Exercise: Electricity

Section A
Multiple Choice questions

1. Polythene is a poor conductor of electricity compared with copper

because,
A. Polythene is lighter than copper
B. Copper has a lot of free electrons compared with polythene.
C. Polythene melts at very low temperature.
D. Polythene is a non-metal

2. A positively charged ruler is placed between two metal spheres Q and

R. Q is earthed and R is not earthed. Which diagram correctly shows
the charge distribution?

3. Chiedza uses the following instructions to charge a copper sphere

using a plastic ruler, but the instructions have been mixed up.
1. Earth the ball momentarily.
2. Bring plastic ruler to the ball.
3. Rub ruler with woolen cloth.
4. Polythene strip is removed.

In what order should they be?

A. 2 3 4 1
B. 2 4 3 1
C. 3 2 1 4
D. 4 2 3 1
4. When some charged material is brought close to a positively charged
gold electroscope, the leaves further diverge. Which statement is true
about the charge on this material?
A. It is negative
B. It is positive
C. It is neutral
D. It has both charges

5. A lighting conductor works by__________.

A. Repelling negative charge
B. Preventing lightning from forming
C. Attracting positive ions
D. Carrying negative charge to the ground

6. It may be safe to be in any of the following areas when there is

lightning except __________.
A. In a house
B. In a car
C. Under a tall tree
D. Away from windows

7. Wire wound variable resistance is known as __________.

A. capacitor
B. resistor
C. diode
D. rheostat

[8.] Four bulbs are connected in a circuit. In which arrangement do they

glow brightest?

8.[9.] The SI unit of current is the __________.

A. Oohm
B. Vvolts
C. Aamperes
D. Wwatts

9.[10.] Electric charge is measured in __________.

A. Volts
B. electron volts
C. Ccoulombs
D. Aamperes

10.[11.] Which of the following is used to measure electric current?

A. ammeter
B. meter rule
C. voltmeter
D. rheostat

6. The resistance of a wire depends on:

A. Current flowing through it.
B. Its cross-sectional area.
C. The voltage across it.
D. The colour of the wire

7. What is the SI unit of resistance?

A. volt
B. ampere
[C.] Oohm
C.[D.] joule

8. 250 kJ of energy is needed to heat some water. If the power rating of

the immersion heater is 500W, how long does it take to heat the
water?
A. 8 minutes and 20 seconds.
1
B. 8 minutes
2

C. 550 seconds
D. 500 minutes

9. Potential difference is measured in __________.

A. Amperes
[B.] Oohms
[C.] Vvolts
[D.] Wwatts
 10. What instrument is used to measure potential difference?
A. voltmeter
B. ammeter
C. rheostat
D. force meter

11. A resistance of 6Ω can be combined with a 12Ω resistance to

give an effective resistance of __________.
A. 2Ω
B. 3Ω
C. 4Ω
D. 9Ω

12. The relationship between current I, voltage V, and resistance R, is

expressed as __________.
I
A. R =
V
B. I = V×R
C. V = R× I
R
D. I =
V

13. What must be constant for metal electric conductor to obey

Ohm's law?
A. temperature
B. voltage
C. current
D. pressure

14. Ohm's law states that the current flowing in metallic conductor is:
A. Directly proportional to the resistance of conductor.
B. Inversely proportional to the potential difference between its ends.
C. Directly proportional to the potential difference between its ends.
D. Inversely proportional to the length of the conductor.

15. The resistance of a 240V, 60A lamp is

A. 4Ω
B. 60Ω
C. 240Ω
 D. 960Ω

15. Product of voltage and current is known as __________.

A. work done
B. power
C. velocity
D. acceleration

16. What is the voltage across the resistor R in the circuit if the ammeter
reading is 1 mA?

A. 9 V
B. 18 V
C. 12 V
D. 3 15 V

17. Rate of flow of charge through cross-sectional area is known as

A. current
B. voltage
C. meter
D. acceleration

18. What is the advantage of connecting these batteries as shown?

A. There is no advantage since the voltage across them remains the same.
B. The voltage available to the external circuit doubles.
 C. There is a disadvantage because the batteries oppose each other.
D. The total internal resistance of the two batteries decreases so that
more energy is available to the external circuit.

