CH 3
CH 3
Question 3.1:
The storage battery of a car has an emf of 12 V. If the internal resistance of the battery is
0.4Ω, what is the maximum current that can be drawn from the battery?
Answer:
Emf of the battery, E = 12 V
Question 3.2:
A battery of emf 10 V and internal resistance 3 Ω is connected to a resistor. If the current
in the circuit is 0.5 A, what is the resistance of the resistor? What is the terminal voltage of
the battery when the circuit is closed?
Answer:
Emf of the battery, E = 10 V
= 0.5 × 17
= 8.5 V
8.5 V.
Question 3.3:
(a) Three resistors 1 Ω, 2 Ω, and 3 Ω are combined in series. What is the total resistance of
the combination?
Answer:
(a) Three resistors of resistances 1 Ω, 2 Ω, and 3 Ω are combined in series. Total
resistance of the combination is given by the algebraic sum of individual resistances.
Total resistance = 1 + 2 + 3 = 6 Ω
V 1 = 2 × 1= 2 V … (i)
V 2 = 2 × 2= 4 V … (ii)
V 3 = 2 × 3= 6 V … (iii)
Therefore, the potential drop across 1 Ω, 2 Ω, and 3 Ω resistors are 2 V, 4 V, and 6 V
respectively.
Question 3.4:
(a) Three resistors 2 Ω, 4 Ω and 5 Ω are combined in parallel. What is the total resistance
of the combination?
Answer:
(a) There are three resistors of resistances,
R 1 = 2 Ω, R 2 = 4 Ω, and R 3 = 5 Ω
They are connected in parallel. Hence, total resistance (R) of the combination is given by,
Therefore, the current through each resister is 10 A, 5 A, and 4 A respectively and the total
current is 19 A.
Question 3.5:
At room temperature (27.0 °C) the resistance of a heating element is 100 Ω. What is the
temperature of the element if the resistance is found to be 117 Ω, given that the
Answer:
Room temperature, T = 27°C
Question 3.6:
A negligibly small current is passed through a wire of length 15 m and uniform cross-
section 6.0 × 10 −7 m 2 , and its resistance is measured to be 5.0 Ω. What is the resistivity of
the material at the temperature of the experiment?
Answer:
Length of the wire, l =15 m
Question 3.7:
A silver wire has a resistance of 2.1 Ω at 27.5 °C, and a resistance of 2.7 Ω at 100 °C.
Determine the temperature coefficient of resistivity of silver.
Answer:
Temperature, T 1 = 27.5°C
Temperature, T 2 = 100°C
Question 3.8:
Aheating element using nichrome connected to a 230 V supply draws an initial current of
3.2 A which settles after a few seconds toa steady value of 2.8 A. What is the steady
temperature of the heating element if the room temperature is 27.0 °C? Temperature
coefficient of resistance of nichrome averaged over the temperature range involved is 1.70
× 10 −4 °C −1
.
Answer:
Supply voltage, V = 230 V
Question 3.9:
Determine the current in each branch of the network shown in fig 3.30:
Answer:
Current flowing through various branches of the circuit is represented in the given figure.
I 1 = Current flowing through the outer circuit
10I 2 + 5I 4 − 5I 3 = 0
2I 2 + I 4 −I 3 = 0
I 3 = 2I 2 + I 4 … (1)
5(I 2 − I 4 ) − 10(I 3 + I 4 ) − 5I 4 = 0
5I 2 + 5I 4 − 10I 3 − 10I 4 − 5I 4 = 0
5I 2 − 10I 3 − 20I 4 = 0
I 2 = 2I 3 + 4I 4 … (2)
10 = 15I 2 + 10I 1 − 5I 4
3I 2 + 2I 1 − I 4 = 2 … (3)
I 3 = 2(2I 3 + 4I 4 ) + I 4
I 3 = 4I 3 + 8I 4 + I 4
− 3I 3 = 9I 4
− 3I 4 = + I 3 … (4)
I 3 = 2I 2 + I 4
− 4I 4 = 2I 2
I 2 = − 2I 4 … (5)
I 1 = I 3 + I 2 … (6)
3I 2 +2(I 3 + I 2 ) − I 4 = 2
5I 2 + 2I 3 − I 4 = 2 … (7)
5(−2 I 4 ) + 2(− 3 I 4 ) − I 4 = 2
− 10I 4 − 6I 4 − I 4 = 2
17I 4 = − 2
I 3 = − 3(I 4 )
In branch CD =
In branch AD
In branch BD =
Total current =
Question 3.10:
(a) In a metre bridge [Fig. 3.27], the balance point is found to be at 39.5 cm from the
end A, when the resistor Y is of 12.5 Ω. Determine the resistance of X. Why are the
connections between resistors in a Wheatstone or meter bridge made of thick copper
strips?
