression should be
in terms of resistivity ρ, length L, and the appropriate diameter variable (DG or DS). Assume
the axons have the same length.

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Physics E1bx Feb. 17, 2015-Feb. 24, 2015
Resistance is given by
𝜌𝐿 𝜌𝐿 4𝜌𝐿
𝑅 =   = !
=
𝐴 𝜋 𝐷/2 𝜋𝐷!
Both the giant and small axons have the same resistivity, have the same length, and are both
assumed to be cylindrical. So, the resistance for each is given by:
𝟒𝝆𝑳
𝑹𝑮 =
𝝅𝑫𝟐𝑮
𝟒𝝆𝑳
𝑹𝑺 =
𝝅𝑫𝟐𝑺

b) Now, find the ratio of RG to RS. That is, write RG in terms of RS. Your expression should again
be in terms of the variables ρ, L, DG, and DS as needed.

The ratio of RG to RS is
4𝜌𝐿
𝑅! 𝜋𝐷!! 4𝜌𝐿 𝜋𝐷!! 𝐷!!
= = = !
𝑅! 4𝜌𝐿 𝜋𝐷!! 4𝜌𝐿 𝐷!
𝜋𝐷!!
So, the resistance of the giant axon relative to the resistance of the smaller axon is
𝑫𝟐𝑺
𝑹𝑮 = 𝟐 𝑹𝑺
𝑫𝑮

c) Substitute values into the expression you found in part b). How much larger or smaller is RG
compared to RS? Use 50 µm for the diameter of a small axon.

Substituting in the numbers provided yields

50  x  10!!  m !
𝑅! = 𝑅
1.5  x  10!!  m ! !
𝑹𝑮 = 𝟏. 𝟏𝟏  𝐱  𝟏𝟎!𝟑  𝑹𝑺
The resistance of the giant axon is about 1000 times smaller than the resistance of the
normal, smaller axons.

d) How does RG compare to RS? In which type of axon can an action potential travel faster?
Why might this be useful for the squid?

The resistance RG of the giant axon is much less than the resistance RS of the smaller axon.
This means that action potentials can travel much faster in the giant axon compared to the
normal, smaller axons because the resistance determines the speed at which at an action
potential can propagate.

When a squid recognizes danger, it sends electrical signals (action potentials) along the giant
axon to trigger muscle contraction. These signals arrive 1000 times more quickly through the
giant axon than they would if the squid’s nervous system were entirely composed of nerve
cells with smaller diameter axons. Thus, the giant axon can allow a squid to escape from
danger faster than would otherwise be possible if it only had normal axons.