Comprehensive Oxford Mathematics and Physics Online School (COMPOS)

Year 10

Physics Assignment 02
DC Circuits
Vladimir Chernov, Robert Smith, Alex Lvovsky

Due 17th November, 2024

This is the second Physics assignment from COMPOS for Y10. The assignment goes into the
topic in more detail than you have done in school. There are links to online videos which we
encourage you to watch. You are free to do your own reading around this topic also.

This assignment is designed to stretch you and no student is expected to complete all questions
on the first attempt. Some of the problems are hard, but do not let this discourage you. Give
each problem a go, and skip to the next one if you are stuck. The questions in each section are
arranged in the order of increasing complexity, so you should try all sections.

Very similar problems will be discussed in the webinars so think of the questions you would like
to ask. Please submit what you have by the deadline, you are allowed to submit extra work
after the review in tutorials. We hope that eventually you will be able to solve most of the
problems. Good luck!

Total 47 marks.

1 Basic Ideas

You should be familiar with the basic variables and components of DC circuits. Let us give you a
brief reminder. A short overview can be found in this Mr Chernov video.

Charge, Q, is measured in Coulombs (C) and can be positive or negative; it is typically carried by
subatomic particles (e.g. electrons) and is quantised in units of the electron’s charge e = 1.602 ×
10−19 C. Charge is a conserved quantity — we can’t create or destroy it.

∆Q
Current, I, is the rate of flow of charge, i.e. the ratio I = , where ∆Q is the amount of charge
∆t
that flows through a cross-section of a wire during the time interval ∆t. The current is measured in
Amperes (A). If 1 C of charge flows through a wire in a time of 1 s then the current is I = 1 A = 1
C/s.

Potential difference or Voltage, VAB , is the energy lost or gained by one Coulomb of electric

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charge1 between points A and B. Alternatively one can say that the voltage is the difference in the
potential energy of one Coulomb of charge between these points. Voltage is measured in Volts (V),
1 V = 1 J/C. A battery of voltage V powering a circuit does work ∆E = V ∆Q on a charge ∆Q as
it travels from one terminal of the battery to the other. For example, if the voltage on the battery
is 12 Volts, and it pushes 2 Coulombs of charge, it does ∆E = V ∆Q = 12V × 2C = 24 Joules of
work pushing the charge. We can also say that the charge gains 24 Joules of energy.

Power, P , is the work ∆E done per unit time ∆t when driving an electric charge between two
points. It is measured in Watts (W) where 1W = 1 J/s. Combining the equations written so far,
we find

∆E V ∆Q
P = = = V I.
∆t ∆t

Example 1. A bike light is rated at P = 1 W and runs off a V = 3 V battery. In t = 1 minute

how much charge flows through the bulb? If the battery stores the energy E = 36 kJ how long can
it power the bulb?

Solution: The current equals I = P/V and the charge flown in time t = 60 s is Q = It = 20 C. The
lifetime of the battery is t = E/P = 36 000 s = 10 hours.

The capacity of a battery is sometimes measured in Ampere-hours (Ah): the number of hours it can
maintain a current of 1 Ampere.

Example 2. Find the capacity of the battery from Example 1.

Solution: The battery produces current I = P/V during time t = E/P . Hence its capacity is
It = E/V = 12000 A·s= 3.33 Ah.

We can see that two batteries of the same capacity (in terms of Ah) but different voltages store
proportionally different energies.

Problem 1 (1 marks, Isaac Physics). For how long can a 1000 mAh AAA cell power:

a) a 0.25 A filament bulb in a torch?

b) a 50 mA LED in a modern torch?

c) a remote control drawing 0.5 mA?

1 Energy is gained by electrons due to the electric field doing work on them. We will study the electric field and

its properties in COMPOS Y12.

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2 Ohm’s law

Many circuit components obey Ohm’s Law : the current flowing through a component is directly
proportional to the voltage between its terminals:
V
I= .
R
The inverse constant of proportionality, R, is known as the resistance of the component. It is
measured in Ohms: 1Ω = 1V/1A.

Problem 2 (2 marks). Find the potential difference between the ends of a conductor of resistance
R = 10 Ω if in t = 5 min a charge q = 120 C flows through it. How much electric energy will be
transferred in the process?

Water analogy2

A useful way to understand electric circuits involves imagining a system of ducts with flowing
water. In this model the water represents the charge, the rate of flow represents the current, and
the change in height (change in the gravitational potential of the water) represents the potential
difference (voltage).

