Viva Questions on Ohm’s Law

1. What is the value of resistance for an ideal voltmeter and ammeter?

It is infinity for voltmeter and 0 for ammeter

2. Define electric potential?

Amount of work done to move a unit charge from infinity to any point in the electric field of
given charge

3. Why is an ammeter connected in series in a circuit?

Ammeter has very low resistance, hence to measure the amount of current flowing through the
circuit; it must pass through the ammeter hence it is connected in series

4. Why is a voltmeter connected in parallel in a circuit?

Voltmeter posse’s very high resistance, to find potential across given resistance, minimum
current must pass through the voltmeter and maximum through the resistance

5. State the law that governs the strength of the current passing through a metallic conductor
when a p.d is applied across its end. Illustrate this law graphically?

Ohm’s law is the law. It provide linear relation between current and voltage

6. State the law which governs the amount of heat produced in a metallic conductor when current
is passed through it for a given time. Express this law mathematically?

Joules heating effect is the law which provide heat produced according to it H=I2Rt

7. Define resistance. What are the factors on which it depends?

Obstruction posses by the conductor in the flow of current is called resistance, it depends on
length, area, temperature, nature of material
8. A copper wire of resistivity P is stretched to reduce its diameter to half its previous value.
What is the new resistivity?

Resistivity is independent of dimension so it will remain P (no change)

9. Define the S I unit of electric current and potential difference.

Current =Ampere, Potential difference = Volt

10. What is the expression for equivalent resistance when we connect them in series?

R= R+R+R

11. What is an electric fuse? Explain its function.

To prevent the circuit from excess current, we have an electric fuse which consists of high
resistance and low melting point. It will melt when high current flows through it.

12. What do you mean by a shunt?

It is a small value of resistance which is connected in parallel with the galvanometer.

13. Can we increase or decrease the range of the ammeter?

We can increase by the range by connecting suitable resistance in parallel. We can not decrease.

14. Is Ohm’s law universal?

No, it is not accepted universally. There are many non ohmic devices also which does not follow
ohm’s law

15. Name 2 non Ohmic devices

Semiconductor and electrolytes

16. . Is ohm’s law valid for high temperatures?

No as with temperature, resistance changes so Ohm law not valid

17. What is the need of Kirchoff's law?

Ohm’s law is applicable only on small circuits so to solve complex circuits we need kirchhoff’s
law

18. What is the unit of resistivity?

Ohm-meter

19. Is there any vector form of Ohm’s law?

Yes. We express it in terms of Current density , conductivity and electric field J=σE

20. Have you ever heard about negative resistance?

Yes in materials like GaAs , in a particular region When we increase voltage current decreases
then they are said to possess negative resistance.

21. What are superconductors?

As temperature decreases , resistance of the conductor decreases so for some of the alloy at very
low temperature it drops to zero and the conductor becomes a superconductor.

Physics Practical Viva-Voce Questions on Meter

Bridge
1. What is the principle of MB?

Wheatstone bridge

2. What happened at the balancing point?

No current flows through galvanometer

3. Why does no current flow through the galvanometer?

It is because there is no potential difference, for flow of current potential difference must be
there.

4. Any other instrument based on Wheatstone bridge.

Post office box, Carey foster

5. Why Constantan and Manganin are used to make standard resistance.

Low temperature coefficient and high resistivity

6. Resistivity of a wire depends on.

Material of wire, temperature

7. A toaster produces more heat than a light bulb which has greater resistance.

H is inversely proportional to R when connected in parallel so light bulb has greater resistance

8. When is the wheatstone bridge most sensitive?

When all four P,Q,R and S are of same magnitude

9. Why Wheatstone bridge is not suitable for very low resistance.

Due to end resistance measurement is not perfect

10. What happens if the galvanometer and cell interchanged at balance point.

Balance points remain unchanged.

Physics Practical Viva-Voce Questions on

Semiconductor Practical PN Junction
1. What is a P-N junction?
 P-N junction is a semiconductor device in which a P type semiconductor is joined with N type
semiconductor

3. What is the depletion layer?

It is a thin region around the junction which is free from holes and electrons

4. Can you explain to me how we can join two semiconductors, is there any specific way?

Yes .we have various ways by which we can join P type semiconductor with N type such as
grown junction diode ,fuse junction diode.

5. What is an ideal junction diode?

Ideal junction diode is that which conduct only in forward bias

6. Why it is so that current is flowing so easily in forward bias where as not so easily in reverse
bias

In the forward bias depletion region is thin so resistance is low hence current flow due to the
majority carrier whereas in reverse bias depletion region is thick so resistance is so high hence no
current flow due to majority carrier current only flow due to minority carrier.

7. Is P-N junction an ohmic device?

No it is non ohmic devices; current is not vary linearly with potential.

8. What is knee voltage?

Knee voltage is that below which graph in forward bias is non –linear or non ohmic and above
which it is linear or ohmic.

9. Which elements are used as intrinsic semiconductor

Si and Ge are used as semiconductors. It is because it has four electrons in its valence shell and
forms a covalent bond.

10. Tell me various types of P-N junctions

 P-N junction is also called diode, such as photodiode, light emitting diode, tunnel diode, Zener
diode, varactor diode etc

11. What is value of the potential barrier of a silicon and germanium

S; 0.7V and 0.3 V

12.What is difference between P-N diode and Zener Diode

Zener is highly doped and work in reverse bias

13. What is Zener breakdown?

When a very high reverse voltage is applied across a semiconductor diode, a large amount of
current flows through it. This effect is called Zener breakdown.

