UNIT 2 - CURRENT ELECTRICITY

1. Two materials Ge and Al are cooled from 300K to 60K. What will be the effect on their
resistivity? Explain.

2. Manganin is used for making standard resistors, why?

3. Why is it easier to start a car engine on a warm day than on a chilly day?
4. A resistance R is connected across a cell of emf E and internal resistance r. A
potentiometer now measures the potential difference between two terminals of the cell
as V. Write the expression for ‘r’ in terms of E, V and R

5. Plot a graph showing the variation of resistance of a conducting wire as a function of

its radius, keeping the length of the wire and its temperature constant.

6. Define the term 'drift velocity' of charge carriers in a conductor and write its
relationship with the current flowing through it.
7. A cell of emf E and internal resistance r is connected across a variable resistor R. Plot
a graph showing the variation of terminal potential V with resistance R. Predict from
the graph the condition under which V becomes equal to E.

8. A potential difference V is applied to a conductor of length L. How is the drift velocity

affected when V is doubled and L is halved?

9. Two conducting wires X and Y of same diameter but different materials are joined in
series across a battery. If the number density of electrons in X is twice that in Y, find
the ratio of drift velocity of electrons in the two wires.

10. The variation of ‘V’ with ‘l’ in case of two potentiometers is shown in the graph. Which
of them is more sensitive?

11. A student has two wire of iron and copper of equal length and diameter.He first
joins two wires in series and pass electric current through the combination which
increases gradually.After that he joins two wires in parallel and repeats the
process of passing current.Which wire will glow first in each case?

12. Assuming that there is one free electron per atom in a metal, determine the number of
free electrons in a piece of this metal having area of cross-section, length, density &
atomic weight 10-6m2, 1.0m, 5x103 kg/m3 and 60 respectively. Also find the drift
velocity of electrons in the metal when a current of 16A passes through it. Given:
Avogadro’s No.= 6x1023 per mol. (Ans. 5x1022, 2x10-3m/s)

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13. A cylindrical wire is stretched to make it 10% longer. Find the percentage change in
its resistance. (Ans. 21%)

14. In a meter bridge, resistances P & Q, (P < Q) close the gaps. A balance is obtained at
40cm from one end. On shunting Q with a resistance of 50, the balance point is moved
through 10cm. Find the values of P & Q.

15. A 10m long wire of uniform area of cross section and resistance 20 is used as a
potentiometer wire. This wire is connected in series with a battery of 5V and a resistor
of 480. An unknown emf is balanced against a length of 600cm in the secondary
circuit. Draw relevant circuit diagram and find (i) the potential gradient for the
potentiometer wire and (ii) the value of unknown emf in the secondary circuit.(Ans.
[1/50] Vm-1, 0.12V)

16. The following graph shows the variation of terminal potential difference V across a
combination of three cells in series to a resistor, versus the current i.

i) Calculate the emf of each cell.

ii) For what current i will the power dissipation of the circuit be maximum?(2V,1 A)
iii)
17. A series battery of 6 lead acid accumulators of emf 2V and internal resistance 0.50
each is charged by a 100 DC. supply. What series resistor should be used if the charging
current is to be limited to 8.0A? Find (a) power dissipated as heat, outside and inside
the battery (b) power supplied by the mains and (c) the chemical energy stored in the
cell in 1hour.
[Ans. (a) 512W, 192W, (b) 800W, (c) 86400J]

18. A current of 3A flows through a straight metal rod of diameter 0.20cm. The rod is 1.5m
long and has a potential difference 40V between its ends. Find (i) the current density
(ii) the electric field inside the rod and (iii) resistivity of the material of the rod.
(Ans. 9.55x105A/m2, 27V/m, 28μΩ-m)

19. An electric bulb is marked 100W, 230V. If the supply voltage drops to 115V, find the
heat produced by the bulb in 20 minutes. (Ans. 30kJ)

20. A cell of emf ‘E’ and internal resistance ‘r’ is connected across a variable resistor ‘R’.
Plot a graph showing variation of terminal voltage ‘V’ of the cell versus the current
‘I’. Using the plot, show how the emf of the cell and its internal resistance can be
determined.
21. A heater coil is rated 100W, 220V. It is cut into two identical parts. Both parts are now
joined in parallel, to the same source. Calculate its new power?
(Ans.400W)

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22. Two identical cells, of emf 1.5 V each are joined in parallel providing supply to an
external circuit consisting of two resistors of 13 Ω each joined in parallel. A very high
resistance voltmeter reads the terminal voltage of the cells to be 1.4 V. Find the internal
resistance of each cell.