Consider a simple water circuit. The pump raises the gravitational potential of the water. The
gravitational potential energy transfers to kinetic and sound energy until it eventually dissipates as
heat while the water is flowing through a narrow canal. The water then returns to the pump to
get more potential energy. In an equivalent electric circuit, the cell or battery raises the electric
potential of electrons, these electrons dissipate energy as heat in the resistor. The electrons return
to the cell to get more energy.

The higher the elevation at the pump, the more water will flow through the canal per second.
Similarly, the higher the voltage of the battery, the more current flows through the resistor. The
narrower the canal (higher the resistance), the lower the flow (current).
2 3D models made by Joe Tarr (COMPOS student).

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The wires connecting the battery terminals to the resistor have resistance, too. However, this
resistance is very small, so the potential difference between the ends of the wire is negligible. In our
analogy, the wires can be thought of as smooth and wide ducts, so a significant amount of water
will flow through them even if they are tilted at a very small angle.

3 Resistors in parallel and in series

Example 3. Find the current through the circuit below (resistors in parallel ).

R1
A B

R2

Solution. Let us first visualize the situation using the water analogy. The water supplied by the
pump splits into two canals, and then recombines to enter the pump again. The flow through the
pump is the sum of the flows through the two canals. Similarly, the total current in the circuit is the
sum of the currents of the two resistors, IT = I1 + I2 . Applying
 Ohm’s law to each of the resistors,
1 1
we have I1 = V /R1 and I2 = V /R2 . Hence IT = V + .
R1 R2

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 1
One can rewrite the above result in the form of Ohm’s law: IT = V , where
RT
1 1 1
= +
RT R1 R2
is the equivalent resistance. In other words, we can think of a parallel pair of resistors as a single
circuit element with resistance RT .

We can see that the resistance of a parallel pair is smaller than either of the two resistors. This is
not surprising: adding another resistor in parallel to an existing one will create a new channel for
the current to flow, and hence increase the current.

Example 4. Find the current through the circuit below (resistors in series).

A B C
R1 R2

Solution. As we can understand from the water illustration below, the potential difference VAC
between points A and C is equal to the battery voltage V . At the same time, it equals VAC =
VAB + VBC . The circuit does not branch, so the current, I, is the same everywhere. From Ohm’s
V
law we have VAB = IR1 and VBC = IR2 . Putting everything together, we find I = .
R1 + R2

C
B
A

This means that the equivalent resistance of the two resistors in series is simply the sum of their
resistances: RT = R1 + R2 .

The above example shows some limitations of our water analogy to electric circuit. In a system of
water ducts, the altitude of each point is determined by the landscape; it does not depend on the

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water flow. In an electric circuit, in contrast, the potential at point B “automatically” adjusts itself
in such a way that the voltages on both resistors obey Ohm’s law.

Problem 3 (6 marks). Find the resistance of the following combinations of resistors (give your
answer in exact form as fractions):

20Ω

a) b)
10Ω 20Ω 10Ω

20Ω 2Ω

c) d)
10Ω 30Ω 3Ω 4Ω

2Ω

10Ω 5Ω
e)
3Ω 4Ω 12Ω

5Ω

Problem 4 (2 marks). An ideal voltmeter must have infinite resistance and should be connected
parallel to the circuit element whose potential difference needs to be measurement. In contrast,
an ammeter needs to be connected in series with the circuit element and should ideally have zero
1 1 1
resistance. Explain why it is the case, using RT = R1 + R2 and = + .
RT R1 R2

Problem 5∗ (PAT 2018, 4 marks).

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Consider the above circuit. The filament lamp A consumes an electrical power PA = 100 W when it
alone is connected to a voltage of U = 100 V. Filament lamp B consumes a power PB = 20 W when
it alone is connected to a voltage of U = 100 V.

a) When the switch is closed, which lamp will be brighter and why? Find the ratio of the levels
of brightness of the two lamps assuming their resistances are constant. Assume further that
the brightness of a lamp is proportional to the power it consumes.
b) How would your answer change if the lamps were wired in parallel rather than series?

Problem 6∗ (5 marks). Find the total resistance between points A and B in the infinite chain of
resistors (see COMPOS Webinar 18 for a similar problem):

R R R R
A ... ...

2R 2R 2R 2R

B ... ...

