Chapter–7 - Alternating Current

SECTION-A( MCQs and Assertion/ Reasoning Questions) – 1 Mark each

Q 1 to Q 15 are MCQ type carry one mark each

Q 1. The instantaneous voltage through a device of impedance 20 Ω is E = 80 sin 100 π t. The effective

value of the current is

(a) 3 A (b) 2.828 A (c) 1.732 A (d) 4 A

Ans. Hint: E0 = 80 V, I0 = E0 / Z, Irms= I0 / √

Q 2. If the rms current in a 50 Hz ac circuit is 5 A, the value of the current 1/300 seconds after its value

becomes zero is

(a) 5 √ A (b) 5 √ A(c) 5/6 A (d) 5/√ A

Q 3. When a voltage measuring device is connected to AC mains, the meter shows the steady input voltage

of 220V. This means

(a) input voltage cannot be AC voltage, but a DC voltage.

(b) maximum input voltage is 220V.

(c) the meter reads not v but < v2 >and is calibrated to read √

(d) the pointer of the meter is stuck by some mechanical defect.

Q 4. To reduce the resonant frequency in an LCR series circuit with a generator

(a) the generator frequency should be reduced.

(b) another capacitor should be added in parallel to the first.

(c) the iron core of the inductor should be removed.

(d) dielectric in the capacitor should be removed.

Ans. Hint: ω0 = 1/ √ , resonant frequency can be reduced by increasing capacitance.

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Q 5. A conducting ring of radius 1 m kept in a uniform magnetic field B of 0.01 T, rotates uniformly
with an angular velocity 100 rad s–1 with its axis of rotation perpendicular to B. The maximum
induced emf in it is
(a) 1.5 πV (b) π V
(c) 2π V (d) 0.5 π V
Ans. Hint: The maximum induced emf = BAω
Q 6. An inductor of reactance 1 Ω and a resistor of 2 Ω are connected in series to the terminals of a 6 V
(rms) a.c. source. The power dissipated in the circuit is
(a) 8 W (b) 12 W
(c) 14.4 W (d) 18 W
Ans. Hint: P = VrmsIrms cos θ, Irms= Vrms/ Z, Vrms= 6 V, Z = √ , cos θ = R/Z
Q 7. The output of a step-down transformer is measured to be 24 V when connected to a 12 watt light
bulb. The value of the peak current is
(a) 1/ √ A (b) √ A
(c) 2 A (d) 2√ A
Q 8. A 20 volt AC is applied to a circuit consisting of a resistor and a coil with negligible resistance. If
the voltage across the resistor is 12 volt, the voltage across the coil is

(a) 16 V (b) 10 V
(c) 8 V (d) 6 V
Ans. Hint: V = √ , V= 20 Volt, VR = 12 Volt
Q 9. A sinusoidal voltage of peak value 283 V and frequency 50 Hz is applied to a series LCR circuit in
which R = 3 Ω, L = 25.48 mH, and C = 796 µF, then the power dissipated at the resonant condition
will be
(a)39.70 kW (b) 26.70 kW
(c)13.35 kW (d)Zero
Ans. Hint: At resonance, Power dissipated = R , Irms = I0 / √ , I0 = V0 / R
Q 10. In an LCR series a.c. circuit, the voltage across each of the components, L, C and R is 50V. The
voltage across the LC combination will be
(a) 100 V (b) 50 √ V
(c) 50 V (d) 0 V
Ans. Hint: since the phase difference between L & C is π. Therefore net voltage difference across LC is
50 - 50 = 0

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Q 11. A circuit is connected to an ac source of variable frequency. As the frequency of the source is
increased, the current first increases and then decreases. Which of the following combinations is
likely to comprise the circuit?
(a) L, C and R (b) L and C
(c) L and R (d) R and C

Q 12. A 15 ohm resistor, an 80 mH inductor and a capacitor of capacitance C are connected in series with
a 50 Hz ac source. If the source voltage and current in the circuit are in phase, then value of
capacitance is
(a) 100 µ F
(b) 127 µ F
(c) 142 µ F
(d) 160 µ F

Ans. Hint: tan θ = = 0, XL - XC = 0, C = , ω0 = 50 Hz

Q 13. A 300 ohm resistor and a capacitor of (25/π) µ F are connected in series to a 200 V – 50 Hz ac
source. The current in the circuit is
(a) 0.1 A
(b) 0.4 A
(c) 0.6 A
(d) 0.8 A

Ans. Hint: I = V/Z, Z = √ , XC = 1/ωC

Q 14. A transformer having efficiency of 90% is working on 200V and 3kW power supply. If the current
in the secondary coil is 6A, the voltage across the secondary coil and the current in the primary coil
respectively are
(a) 300 V, 15A
(b) 450 V, 15A
(c) 450V, 13.5A
(d) 600V, 15A
Ans. Hint: Efficiency = X 100 ,Vp Ip = 3000

Q 15. A transformer is used to light a 140 W, 24 V bulb from a 240 V a.c. mains. The current in the main
cable is 0.7 A. The efficiency of the transformer is
(a) 63.8 % (b) 83.3 %

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 (c) 16.7 % (d) 36.2 %
Ans. Hint: Efficiency = X 100, Pout = 140 W, Pin = 240 X 0.7 = 166 W

Q 16 to Q 18 are Assertion Reason type carry one mark each.

