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VIVA VOCE QUESTIONS - CURRENT ELECTICITY

Q.1. Define electric current ?
Ans. The rate of flow of electric charge with time is called current.
Mathematically I = q(charge)
t (time)

Q.2. What is SI unit of electric current ?

Ans. The SI unit of electric current is ampere.

Q.3. What is meant by the term electric potential difference ?

Ans. The electric potential difference between two points in an electric field is defined as the work done to
move one coulomb positive charge from one point to the other.

Q.4. What is a conductor ?

Ans. It is a substance which allows the flow of the electric charge through itself e.g. Copper, Silver etc.

Q.5. Give example of a good non-metallic conductor.

Ans. Graphite

Q.6. State Ohm's law.

Ans. OHM'S LAW states that if the temperature of a conductor is kept constant, the current flowing through
the conductor is directly proportional to the potential difference across its ends.

Q.7. What is meant by the term electric resistance ?

Ans. The resistance of a conductor is defined as the measure of its ability to oppose the flow of electric current
through itself.

Q.8. What is SI unit of resistance ? Define it.

Ans. ohm. One ohm is the resistance of a conductor which allows 1 ampere current to flow through itself when
a potential difference of 1 volt is applied across its ends.

Q.9. State the factors on which the resistance of a conductor depends.

Ans. The resistance of a conductor depends on (i) its length (ii) area of cross-section (iii) nature of the material
of the conductor.

Q.10. Define the term resistivity. Give its SI unit.

Ans. The resistivity of the material of a conductor is numerically equal to the resistance offered by the
conductor of length one metre and uniform area of cross-section 1 m2. Its SI unit is ohm m.

Q.11. Name an element which in different allotropic forms acts as a good conductor and a good
insulator.
Ans. Carbon (Conductor as graphite and insulator as diamond).

Q.12. What is an ohmic resistance ?

Ans. The resistance which obeys Ohm's law is called ohmic resistance.

Q.13. What is the shape of V v/s I graph for an ohmic conductor ?

Ans. The graph is a straight line. So the ohmic conductor is also called a linear device.

Q.14. What is a non-linear device ? Give an example.

Ans. A device is said to be non-linear if V v/s I graph for it is a curve e.g. pn junction.

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Q.15. How is the resistance of a conductor affected by rise in temperature ?

Ans. The resistance increases.

Q.16. Give example of a material whose resistance decreases with rise in temperature.
Ans. Semiconductor.

Q.17. How can you convert a galvanometer into an ammeter ?

Ans. A galvanometer can be converted into an ammeter by connecting an appropriate low resistance wire
(called shunt) in parallel with it.

Q.18. How is ammeter connected in a circuit ?

Ans. An ammeter is always connected in series in the circuit.

Q.19. How can you convert a galvanometer into a voltmeter ?

Ans. A galvanometer can be converted into a voltmeter by connecting a high resistance in series with it.

Q.20. How is a voltmeter connected in a circuit?

Ans. A voltmeter is always connected in parallel.

Q.21. What is a potentiometer ?

Ans. It is an instrument used for accurate measurement of small potential differences and to compare the
e.m.f.s of given primary cells.

Q.22. State the principle of potentiometer.

Ans. For a conducting wire of uniform area of cross-section carrying a steady current; potential difference
across a given length of the wire is directly proportional to the length.

Q.23. What do you mean by potential gradient ?

Ans. The potential gradient means the potential difference per unit length of the potentiometer wire..

Q.24. What is the S.I. unit of potential gradient ?

Ans. Vm–1.

Q.25. What do you mean by e.m.f. of a cell ?

Ans. It is the maximum potential difference across the terminals of a cell in an open circuit.

Q.26. What do you mean by terminal voltage ?

Ans. It is the potential difference across the terminals of a cell when current is being drawn from it.

Q.27. Why do we prefer a potentiometer to a voltmeter for measurement of e.m.f. ?

Ans. For measuring e.m.f. correctly, no current should be drawn from the cell. With a potentiometer, the
reading is recorded when current is zero. So it measures the e.m.f. accurately.