(b) Determine the balance point of the bridge above if X and Y are interchanged.
(c) What happens if the galvanometer and cell are interchanged at the balance point of the
bridge? Would the galvanometer show any current?
Answer:
A metre bridge with resistors X and Y is represented in the given figure.
The connection between resistors in a Wheatstone or metre bridge is made of thick copper
strips to minimize the resistance, which is not taken into consideration in the bridge
formula.
(c) When the galvanometer and cell are interchanged at the balance point of the bridge,
the galvanometer will show no deflection. Hence, no current would flow through the
galvanometer.
Question 3.11:
A storage battery of emf 8.0 V and internal resistance 0.5 Ω is being charged by a 120 V dc
supply using a series resistor of 15.5 Ω. What is the terminal voltage of the battery during
charging? What is the purpose of having a series resistor in the charging circuit?
Answer:
Emf of the storage battery, E = 8.0 V
V1 = V − E
V 1 = 120 − 8 = 112 V
Question 3.12:
In a potentiometer arrangement, a cell of emf 1.25 V gives a balance point at 35.0 cm
length of the wire. If the cell is replaced by another cell and the balance point shifts to
63.0 cm, what is the emf of the second cell?
Answer:
Emf of the cell, E 1 = 1.25 V
Question 3.13:
The number density of free electrons in a copper conductor estimated in Example 3.1 is
8.5 × 10 28 m −3 . How long does an electron take to drift from one end of a wire 3.0 m long
to its other end? The area of cross-section of the wire is 2.0 × 10 −6 m 2 and it is carrying a
current of 3.0 A.
Answer:
I = nAeV d
Where,
Therefore, the time taken by an electron to drift from one end of the wire to the other is 2.7
× 10 4 s.
Question 3.14:
The earth’s surface has a negative surface charge density of 10 −9 C m −2 . The potential
difference of 400 kV between the top of the atmosphere and the surface results (due to
the low conductivity of the lower atmosphere) in a current of only 1800 A over the entire
globe. If there were no mechanism of sustaining atmospheric electric field, how much
time (roughly) would be required to neutralise the earth’s surface? (This never happens in
practice because there is a mechanism to replenish electric charges, namely the continual
thunderstorms and lightning in different parts of the globe). (Radius of earth = 6.37 ×
10 6 m.)
Answer:
A = 4πr 2
= 4π × (6.37 × 10 6 ) 2
= 5.09 × 10 14 m 2
q=σ×A
= 10 −9 × 5.09 × 10 14
= 5.09 × 10 5 C
Question 3.15:
(a) Six lead-acid type of secondary cells each of emf 2.0 V and internal resistance 0.015 Ω
are joined in series to provide a supply to a resistance of 8.5 Ω. What are the current drawn
from the supply and its terminal voltage?
(b) A secondary cell after long use has an emf of 1.9 V and a large internal resistance of
380 Ω. What maximum current can be drawn from the cell? Could the cell drive the starting
motor of a car?