[19.] A rheostat can also be used as a ___________.

[A.] a lampvariable resistor
[B.] a batterypotential divider
A.[C.] a barometer
[D.] both A and Ba variable resistor

19.[20.] Voltage of device having resistance 5Ω and current 4A will be

___________.
A. 9 V
B. 1.25 V
C. 20 V
D. 25 V

20.[21.] The current voltage graph of ohmic devices is a ___________.

A. linear graph
B. non-linear graph
C. parabolic graph
D. hyperbola graph

21.[22.] Power can be represented in variety of ways as ___________.

A. V x I
B. I2R
2
V
C.
R
D. all the above

22.[23.] When charge of 90 C passes through a wire in 1 hour 15 min then

its current will be ___________.
[A.] 0.0210 mA
A.[B.] 20 mA
B.[C.] 30 mA
C.[D.] 40 mA

23.[24.] When an object is charged, it has an excess of ___________.

 A. Negative charge
B. Positive charge
C. Electrons
D. Electric charge

24.[25.] An electrical conductor is a material which ___________.

A. Stores electrical charge.
B. Can be charged by friction.
C. Allows charge to pass through it.
D. Can be attracted by a charged object.

25.[26.] Which of the following is a good conductor of electricity?

A. A charged woolen cloth.
B. A plastic ruler.
C. Carbon.
D. Water.

26.[27.] A fuse is always connected with a live wire in

A. parallel
B. series
C. combination
D. alternative circuit

27.[28.] Amount of energy supplied by current in unit time is called

A. electric energy
B. friction
C. resistance
D. Electric power

Section B

1. The electric circuit shown contains a battery, two resistors, a switch

and another component.
(a) (i) Which instrument does the symbol represent? [1]

__________ ammeter

(ii) What quantity does it measure? [1]

__________ current

(b) The switch is closed so that the current flows in the circuit. What flows in
the circuit in order to create the current? [1]

__________ charge

(c) Using the values in the diagram, calculate

(i) The combined resistance of the two resistors. [1]

16+8 = Answer__________ 16+8 = 24Ω

(ii) The current in the circuit. [1]

V 12
I= = = Answer __________ 0,5A
R 24

2. Complete the table below: [9]

Quantity symbol SI unit(words) symbol of unit
Resistance R Ohms Ω
Current I Ampere A
potential difference V Volt V
 3. Calculate the required quantities.
a) The potential difference across a resistor is 6V and the current through it
is 2A. What is the resistance? [1] __________ 3Ω

b) A current of 0,8A passes through a resistor when the potential difference

across it is 6,4V. What is the resistance of the resistor? [1] __________ 8Ω

c) What current passes through a 75Ω when a potential difference of 15V is

applied across it? [1] __________ 0.2A

d) A current of 0,3A passes through a 20Ω. What is the potential difference

across the resistor? [1] __________ 6V

Use the following diagram to answer e) and f).

e) What is the total resistance of the circuit? [1] __________

10Ω
f) What is the reading of ammeter? [1] __________
1,6A

4. Fill in the following blanks in the passage on lightning with the most
appropriate words or terms. Select the words from the following word
bank:
generated sparks induces bottom resistance positive
gradient sound thunderstorms light