Q 16. Assertion : A step up transformer cannot be used as a step down transformer.
Reason : Transformer works only in one direction.
(a) Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A
(b) Both A and R are true but R is not the correct explanation of A.
(c) A is true but R is false.
(d) A is false and R is also false.

Q 17. Assertion : The power in an ac circuit is minimum if the circuit has only a resistor.
Reason: Power of a circuit is independent of the phase angle.
(a) Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A
(b) Both A and R are true but R is not the correct explanation of A.
(c) A is true but R is false.
(d) A is false and R is also false.

Q 18. Assertion : Choke coil is preferred over a resistor to control the current in an AC circuit.
Reason : Power factor of an ideal inductor is zero.
(a) Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A
(b) Both A and R are true but R is not the correct explanation of A.
(c) A is true but R is false.
(d) A is false and R is also false.

Ans. Hint: Power factor = Cos θ, θ= phase difference between voltage and current
ANS. (MCQs)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
b b c b b c a a c d
11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
a b c b b d d a
Q 19 to Q 25 are SA – I type carry 2 marks each
Q 19. A resistor R and an inductor L are connected in series to a source of voltage V = V0 Sin ωt. The
voltage is found to lead current by π/4. If the inductor is replaced by capacitor C, the voltage lags
behind current by π/4. When L, C and R are connected in series with the same source, find (i)
average power dissipated (ii) instantaneous current in the circuit.

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Ans. For LR circuit, tan θ = 1, XL /R = 1, XL = R.
For CR circuit, tan θ = 1, XC/R = 1, XC = R.
For LCR circuit, when L, C and R are connected in series then actually three R are connected in
series. Thus circuit will be resistive.
Impedance = 3 R. And
V = V0 Sin wt
I = I0 Sin wt.
(i) Pav = VrmsIrms cos0 = VrmsIrms= (V0 / √ ) x (I0 / √ )
(ii) instantaneous current, I = I0 Sin wt

Q 20. A girl peddles a stationary bicycle the pedals of the bicycle are attached to a 100 turn coil of area
0.10 m2. The coil rotates at half a revolution per second and it is placed in a uniform magnetic field
of 0.01 T perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the coil. Find (i) maximum voltage generated in
the coil (ii) average emf generated in coil over one complete rotation.
Ans. Here f = 0.5 Hz; N =100, A = 0.1 m2 and B = 0.01 T.
(i) E0 = NBA (2 π f) = 100 × 0.01 × 0.1 × 2 × 3.14 × 0.5 = 0.314 V.

The maximum voltage is 0.314 V.

(ii) Zero.

Q 21. A device ‗X‘ is connected to an a.c source. The variation of voltage, current and power in one
complete cycle is shown in Fig.
(a) Which curve shows power consumption over a full cycle?
(b) Identify the device ‗X‘.

Ans. (a) Power is the product of voltage and current (Power, P = VI).

So, the curve of power will be having maximum amplitude, equals to the product of amplitudes
of voltage (V) and current (I) curve. Frequencies, of B and C are-equal, therefore they represent
V and I curves. So, the curve A represents power.
(b) Here phase difference between V and I is π /2. Therefore, the device ‗X‘ may be an inductor

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 (L) or capacitor (C) or the series combination of L and C.