Answer:
(a) Number of secondary cells, n = 6
Therefore, the current drawn from the supply is 1.39 A and terminal voltage is
11.87 A.
Question 3.16:
Two wires of equal length, one of aluminium and the other of copper have the same
resistance. Which of the two wires is lighter? Hence explain why aluminium wires are
preferred for overhead power cables. (ρ Al = 2.63 × 10 −8 Ω m, ρ Cu = 1.72 × 10 −8 Ω m,
Relative density of Al = 2.7, of Cu = 8.9.)
Answer:
It is given that,
And,
Mass of the aluminium wire,
m 1 = Volume × Density
= A 1 l 1 × d 1 = A 1 l 1 d 1 … (3)
m 2 = Volume × Density
= A 2 l 2 × d 2 = A 2 l 2 d 2 … (4)
It can be inferred from this ratio that m 1 is less than m 2 . Hence, aluminium is lighter than
copper.
Since aluminium is lighter, it is preferred for overhead power cables over copper.
Question 3.17:
What conclusion can you draw from the following observations on a resistor made of alloy
manganin?
A V A V
Answer:
It can be inferred from the given table that the ratio of voltage with current is a constant,
which is equal to 19.7. Hence, manganin is an ohmic conductor i.e., the alloy obeys Ohm’s
law. According to Ohm’s law, the ratio of voltage with current is the resistance of the
conductor. Hence, the resistance of manganin is 19.7 Ω.
Question 3.18:
Answer the following questions:
(a) A steady current flows in a metallic conductor of non-uniform cross- section. Which of
these quantities is constant along the conductor: current, current density, electric field,
drift speed?
(c) A low voltage supply from which one needs high currents must have very low internal
resistance. Why?
(d) A high tension (HT) supply of, say, 6 kV must have a very large internal resistance.
Why?
Answer:
(a) When a steady current flows in a metallic conductor of non-uniform cross-section, the
current flowing through the conductor is constant. Current density, electric field, and drift
speed are inversely proportional to the area of cross-section. Therefore, they are not
constant.
(b) No, Ohm’s law is not universally applicable for all conducting elements. Vacuum diode
semi-conductor is a non-ohmic conductor. Ohm’s law is not valid for it.
If V is low, then R must be very low, so that high current can be drawn from the source.
(d) In order to prohibit the current from exceeding the safety limit, a high tension supply
must have a very large internal resistance. If the internal resistance is not large, then the
current drawn can exceed the safety limits in case of a short circuit.
Question 3.19:
Choose the correct alternative:
(a) Alloys of metals usually have (greater/less) resistivity than that of their constituent
metals.
(b) Alloys usually have much (lower/higher) temperature coefficients of resistance than
pure metals.
(c) The resistivity of the alloy manganin is nearly independent of/increases rapidly with
increase of temperature.
(d) The resistivity of a typical insulator (e.g., amber) is greater than that of a metal by a
factor of the order of (10 22 /10 3 ).
Answer:
(a) Alloys of metals usually have greater resistivity than that of their constituent metals.
(b) Alloys usually have lower temperature coefficients of resistance than pure metals.
(c) The resistivity of the alloy, manganin, is nearly independent of increase of temperature.
(d) The resistivity of a typical insulator is greater than that of a metal by a factor of the
order of 10 22 .
Question 3.20:
(a) Given n resistors each of resistance R, how will you combine them to get the (i)
maximum (ii) minimum effective resistance? What is the ratio of the maximum to
minimum resistance?
(b) Given the resistances of 1 Ω, 2 Ω, 3 Ω, how will be combine them to get an equivalent
resistance of (i) (11/3) Ω (ii) (11/5) Ω, (iii) 6 Ω, (iv) (6/11) Ω?
Answer:
(a) Total number of resistors = n
(i) When n resistors are connected in series, effective resistance R 1 is the maximum, given
by the product nR.
(ii) When n resistors are connected in parallel, the effective resistance (R 2 ) is the
R 1 = 1 Ω, R 2 = 2 Ω, R 3 = 3 Ω2
1. Equivalent resistance,
2. Equivalent resistance,
Consider the series combination of the resistors, as shown in the given circuit.