Electric charge can build up in an object to such high levels that electrons
can jump through the air causing a) __________. This is what happens
when you remove your jersey. This phenomenon is most spectacular and
highly dangerous when it is associated with b) __________. A lot of
 charge is c) __________ in clouds between moving water molecules so
that a lot of d) __________charge is built at the top of a cloud. Equal but
opposite (negative) charge therefore accumulates at the e) __________.
The high concentration of negative charge f) __________ positive charge
on the ground and surrounding objects. The polar g) __________ created
causes the release of charged bolts of lightning. Lightning is very fast,
travelling at the speed of h) _________. The i) __________ always
follows later. Lightning always follows the route of least j) __________ to
the ground. [10]

Answers:
a) Sparks
b) Thunderstorms
c) Generated
d) Positive
e) Bottom
f) Induces
g) Gradient
h) Light
i) Sound
j) Resistance

Section C
Answer all questions in full.
Show all working.
1. The diagrams below show different combinations of resistors.
Calculate the total effective resistance of the three combinations.
Combination A: effective resistance = 6+6+6 = 18Ω
Combination A = 18Ω [2]
6 ×6
Combination B: effective resistance = +6 = 3+6 = 9Ω
6+ 6
Combination B = 9Ω [3]

1 1 1
Combination C: effective resistance =
6
+ 6
+ 6
1 3
=
R 6
R = 2Ω
Combination C = 6Ω [3]
2.
k) State ohm's law [2]
The potential difference across between the two ends of conductor is
directly proportional to the current passing through it provided the
temperature remains constant.

b) Give three different ways of writing Ohm's law in symbols. [3]

__________, __________, __________
V V
(i) V = IR (ii) I = (iii) R =
R I

c) Calculate the effective resistance of three 10-ohm resistors connected

in:
 (i) Series [2]

RS = R 1 + R 2 + R 3

R = 10+10+10 = 30Ω

(ii) Parallel [3]

1 1 1 1
= R + R + R
R 1 2 3

1 1 1
=
10
+ 10 + 10
3 10
= ∴R= = 3.3 Ω
10 3
3. Calculate the potential difference across a 15Ω resistor if a current of
3A is flowing through it. [2]
V = IR
= 3 x 15
= 45V

4. The diagram below shows an electric circuit.

Calculate the values of I1, I2 and I3 [5]

Effective R = RP + 6Ω

36
= +6 =9Ω
12
 1.35
∴I = = 0.15A
9

I1 = 0.15A I2 = 0.075A I3 = 0.0O75 A

5. The diagram shows an electrical circuit containing a 12V power supply

and a number of resistors.

(a) Calculate the combined resistance of

(i) the 2Ω and 4Ω resistors in series [2]

Rs = R1+ R2

=2+4

= 6Ω

(ii) The 3Ω and 6Ω resistors in parallel. [2]

3X6 18
RP = = = 2Ω [2]
3+6 9

(b) Calculate the reading of the ammeter. [6]

V
I=
R

1 1
Effective resistance = R + Rs
p

1 1
= 2 + 6
 = 1.5 Ω [2]

12
Total current =
1.5

= 8A [2]

6
Ammeter reading = X8
8

= 6A [2]

(c) Determine the potential difference across the 4Ω resistor. [2]

V = IR

=2x4

= 8V

6. Give an account of how you would charge a gold leaf electroscope

using diagrams. [10]

Answer:
 5. A 1 500 Watt heater is used in a water tank. How much energy does it
convert in?

(a) 1 second

(b) 5 minutes

Answer:

(a) 1500J

(b) 450kJ (or 450 000J)

 6. The lamp shown is meant to light up a passage-way. Connect it to the
other components so that it can be controlled from either end of the
corridor. [3]

Answer:

7. Use the diagram below to answer the following questions.

(a) What is the total resistance of the circuit? [1] __________ 1.6Ω

(b) What is the total current in the circuit? [1] __________ 11,25A

(c) What is current through the 8Ω resistor? [1] __________ 2,25A

(d) What is current through the 2Ω resistor? [1] __________ 9A

(e) What is the p.d across the 8Ω resistor? [1] __________ 18V

(f) What is the p.d across the 2Ω resistor? [1] __________ 18V