4 Potential Dividers

Example 5. For the circuit below give an expression for Vout in terms of Vin .

Solution. We have two resistors in series. As we know from Example 4, the current through the
R2
circuit is I = Vin /(R1 + R2 ) and hence the potential difference on R2 is Vout = IR2 = Vin .
R1 + R2

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This is a potential divider — the voltage across R2 is given by the ratio of the resistances. This
fraction can be controlled, for example, by a rheostat, resulting in a variable voltage source.

Problem 7 (2 marks). For each of the circuits below give an expression for Vout in terms of Vin .

Problem 8∗ (4 marks). For the potential divider (below), where R1 = 1 kΩ, R2 = 4 kΩ and
V1 = 5 V find the voltage drop V2 across R2 .

a) When a load resistor RL is fitted in parallel with R2 , what minimum value must RL have in order
not to change V2 by more than 5%?

b) For RL at this minimum value, find the electric powers transferred on each of the three resistors.

R1

V1

R2 V2

This problem demonstrates a shortcoming of the voltage divider as a variable voltage source. To
avoid disrupting the output voltage, the load resistance must be much less than the two resistors
making up the divider. But that means that most of the power will be wasted on these two resistances
rather than the load. Therefore in practice other solutions are used to construct variable voltage
sources — for example, variable transformers.

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5 More Complex Circuits∗

5.1 Kirchhoff ’s Laws

We have seen that identifying sets of resistors that are in parallel or in series often allow one to
simplify a circuit. However, this solution is far from universal. Even amongst resistor networks
there are those that cannot be simplified in this manner — see, for example, Problem 10 below. But
what if the circuit, in addition to resistors, contains other elements?

We will now discuss a powerful technique that is helpful for solving a broad range of circuits. It
is based on two simple rules known as Kirchhoff ’s laws. They can be readily understood from the
water analogy.

Kirchhoff’s Current Law (KCL): Counting the outgoingP currents as positive, and incoming as
negative, the sum of all currents at a node is zero: node In = 0.

For example, for the circuit node below, we have I3 + I4 = I1 + I2 thus I1 + I2 − I3 − I4 = 0.

I2
I1
I3
I4

Kirchhoff’s voltage law (KVL): around any closed loop the sum of voltage drops is equal to the
sum of voltage raises.

In the language of our water circuits, this is simply the fact that, if you walk along a closed path
(i.e. your walk ends at the same place where it started), you will go uphill as much as downhill, no
matter which path you take.

5.2 Examples

Before we proceed, we should tell you two additional conventions.

• The potential difference between the terminals of an ideal battery is equal to the nominal voltage
(electromotive force or EMF) of the battery. In circuit diagrams, the positive terminal (higher
potential) is shown by a longer bar.

• The current flows in the direction from higher to lower potential (“from plus to minus”). Note
that this direction is opposite to the actual movement of negatively charged electrons.

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We begin with a simpler example where the currents are already known.

Example 6. Check that the voltages and currents marked in the circuit below are consistent with
Kirchhoff’s laws.

D A F
• • •
1A 2A
1V

9V 12V 11V

3A
3V
• • •
C B E

Solution. There are 3 loops in this circuit, for which KVL can be written: ABCD, ABEF and DFEC.

Going around the loop ABCD clockwise (in the direction of current) voltage rises = 12V , Voltage
drops = 3V + 9V = 12V .

Going around the loop ABEF anticlockwise (in the direction of current): Voltage rises = 12V ,
Voltage drops = 11V + 1V = 12V .

Going around the loop DFEC (clockwise) is slightly more complicated. If we go through a resistor
in the direction of the current, it is a voltage drop, if we go against the current, it is a voltage rise
(it is easy to visualise with the water circuit: if you are going against the flow, you are going uphill ).
That is, the potential at point F is higher than that at point A, and that at point E is higher than
that at F . Hence we count segments AF abd F E as voltage rises: = 1V + 11V = 12V . Segments
BC and CD are in the direction of the current, hence counted as voltage drops = 3V + 9V = 12V .

We see that KVL is held.

We also write KCL for nodes A and B:

for node A: 2A + 1A − 3A = 0

for node B: 3A − 1A − 2A = 0

To apply Kirchhoff’s laws to calculate currents, it is important to know in which direction the
currents are flowing. In the problems studied so far, these directions were obvious, but what to do
if this is not the case?. The good news is, you can make random assumptions about the current
directions. Your calculations will automatically correct you by producing negative currents in those
places you guessed the direction incorrectly.