Q.28. Why do we get the null point ?

Ans. The null point is obtained because the e.m.f. of the cell is balanced by the potential difference across a
certain length of the potentiometer wire.

Q.29. Can a voltmeter measure e.m.f. ?

Ans. No. It draws current from the cell.

Q.30. What is a primary cell ?

Ans. It is a cell which cannot be recharged.

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Q.31. What is meant by internal resistance of a cell ?

Ans. It is the resistance offered by the electrolyte of the cell.

Q.32. What is a secondary cell ?

Ans. It is a cell which can be recharged.

Q.33. Why does a secondary cell provide more current than a primary cell of same e.m.f. ?
Ans. A secondary cell has a very low value of internal resistance.

Q.34. Which of the two cells, the primary or the secondary, is used in automobiles and why ?
Ans. Secondary cell is used because it delivers the desired large starting current due to its low internal
resistance.

Q.35. How is the sensitivity of a potentiometer affected by the length of its wire ?
Ans. The sensitivity increases with increase in length of the wire.

Q.36. How is the sensitivity affected by potential gradient ?

Ans. Smaller the potential gradient, more will be the sensitivity.

Q.37. On what factors does the internal resistance of a cell depend ?

Ans. It depends on :
(i) nature of the electrolyte,
(ii) area of the plates inside the electrolyte,
(iii) distance between the plates,
(iv) concentration of the electrolyte,
(v) temperature,
(vi) nature of the electrodes.

Q.38. What will happen if the area of cross section of the potentiometer wire is not uniform ?
Ans. The potential difference will not be proportional to length.

Q.39. What can be the possible cause of one sided deflection in the galvanometer ?
Ans. (i) E.M.F. of the primary cell may exceed that of the main circuit cell.
(ii) Connections may be loose or incorrect.

Q.40. Can we use a potentiometer to measure the internal resistance of a secondary cell ?
Ans. No, because a secondary cell has a very low internal resistance. It does not cause any appreciable
(measurable) potential difference.

Q.41. What is a galvanometer ?

Ans. A galvanometer is an instrument used to detect and measure small electric currents.

Q.42. What is the principle of galvanometer ?

Ans. It works on the principle that a current carrying coil placed in a uniform magnetic field experiences a
torque.

Q.43. Should galvanometer have a low or a high resistance ?

Ans. A galvanometer should have a low resistance.

Q.44. A galvanometer is called the basic electrical measuring instrument. Why ?

Ans. It is so called because it is modified to measure current and voltage.

Q.45. How can we convert a galvanometer to an ammeter ?

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Ans. A galvanometer can be converted into an ammeter of a given range by connecting a suitable low
resistance (called shunt) in parallel with the galvanometer.

Q.46. Should an ammeter have a low or a high resistance and why ?

Ans. An ammeter should always have a low resistance as otherwise it will reduce the current it is supposed to
measure.

Q.47. How is an ammeter connected in a circuit ?

Ans. An ammeter is always connected in series.

Q.48. A galvanometer is converted into (i) an ammeter (ii) a milliammeter. Which of the two will have
higher resistance ?
Ans. Milliammeter.

Q.49. What is the resistance of an ideal ammeter ?

Ans. Zero.

Q.50. How can a galvanometer be converted into a voltmeter ?

Ans. A galvanometer can be converted into a voltmeter by connecting a high resistance in series with it.

Q.51. Should a voltmeter have a high resistance or low resistance and why ?
Ans. A voltmeter should always have a high resistance as otherwise it will reduce the potential difference it is
supposed to measure.

Q.52. How is a voltmeter connected in the circuit ?

Ans. A voltmeter is always connected in parallel.

Q.53. What is the resistance of an ideal voltmeter ?

Ans. Infinite.

Q.54. What is meant by the figure of merit of galvanometer ?

Ans. The figure of merit of a galvanometer is defined as the current required to produce a deflection of
one division in the galvanometer.

Q.55. Define sensitivity of a galvanometer.

Ans. A galvanometer is said to be sensitive if it shows large deflection for small current. It is measure by
where is the deflection and I is the current.

