E s s e n t i a l P h y s i c s f o r C a m b r i d g e I G C S E ® 2 nd E d i t i o n

Unit 13 Electric circuits

SUMMARY QUESTIONS:
1 (a) buzzer (b) thermistor (c) diode

(d) LDR (e) a normally open relay (f) variable resistor

2 See Figure 13.5.4

3 (a) Any four sensible faults/hazards, e.g. damaged insulation, overheating cables, damp or wet
conditions, unsuitable cables and sockets. These are discussed in Topic 13.10.
(b) A fuse consists of a wire that heats up and melts if current is too large, hence breaking the
circuit and switching off the current.
(c) The Earth wire is important for safety. It prevents the metal casing of appliances from
becoming ‘live’.
(d) Allows a large current to flow to ground causing the fuse to blow (or circuit breaker to
trip).
4 (a) The resistance of the LDR is reduced
(b) Increasing the intensity of the light shining on the LDR decreases its resistance so the
potential difference (p.d.) across it decreases and the p.d. across the variable resistor
increases. Since the p.d. across the variable resistance is the input to the NOT gate, the
output of the NOT gate changes to 0 and the buzzer is switched on.
(c) More light is needed to switch the buzzer on.

PRACTICE QUESTIONS:
1 A 1.6 Ω
2 D 1.8 A
3 C 4.5 V in series and 1.5 V in parallel
4 A AND
5 B 1.0 V
6 (a) (i) Power

(ii) Switch, variable resistor

(b) 12 Ω

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iGCSE_Physics_answers.indd 20 3/20/15 2:49 PM

 E s s e n t i a l P h y s i c s f o r C a m b r i d g e I G C S E ® 2 nd E d i t i o n

7 (a) (i) thermistor (ii) LDR

(b) (i) Increase in temperature (ii) Increase in light level

(c) Any sensible suggestions
e.g. thermistor: temperature control circuit for heater
LDR: dark/light sensor for security lighting
8 (a) (i) 0.42 A
(ii) 12 (if unrounded value for I is used), 11 (if rounded value for I is used)
(b) (i) The wire in the fuse heats up and melts if the current is too large, hence breaking the
circuit and switching off the current.
(ii) Lamps can be switched on and off independently
9 (a) Digital: The voltage at any point in a digital circuit is either zero (low) or at a fixed positive
value (high) with reference to the negative terminal of a power supply.
Analogue: The voltage at any point in an analogue circuit can take any value between the
maximum and minimum voltage of the power supply. See Figure 13.7.1.
(b) (i) A diode allows current to flow in only one direction (forward direction). Its resistance is
low in the forward direction and very high in the reverse direction.
(ii) See Figure 13.6.2. (half-wave rectification)
(c) (i) – (v) See Figure 13.7.2.

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