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Example 7. For the following circuit, find the currents supplied by both batteries.

10Ω 15Ω

+ +
5V 20Ω 10V
− −

Solution. We begin by assigning a variable to the current in every leg of the circuit and making
random assumptions about their directions:

I1 I2
B
A
10Ω 15Ω

+ +
5V 20Ω 10V
− I3 −

D
C

Next, we apply KCL to the top node (B) to find:

I3 = I1 + I2 .

Let us now apply KVL to the left internal loop (here going clockwise). We have:

• For the leg AB, the potential difference is 10Ω × I1 . Because the current is assumed flowing
from A to B, we assume that A has a higher potential than B, i.e. VAB = 10Ω × I1 .
• Similarly, for the leg BC, we have VBC = 20Ω × I3 .
• The leg CD has zero resistance, so VCD = 0.
• The leg DA has a battery, so VDA = −5V.

−5 V + 10 Ω × I1 + 20 Ω × (I1 + I2 ) = 0. (1)
For the right loop, we find (check this!)

−10 V + 15 Ω × I2 + 20 Ω × (I1 + I2 ) = 0. (2)

1 8 7
Solving these simultaneous equations gives I1 = − 26 A, I2 = 26 A and I3 = I2 + I1 = 26 A. Because
we found I1 to be negative, we conclude that we guessed its direction incorrectly. (Please note that
in A-level and GCSE exams you should give your answer in decimal form, not as fractions.)

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Problem 9 (PAT 2006, 3 marks). The diagram below shows a circuit in which the bulb lights up
with normal brightness.

In the circuits below the bulbs and battery cells all have the same specifications as the bulb and cell
shown above.

Determine whether the bulbs marked by letters in these circuits are brighter than normal, normal,
dimmer than normal, or off.

Problem 10∗∗∗ (5 marks). Find an expression for total resistance between points A and B in the
resistor network below.

R 2R

A 5R B

3R 4R

Problem 11∗ (5 marks). The structure of a cube is soldered by using resistors R for its edges.
What is the resistance between the two most distant corners (diametrically opposite)?

Hint: the solution can be greatly simplified by invoking symmetry arguments.

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6 Nonlinear components

Circuit elements that do not obey Ohm’s law are called non-linear or non-ohmic because the current
is not directly proportional to the voltage, see the graphs below. In this case we can say that
the element’s resistance, still defined as the voltage-current ratio, is a function of these variables.
However, if we know the current–voltage characteristic (IV-curve) of the element — that is, how the
current through the element depends on the voltage, we can still predict the circuit behaviour.

I I I

V V V
Ohmic Resistor Filament Lamp (Non-Ohmic) Diode (Non-Ohmic)

Problem 12 (2 marks). The resistance of a non-linear resistive element is proportional to the

square of the current flowing through it: R = αI 2 , where α = 0.01Ω/A2 . Find the current if the
voltage V = 5V is applied to this element.

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Problem 13 (Isaac Physics, 4 marks). The IV-characteristics of a resistor and a lamp for the
range 0-6V are shown below. They form a circuit with a power supply. Find the current and voltage
on each component if:

a) they are wired in parallel to a 6V power supply;

b) they are wired in series to a 14V power supply.

Problem 14∗ (PAT 2007, 2 marks). The current in amperes through a certain type of non-linear
resistor is given by I = 0.05V 3 , where V is the potential difference in volts across the resistor. This
resistor is connected in series to a fixed (Ohmic) resistor and a constant voltage source of 9 V is
connected across the series combination. What value of resistance should the fixed resistor have so
that a current of 0.40 A flows?

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7 Optional extra problems

Problem 15 (PAT 2015). Consider the resistor array below. All the resistors are identical, with
resistance R.

a) Calculate the total resistance between A and B.

b) If a potential difference V is applied between A and B, calculate the power dissipated in the
resistor between B and D.
c) Calculate the total resistance between C and D.

[Leave answers as fractions multiplied by powers of R and V as needed.]

8 Summary

In this assignment you have used these relationships:

• voltage = current × resistance

• voltage = energy transferred ÷ charge
• power = current × voltage
• resistance in series: RT = R1 + R2 + ... + Rn
1 1 1 1
• resistance in parallel: = + + ... +
RT R1 R2 Rn

TOTAL MARKS = 47

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