Q.56. What is the resistance of an ammeter ?

Ans. The resistance 'R' of ammeter is given by
R=GxS
G+S
as it is a parallel combination of G and S.

Q.57. What is the resistance of voltmeter ?

Ans. The voltmeter is a series combination of R and G. So resistance of voltmeter is R + G.

Q.58. What material is used to make standard resistances?

Ans. Constantan and Manganin.

Q.59. Why constantan and manganin are used to make standard resistance ?
Ans. These materials have high resistivity and low temperature coefficient of resistance.

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Q.60. The resistance coils in a resistance box are doubly wound as shown. Why ?

Ans. This winding makes the resistance coil non-inductive.

Q.61. Which of the two, galvanometer or ammeter, has lower resistance ?

Ans. Ammeter.

Q.62. How do we find the length of a wire having a particular value of resistance ?
Ans. We have R =

Q.63. If a wire is stretched so as to increase its length, will its resistance increase or decrease ?
Ans. The resistance increases.

Q.64. What type of magnetic field is used in moving coil galvanometer ?

Ans. Radial field.

Q.65. Why do we use a radial magnetic field in galvanometer ?

Ans. The radial field ensures that deflection is proportional to current and a linear scale can be designed.

Q.66. What are different types of electric current ?

Ans. Direct current and alternating current.

Q.67. What is meant by alternating current ?

Ans. It is the current which reverses its direction of flow after regular intervals of time.

Q.68. What is meant by direct current ?

Ans. The current which continuously flows in same direction is called direct current.

Q.69. Define frequency.

Ans. It is defined as the number of cycles completed per sec.

Q.70. What is S. I. unit of frequency?

Ans. hertz.

Q.71. What is time period ? How is it related to frequency ?

Ans. The time taken by a particle to complete one full vibration is called time period. Frequency is reciprocal
of the time period.

Q.72. What is the product of frequency and time period of a body ?

Ans. The product is 1.

Q.73. What is sound ?

Ans. It is a form of energy which produces sensation of hearing in us.

Q.74. What is the audible frequency range of normal human ear ?

Ans. 20 Hz to 20000 Hz.

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Q.75. What is wave motion ?

Ans. The motion of disturbance through a medium is called wave motion.

Q.76. What are different types of wave motion ?

Ans. Transverse wave and longitudinal wave.

Q.77. State the principle of superposition of waves.

Ans. It states that the resultant displacement at a point due to two or more waves passing simultaneously
through a medium is the vector sum of the displacements due to the individual waves.

Q.78. What type of waves are produced in the sonometer wire ?

Ans. Stationary transverse waves.

Q.79. Why are these waves called stationary (or standing) waves ?
Ans. Because the wave pattern does not travel in the medium with time.

Q.80. What are free vibrations ?

Ans. The vibrations of a body are said to be free if they are maintained without the help of any external force.

Q.81. What are forced vibrations ?

Ans. The vibrations are said to be forced if they are maintained with the help of an external periodic force.

Q.82. What are resonant vibrations ?

Ans. The forced vibrations are said to be resonant vibrations if the natural vibration frequencies of the driver
and the driven bodies match.

Q.83. Why is the sonometer box provided with holes ?

Ans. The holes help maintain free contact of air in the box with atmosphere.

Q.84. What is the role of step down transformer ?

Ans. It decreases a.c. voltage.

Q.85. Does a transformer operate on d.c. ?

Ans. No.

Q.86. What will happen if d.c. is passed through the wire ?

Ans. The wire will not vibrate.

Q.87. Why do we use non-magnetic wire ?

Ans. So that there is no magnetic interaction between the magnetic wire and the magnet. The only force should
be due to the magnetic field of the current.

Q.88. What is frequency of the domestic a.c. supply in India ?

Ans. 50 Hz.

Q.89. What is difference between step up and step down transformers ?

Ans. The step up transformer increases the voltage whereas step down transformer decreases the voltage.

Q.90. Does the transformer affect the frequency of a.c. ?

Ans. No.

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