Q 22. The current through a resistor is 2 A when connected to a 220 V, 50 Hz line. Find the value of
capacitor which is to be connected to reduce the current to 1 A.
Ans. To reduce the current from 2 A to 1 A, the impedance is to be doubled.
When only R is present then R=V/I = 220/2= 110 ohm.
Now a capacitor is connected in series and impedance becomes 220 ohm.
Z=√ , XC = 110 √ , f= 50 Hz
XC = 1/2π f C, C= 16.7 µ F.
Q 23. A coil of 0.01 henry inductance and 1 ohm resistance is connected to 200 volt, 50 Hz ac supply.
Find the impedance of the circuit and time lag between max. alternating voltage and current.
Ans. R=1 ohm, L= 0.01 H, V= 200 Volt, f= 50 Hz
Impedance, Z = Z = √ = 3.3 ohm
For phase angle,
tan θ = Z/R = XL /R = 3.14
θ = 720 = 1.2 radian
time lag between alternating voltage and current
θ = w t, t = θ/w = (1/250) second
Q 24. Calculate the current drawn by the primary of a 90 % efficient transformer which steps down 220 V
to 22 V, if the output resistance is 440 ohm.
Ans. Efficiency = (Vs Is)/(Vp Ip) x 100 = 90 %,
Vs = 22 V, Vp = 220 V,
Is/Ip = 9,
Also Is = Vs/R = 22/440,
Therefore , Ip = 0.0056 A
Q 25. Explain why the reactance provided by a capacitor to an alternating current decreases with
increasing frequency.
Ans. Capacitor plates get charged and discharged when an AC voltage is applied across the plates. So
the current through capacitor is as a result of charging of its plates. Because the frequency of the
capacitive circuit increases, the polarities of the charged plates change more rapidly with time,
giving rise to a larger current. The capacitance reactance due to a capacitor C varies as the inverse
of the frequency (f) (as XC=1/2π f C) and hence approaches zero as f approaches infinity. The
current is zero in a DC capacitive circuit, which corresponds to infinite reactance.
Q 26 to Q 30 are SA- II type carry three marks each

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Q 26. 1MW power is to be delivered from a power station to a town 10 km away. One uses a pair of Cu
wires of radius 0.5 cm for this purpose. Calculate the fraction of ohmic losses to power transmitted
if
(i) power is transmitted at 220V. Comment on the feasibility of doing this.
(ii) a step-up transformer is used to boost the voltage to 11000 V, power transmitted, then a step-
down transformer is used to bring voltage to 220 V. (resistivity of copper is 1.7x 10-8 SI unit)

Ans. (i) P = 1 MW = 106 W, V= 220V

P = VI, I = P/V = (50000/11) A

R = 𝝆 l/A, 𝝆 = 1.7x 10-8 ohm m, l = 20000 m, A = π r2 = 3.14x 0.5x0.5x 10-4
R = 𝝆 l/A= 4 ohm
Power loss in transmission, Ploss= I2R = 82.6 MW > 1 MW
Hence this method of power transmission at 220 V is not feasible.
(ii) Proceeding in the same way as in part (i), we will get
Ploss= 3.3 x 104 W

Fractional power loss = 0.033

Power loss in % = 3.3 %.

Therefore this method is feasible.

Q 27. (i) Find the value of the phase difference between the current and the voltage in the circuit shown
below. Which one leads in phase: current or voltage?
(ii) Without making any other change, find the value of additional capacitor C1 ,to be connected
in parallel with the capacitor C in order to make the power factor of the circuit unity.

Ans. (i) XL = w L= 100 ohm

XC = 1/wC = 500 ohm

Since XC> XL, hence current leads the voltage.

Tan θ = (XC - XL)/R = 1, θ = 450

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 (ii) To make power factor unity,

XC‘ = XL , 1/wC‘ = 100,

C‘ = 10 µ F,
C‘ = C + C1 , 10 = 2 + C1 , C1 = 8 µF
Q 28. A capacitor of unknown capacitance, a resistor of 100 Ω and an inductor of self-inductance = 4/𝛑2
henry are connected in series to an ac source of 200V and 50 Hz. Calculate the value of the
capacitance and impedance of the circuit when the current is in phase with the voltage. Calculate
the power dissipated in the circuit.
Ans. R=100 Ω, L= 4/𝛑2 H, VRMS=200V, f=50Hz
When current and voltages are in phase
2𝛑fL=1/2𝛑fC

2𝛑 x 50 x =

C= x 10-4 F

When the current is in phase with the voltages then Z=R=100Ω

Current, irms= =2A

Power =200x 2x cos 0= 400 W

Q 29. A capacitor (C) and resistor(R) are connected in series with an ac source of voltage of frequency
50Hz. The potential difference across C and R are respectively 120V, 90V and the current in the
circuit is 3A. Calculate
(i) the impedance of the circuit

(ii) the value of the inductance, which when connected in series with C and R will make the
power factor of the circuit unity.
Ans. (i) Z= √

R= =30Ω

XC = =40Ω

Z = 50 ohm.
XC=XL
(II) As power factor =1
100𝛑L=40

L= henry

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Q 30. In a step up voltage transformer, explain giving reasons, the following facts:
(a) the output current is less than the input current
(b) the iron core is laminated
(c) the input power is more than the output power
Ans. (a) In an ideal transformer, P= Vp Ip= Vs Is
In a step up transformer output voltage Vs > input voltage Vp
So the output current Is < input current Ip
(b) the laminated iron core minimises the energy losses due to eddy current
(c) In an actual transformer, small energy losses occur due to flux leakages, resistance of windings,
eddy currents and hysteresis. So the input power is less than the output power.

