Abu Dhabi University Practice Problems

College of CAS Chapter 25. Current and Resistance

PHY201. Physics II.

1. If the magnitude of the drift velocity of free electrons in a copper wire is 7.84 ×10-4 m/s,
what is the electric field in the conductor? The molar mass of copper is M = 63.5 g/mol.
Avogadro’s number of atoms (NA = 6.02 = 1023 mol–1). The density of copper is 𝜌𝜌𝑑𝑑 =8.92 g/cm3
and copper resistivity𝜌𝜌𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 = 1.7 × 10−7 Ω. 𝑚𝑚. Ans: 1.8V/m

2. A rod of 2 m length and a square (2 mm × 2 mm) cross section is made of a material with a
resistivity of 6 × 10-8Ω.m. If a potential difference of 0.5 V is placed across the ends of the rod,
at what rate is heat (Power) generated in the rod? Ans. 8.3 W

3. An electric current in a conductor varies with time according to the expression:

I(t) = 100 sin (120πt), where I is in amperes and t is in seconds. What is the total charge passing
1
a given point in the conductor from t = 0 to t = 𝑠𝑠 ? Ans. 0.265 C,
240

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4. A light bulb is rated at 30 W when operated at 120 V. How much charge passes through this
bulb in 1 minute? Ans. 15 C

5. A rod (length = 80 cm) with a rectangular cross section (1.5 mm × 2 mm) has a resistance of
0.2 Ω. What is the resistivity of the material used to make the rod? Ans. 7.5 × 10-7Ω.m

6. A 50 V potential difference is maintained across a 2 m length wire that has a diameter of 0.5
mm. If the wire is made of material that has a resistivity of 7 × 10-8Ω.m, what is the current in
the wire? Ans. 70 A

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7. How much energy is dissipated as heat during a two-minute time interval by a 1.5 kΩ
resistor which has a constant 20 V potential difference across its leads? Ans. 32 J

8. A conductor of radius r, length l and resistivity ρ has resistance R. What is the new
resistance if it is stretched to 4 times its original length?

9. A small bulb is rated at 7.5 W when operated at 125 V. The tungsten filament has a
temperature coefficient of resistivity α = 4.5 × 10-3 /oC. When the filament is hot and glowing,
its temperature is seven times room temperature (20 °C). What is the resistance of the filament
at room temperature? Ans. 1350 Ω

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10. What maximum power can be generated from an 18V emf using any combination of a
6.0 Ω resistor and a 9.0 Ω resistor? Ans. 90 W

11. A 4 Ω resistor has a current of 3 A in it for 5 min. How many electrons pass through the
resistor during this time interval?

a. 7.5 × 1021
b. 5.6 × 1021
c. 6.6 × 1021
d. 8.4 × 1021
e. 2.1 × 1021

12. Determine the temperature at which the resistance of an aluminum wire will be twice its
value at 20oC. Assume its coefficient of resistivity C remains constant.
o -1

o
Ans: 276 C

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13. What is the resistance of a wire made of a material with a resistivity of 3.2 × 10−8Ω⋅m, if
its length is 2.5 m and its diameter is 0.50 mm? Ans: 0.41 Ω

14. The current in a conductor varies in time as shown in the figure below.

(a) How many coulombs of charge pass through a cross section of the conductor in the
Interval from t = 0 to t = 5.0 s?

(b) What constant current would transport the same total charge during the 5.0-sinterval
as does the actual current?

15. Two wires A and B with circular cross sections are made of the same metal and have equal
lengths, but the resistance of wire A is three times greater than that of wire B.
(i) What is the ratio of the cross-sectional area of A to that of B?
(a) 3 (b) √3 (c) 1 (d) 1/√3 (e) 1/3

(ii) What is the ratio of the radius of A to that of B?

(a) 3 (b) √3 (c) 1 (d) 1/√3 (e) 1/3

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16. Two conductors made of the same material are connected across the same potential
difference. Conductor A has twice the diameter and twice the length of conductor B. What is
the ratio of the power delivered to A to the power delivered to B?

(a) 8 (b) 4 (c) 2 (d) 1 (e) 1/2

17. Two conducting wires A and B of the same length and radius are connected across the same
potential difference. Conductor A has twice the resistivity of conductor B. What is the ratio of
the power delivered to A to the power delivered to B?

(a) 2 (b) √2 (c) 1 (d) 1/√2 (e) 1/2

18. Two conductors are made of the same material and have the same length L. Conductor A is
a hollow tube with inside diameter 2.00 mm and outside diameter 3.00 mm; conductor B is a
solid wire with radius RB. What value of RB is required for the two conductors to have the same
resistance measured between their ends?

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