23. In a metre bridge, the balance point is found to be at 39.5 cm from the end A, when the
resistor Y is of 12.5 ohm. Determine the resistance of X. Why are the connections
between resistors in a metre bridge made of thick copper strips? What happens if the
galvanometer and cell are interchanged at the balance point of the bridge? Would the
galvanometer show any current?

24. Calculate the value of current drawn from a 5V battery in the circuit as shown.

25. What will be the current through the 2 Ω resistance for the circuit shown in the figure?
Give reason to support your answer.

26. Two wires A and B have same lengths and material , have their cross sectional
areas 1:4 , what would be the ratio of heat produced in these wires when the
voltage across each is constant.(1:4)

27. In the network given below, use Kirchoff's laws to calculate the values of electric
currents I1,I2 and I3

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28. In the circuit shown below the galvanometer shows zero deflection. If the batteries A
and B have negligible internal resistance, find the value of the resistance R.

30. State the underlying principle of a potentiometer. Why is it necessary to (i) use a long
wire, (ii) have uniform area of cross-section of the wire and (iii) use a driving cell
whose emf is
taken to be greater than the emfs of the primary cells ?
31. Answer the following :
(a) Why are the connections between the resistors in a meter bridge made of thick
copper strips?
(b) Why is it generally preferred to obtain the balance point in the middle of the meter
bridge wire ?
(c) Which material is used for the meter bridge wire and why?
32. For the potentiometer circuit shown in the given figure, points X and Y represent the
two terminals of an unknown emf ‘E’. A student observed that when the jockey is
moved from the end A to B of potentiometer wire, the deflection in the galvanometer
remains in the same direction. What are the two possible faults that could result in this
observation?

If the galvanometer deflection at the end B is (i) more (ii) less than that at the end A,
which of the two faults, listed above, would be there in the circuit?
Give reasons in support of your answer in each case.

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 Questions according to the new pattern
1. Kirchhoff’s II law for the electric network is based on:

(a) Law of conservation of charge

(b) Law of conservation of energy

(c) Law of conservation of angular momentum

(d) Law of conservation of mass

Ans. B

2. A cell of emf E and internal resistance r is connected across an external resistor R.

The graph showing the variation of P.D. across R versus R

Ans.C
3. Wheat Stone Bridge experiment is most sensitive, when:
(a) All four resistances are approximately equal
(b) One of the resistances is very high as compare to others
(c) One of the resistances is very low as compare to others
(d) Any two resistances are equal to infinity.
Ans. A
4. For a cell of e.m.f. 2 V, a balance is obtained for 50 cm of the potentiometer wire. If the
cell is shunted by a 2 resistor and the balance is obtained across 40 cm of the wire, then
the internal resistance of the cell is
(a) 1Ω
(b) 0.5 Ω
(c) 1.2 Ω
(d) 2.5 Ω
Ans. (b)

5. In a metre bridge experiment, resistance box (with ) is connected in the left gap and the
unknown resistance S in the right gap. If balancing length be 40 cm, calculate value of S.
(a) 2Ω
(b) 3 Ω
(c) 4 Ω
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 (d) 2.5 Ω
Ans. (b)
6. The colour sequence in a carbon resistor is red, brown, orange and silver. The resistance
of the resistor in The colour sequence in a carbon resistor is red, brown, orange and silver.
The resistance of the resistor in Ohms is
(a) 21X 103± 10%
(b) 23 X 101± 10%
(c) 21 X 10 ± 5%
3

(d) 12X 103± 5%

Ans. (a)
7. The equivalent resistance of the arrangement of resistances shown in adjoining figure

between the points A and B is

(a) 6 ohm
(b) 8 ohm
(c) 16 ohm
(d) 24 ohm
Ans. (b)

8. A cell of internal resistance 3 ohm and emf 10 volt is connected to a uniform wire of
length 500 cm and resistance 3 ohm. The potential gradient in the wire is
(a) 30 mV/cm
(b) 10 mV/cm
(c) 20 mV/cm
(d) 4 mV/cm
Ans. (b)
9. From the graph between current I and voltage V shown below, identify the portion
corresponding to negative resistance

(a) AB
(b) BC
(c) CD
(d) DE
Ans. (c) CD Page | 19