Q 31 to Q 33 are LA type carry 5 marks each

Q 31. An electrical device draws 2kW power from AC mains (voltage 223 Vrms = √ V). The
current differs (lags) in phase by θ (tan θ = -3/4) as compared to voltage. Find (i) R, (ii) XC – XL,
and (iii) IM.
Another device has twice the values for R, XC and XL. How are the Anss affected?
Ans. P=2000W Current lags the voltage so
V2=50000V, XC>XL
Tan =

P=

2000=50000/Z
Z= 50000/2000=25Ω
Z= √ (XC - XL)2
R2 (XC - XL)2=252 ........(I)

tan =

XC - XL = R

(XC - XL)2 = 2
..........(II)

Putting this in eqn I

R2 + 2
=625

R=20Ω
XC - XL =-15Ω

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 Irms=V/Z=223/25= 9A approx
IO=12.6A
Q 32. (i) Describe, the working principle of a step up transformer with the help of a suitable diagram.
Obtain the relation between input and output voltages in terms of the number of turns of primary
and secondary windings and the currents in the input and output circuits.
(ii) Given the input 15A and the input voltage of 100V for a step-up transformer having 90%
efficiency, find the output power and the voltage in the secondary if the output current is 3A.
Ans. (i) Diagram
Principle
Relation between voltage, number of turns and currents
(ii)input power, Pi = Ii x Vi = 15x100=1500W
output power, Po= Pi x =1350W

IoVo= 1350W
output voltage, Vo = 1350/3= 450V
Q 33. (a) Draw graphs showing the variations of inductive reactance and capacitive reactance with
frequency of applied ac source.
(b) Draw the phasor diagram for a series RC circuit connected to an AC source.
(c) An alternating voltage of 220V is applied across a device X, a current of 0.25A flows, which lag
behind the applied voltage in phase by radian. If the same voltage is applied across another device

Y, the same current flows but now it is in phase with the applied voltage.
(i) Name the devices X and Y.
(ii) Calculate the current flowing in the circuit when the same voltage is applied across the series
combination of X and Y.
Ans. (a) Correct graphs
(b) Correct phasor diagram
(c) in device X:

Current lags behind the voltage by

X is an inductor
In device Y:
Current in phase with the applied voltage
Y is resistor
We are given that

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 0.25=220/XL
XL =880Ω
Also 0.25=220/R
R = 880Ω
For the series combination of X and Y
Equivalent impedance = √ XL2+ R2 = √2Ω
Current flowing=220/880√2 =0.177 A

Q 34 to 35 are case based questions carry 4 marks each

Q 34. Read the following paragraph and Anss the questions:
The large-scale transmission and distribution of electrical energy over long distances is done with
the use of transformers. The voltage output of the generator is stepped-up. It is then transmitted
over long distances to an area sub-station near the consumers. There the voltage is stepped down. It
is further stepped down at distributing sub-stations and utility poles before a power supply of 240 V
reaches our homes.
(i) A power transmission line feeds input power at 2300 V to a step down transformer with its
primary windings having 4000 turns. What should be the number of turns in the secondary in order
to get output power at 230 V?
(ii) Why we need to step-up the voltage for power transmission? Explain.
(iii) Suggest at least two ways with reason by which energy losses can be reduced in a transformer?
Ans. (i) Using Ep/Es = Np/Ns,
2300/230 = 4000/Ns, Ns= 400
(ii) On increasing the voltage, the current through transmission line is reduced and
consequently loss is cut down.
(iii) Laminating soft iron core so that loss due to eddy currents can be minimized.
Using soft iron core so that flux leakage can be reduced.
Using windings of good conductor so heat loss can be minimized.
Q 35. AC Voltage applied to a capacitor: Let a source of alternating e.m.f = 0sin (ω ) be connected to a
capacitor of capacitance C. If I is the instantaneous value of current in the circuit at instant t, then
= sin (ω + ). The capacitive reactance limits the amplitude of current in a purely capacitive
circuit and It is given by = 1/ω C.
(i) Does a capacitor allow the flow of direct current through it? Justify your Ans.
(ii) What is the capacitive reactance of a 5 µF capacitor for a frequency of 106 Hz?
(iii) How capacitive reactance vary with frequency of alternating voltage? Show it
graphically also.

Ans. (i) No. Capacitive reactance is infinite for direct current.

(ii) = 1/ω C = 1887 ohm
(iii) α 1/f, decreases on increasing f. ( Appropriate Graph)

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