14. What is the charge on P type or N type semiconductor?

It is charge less

15. What is donor impurity?

The pentavalent impurity atoms like Sb, As

16. What is acceptor impurity?

The trivalent impurity like B, Al

17. What is doping?

Addition of impurity to pure semiconductor

18. How does conductivity of a semiconductor vary with temperature?

The conductivity of the semiconductor increases with temperature.

19. Why a large electric current flows, the semiconductor gets damaged
It is because it gets heated.

20. What are two important process involved in the formation of a P-N junction

Diffusion and Drift , when a PN junction is formed due to concentration gradient , the holes
diffuse from P side to N side and electrons diffuse from N side to P side . The drift of charge
carriers occurs due to electric fields due to built in potential barrier; an electric field directed
from n region to p region is developed across the junction. This field causes motion of electrons
on p side to n side and motion of holes on n side to p side thus a drift current start which is
opposite to diffusion current.

Physics Practical Viva-Voce Questions on Optics

1. Define refractive index.

It is defined as ratio of velocity of light in rarer medium to velocity in denser medium

2. What is the least value of the refractive index possible?

One

3. What can you infer if someone says that he has a medium of refractive index less than one?

Through that medium light travel faster than its speed through vacuum

4. Define focus.

The point on the principal axis at which the parallel rays after reflection/refraction converge or
appear to converge

5. Define the optic centre.

It is the geometrical center of the lens.A ray of light passing through this point does not suffer
any deviation.

6. What is the type of lens in an air bubble formed inside water

Convex lens

7. Is your eye a lens?

It is convex lens

8. What is the focal length of a lens?

The distance between the principal focus and the optical center of a lens is called as the focal
length of the lens

9. What are the differences between convex lens and concave lens?

Concave lens has diverging property and convex converging

Concave is thin at the middle whereas convex thick.

11. What is parallax?

It may be defined as the relative shift between the two objects placed at different distances from
the eye when eye is moved to and from.

12. What is index correction?

It is difference between observed distance and actual distance because of sharpe edges of needle

13. How is parallax removed?

By making two objects coincident

14. Which color of light shows maximum deviation.

Violet

15. In which situation ,a convex lens behaves as a concave lens?

When a convex lens is placed in a medium of refractive index greater than that of the material of
the lens.
16. Distinguish real image and virtual image.

Image which can be obtained on screen is real which cant is virtual

17. If red, green and blue light incident on a right angle prism . if only one light will not suffer
TIR then what will be that light

It will be Red

18. Define angle of deviation.

It is angle between incident ray and emergent ray

19. Which type of lens has negative power?

Concave

20. Which lens is called a diverging lens?

Concave

21. What is angle of minimum deviation?

It is the angle at which angle of incidence becomes equal to angle of emergence so that the ray
of light will be parallel to the base of the prism

22. What is the SI unit of the refractive index ?

It has no unit.

Physics Practical Viva-Voce Questions on Half

Deflection Method
1. What is a moving coil galvanometer?

It is a device used to detect the direction as well as magnitude of the electric current.
2. What is the principle of moving a coil galvanometer?

Current carrying coils placed in a magnetic field experience torque.

3. What is the figure of merit?

Amount of electric current required to produce one scale deflection in the galvanometer

4. Define the current sensitivity.

The deflection produce per unit current through it

5. What is the nature of the magnetic field in a moving coil galvanometer?

It is a radial magnetic field.

6. Out of galvanometer voltmeter and ammeter which one has maximum and minimum
resistance ?

Ammeter is having minimum and voltmeter maximum in fact ideal ammeter is having zero and
voltmeter is having infinite resistance

7. Which type of galvanometer are you using ?

It is moving coil watson type galvanometer

8. Why this practical is known as half deflection

It is because when we connect shunt, half of the current flows through galvanometer and half
through shunt

9. What will be the approximate value of resistance of the galvanometer?

It is near to value of shunt

10. What is the importance of radial magnetic field in a moving coil galvanometer
Radial magnetic field in a makes the arm of the couple fixed hence the torque on the coil is
always same in all positions so that we get linear scale

11. Why ammeter is connected in series

So that whole of the current passes through it

12. Why voltmeter is connected in parallel

So that it draws very small current

13. Why ammeter has low resistance

As we connect the shunt, the effective resistance of the circuit is minimum and maximum
current flows through it..

14. What happens if ammeter is connected in parallel and voltmeter in series

As the ammeter has very low resistance so maximum current passes through it not through
resistance. When we connect voltmeters in series then effective resistance becomes very high
and current will reduce to minimum so voltmeter will not measure actual potential difference.

15. Can we increase the range of the ammeter? Can we decrease?

We can increase by connecting suitable resistance in parallel but we can not decrease.

16. Can we increase or decrease the range of voltmeters?

Range can be increased by connecting suitable resistance in series with it. It can be decreased by
connecting suitable resistance in parallel with it.

17. out of two voltmeter of 1000 ohm and 4000 ohm which one will you prefer to measure PD
across 500 ohm

Always higher (4000) as it draw less current

18. When an ammeter is put in circuit it reads slightly less or more current than actual?
Less as it has some resistance of own which decreases slightly