Equivalent resistance of the circuit is given by the sum,
R’ = 1 + 2 + 3 = 6 Ω
Consider the series combination of the resistors, as shown in the given circuit.
(c) (a) It can be observed from the given circuit that in the first small loop, two resistors of
resistance 1 Ω each are connected in series.
It can also be observed that two resistors of resistance 2 Ω each are connected in series.
It can be observed that 2 Ω and 4 Ω resistors are connected in parallel in all the four loops.
Hence, equivalent resistance (R ’ ) of each loop is given by,
(b) It can be observed from the given circuit that five resistors of resistance R each are
connected in series.
=5R
2
Question 3.21:
Determine the current drawn from a 12 V supply with internal resistance 0.5 Ω by the
infinite network shown in Fig. 3.32. Each resistor has 1 Ω resistance.
Answer:
The resistance of each resistor connected in the given circuit, R = 1 Ω
Supply voltage, V = 12 V
According to Ohm’s Law, current drawn from the source is given by the ratio, = 3.72 A
Question 3.22:
Figure 3.33 shows a potentiometer with a cell of 2.0 V and internal resistance 0.40 Ω
maintaining a potential drop across the resistor wire AB. A standard cell which maintains a
constant emf of 1.02 V (for very moderate currents up to a few mA) gives a balance point
at 67.3 cm length of the wire. To ensure very low currents drawn from the standard cell, a
very high resistance of 600 kΩ is put in series with it, which is shorted close to the balance
point. The standard cell is then replaced by a cell of unknown emf ε and the balance point
found similarly, turns out to be at 82.3 cm length of the wire.
(d) Is the balance point affected by the internal resistance of the driver cell?
(e) Would the method work in the above situation if the driver cell of the potentiometer had
an emf of 1.0 V instead of 2.0 V?
(f ) Would the circuit work well for determining an extremely small emf, say of the order of
a few mV (such as the typical emf of a thermo-couple)? If not, how will you modify the
circuit?
Answer:
(a) Constant emf of the given standard cell, E 1 = 1.02 V
A cell of unknown emf, ε,replaced the standard cell. Therefore, new balance point on the
wire, l = 82.3 cm
(b) The purpose of using the high resistance of 600 kΩ is to reduce the current through the
galvanometer when the movable contact is far from the balance point.
(c) The balance point is not affected by the presence of high resistance.
(d) The point is not affected by the internal resistance of the driver cell.
(e) The method would not work if the driver cell of the potentiometer had an emf of 1.0 V
instead of 2.0 V. This is because if the emf of the driver cell of the potentiometer is less
than the emf of the other cell, then there would be no balance point on the wire.
(f) The circuit would not work well for determining an extremely small emf. As the circuit
would be unstable, the balance point would be close to end A. Hence, there would be a
large percentage of error.
The given circuit can be modified if a series resistance is connected with the wire AB. The
potential drop across AB is slightly greater than the emf measured. The percentage error
would be small.
Page No 131:
Question 3.23:
Figure 3.34 shows a potentiometer circuit for comparison of two resistances. The balance
point with a standard resistor R = 10.0 Ω is found to be 58.3 cm, while that with the
unknown resistance X is 68.5 cm. Determine the value of X. What might you do if you
failed to find a balance point with the given cell of emf ε?
Answer:
Resistance of the standard resistor, R = 10.0 Ω
If we fail to find a balance point with the given cell of emf, ε, then the potential drop
across R and X must be reduced by putting a resistance in series with it. Only if the
potential drop across R or X is smaller than the potential drop across the potentiometer
wire AB, a balance point is obtained.
Question 3.24:
Figure 3.35 shows a 2.0 V potentiometer used for the determination of internal resistance
of a 1.5 V cell. The balance point of the cell in open circuit is 76.3 cm. When a resistor of
9.5 Ω is used in the external circuit of the cell, the balance point shifts to 64.8 cm length of
the potentiometer wire. Determine the internal resistance of the cell.
Answer:
Internal resistance of the cell = r