CURRENT ELECTRICITY

LEVEL-1 2 MARKS
1 (a) Electrons drift in a metal from lower to higher potential, does it mean that all the free electrons of the metal
are moving in the same direction?
(b) How does the random motion of free electrons in a conductor get affected when a potential difference is
applied across its ends?
2 State Kirchhoff’s rules. Explain briefly how these rules are justified.
3 (a) Explain the term ‘drift velocity’ of electrons in a conductor. Hence obtain the expression for the current
through a conductor in terms of ‘drift velocity’.
(b) Two conducting wires X and Y of same diameter across a battery. If the number density of electrons in X is
twice that in Y, find the ratio of drift velocity of electrons in the two wires. [1:2]
4 Two metallic wires of the same material have the same length, but cross-sectional area is in the ratio 1: 2. They
are connected (i) in series and (ii) in parallel. Compare the drift velocities of electrons in the two wires in both the
cases (i) and (ii).
5 (a) A resistance R is connected across a cell of emf ε and internal resistance ‘r’. A potentiometer now measures
the potential difference between the terminals of the cell as V. write the expression for ‘r’ in terms of ε, V and
R.
(b) The emf of a cell is always greater than its terminal voltage. Why?
6 (a) A wire of resistance 8R is bent in the form of a circle. What is the effective
resistance between the ends of a diameter 2AB?
(b) Two wires of equal length, one of copper and the other of manganin have the same
resistance. Which wire is thicker?
7 (a) A wire of 20 Ω resistance is gradually stretched to double its original length. It is then cut into two equal
parts. These parts are then connected in parallel across a 4.0-volt battery. Find the current drawn from the
battery.
(b) Estimate the average drift speed of conduction electrons in a copper wire of cross-sectional area 2.5 × 10-
7
m2 carrying a current of 1.8 A. Assume the density of conduction electrons to be 9 x 10 28 m-3.
8 (a) The plot of the variation of potential difference A across a combination of three
identical cells in series, versus current is shown along the question. What is the
emf and internal resistance of each cell?
(b) Two identical cells, each of emf E, having negligible internal resistance, are
connected in parallel with each other across an external resistance R. What is the
current through this resistance?
9 Calculate the current drawn from the battery in the given network.

10 In the given circuit, assuming point A to be at zero potential, use

Kirchhoff’s rules to determine the potential A at point B.

3 MARKS
1 (a) Define the term ‘Mobility’ of charge carriers in a conductor. Write its S.I. unit.
(b) Define the term ‘electrical conductivity’ of a metallic wire. Write its S.I. unit.
(c) Define the conductivity of a conductor. Write its SI unit.
2 (a) How does one explain increase in resistivity of a metal with increase of temperature?
(b) Show variation of resistivity of copper as a function of temperature in a graph.
(c) Show on a graph the variation of resistivity with temperature for a typical semiconductor.
3 (a) Derive an expression for the resistivity of a good conductor, in terms of the relaxation time of electrons.
(b) Using the mathematical expression for the conductivity of a material, explain how it varies with temperature
for (i) semiconductors, (ii) good conductors.
4 (a) A cell of emf ‘E’ and internal resistance ‘V’ is connected across a variable resistor ‘R’. Plot a graph showing
the variation of: (i) terminal potential ‘V’ with resistance ‘R’ and (ii) terminal potential ‘V’ with current ‘I’.
(b) A battery of emf 6 V and internal resistance 2Ω is connected to a resistor. If the current in the circuit is 0.25
A, find (i) the resistance of the resistors and (ii) the terminal voltage of the battery.
5 A cell of emf E and internal resistance ‘r’ is connected to two external resistances R1 and R2 and a perfect
ammeter. The current in the circuit is measured in four different situations:
(a) without any external resistance in the circuit
(b) with resistance R2 only
(c) with R1 and R2 in series combination
(d) with R1 and R2 in parallel combination
The currents measured in the four cases are 0.42A, 1.05A, 1.4A and 4.2A, but not necessarily in that order.
Identify the currents corresponding to the four cases mentioned above.
 CURRENT ELECTRICITY

LEVEL-2 2 MARKS
1 (a) How many electrons pass through a lamp in one minute, if the current is 300 mA?
(b) Figure shows a plot of current ‘I’ through the cross-section of a wire over
a time interval of 10 s. Find the amount of charge that flows through the
wire during this time.

2 (a) Define the term current density, conductance and conductivity. Write their SI units.
(b) Derive Ohm’s law in microscopic form and express it in vector form.
3 Current flows through a constricted conductor as shown in figure. The diameter D 1 = 2.0 mm and the current
density to the left of constriction is j = 1.27 x 106 A/m2.
(a) What current flows into the constriction?
(b) If the current density is doubled as it emerges from the right side of the constriction, what is diameter D 2?
4 (a) Using the concept of drift velocity of charge carriers in a conductor, deduce the relationship between
current density and resistivity of the conductor.
(b) Two metallic rods, each of length L, area of cross section A1 and A2, having resistivities ρ1 and ρ2 are
connected in parallel across a d.c source. Obtain the expression for the effective resistivity of this
combination.
5 (a) A cylindrical wire is stretched to increase its length by 10%. Calculate the percentage change in its resistance.
(b) A piece of silver wire has a resistance of 1 Ω. What will be the resistance of a constantan wire of one-third
length and one-half diameter, if the specific resistance of constantan is 30 times that of silver?
6 The current density in a cylindrical wire of radius
r = 4.0 mm is 1.0 x 106 A/m2. If the current
through the outer portion of the wire between
𝒓
radial distances 𝟐 and r is xπA, then find x.

7 (a) Write the relations between electric current and mobility for:
(i) A conductor (ii) semiconductor.
(b) Hence write an expression for the conductivity of a semiconductor.
8 The network PQRS, shown in the circuit diagram, has the batteries of 4 V and
5 V and negligible internal resistance. A milliammeter of 20 Ω resistance is
connected between P and R. Calculate the reading in the milliammeter.
[Ans: 0.064 A]

9 Use Kirchhoff’s rules to determine the potential difference between the

points A and D when no current flows in the arm BE of the electric
network shown in the figure.

10 State Kirchhoff’s rules. Use these rules to write the expressions for the current
I1 I2 and I3 in the circuit diagram shown.

3 MARKS
1 A number of identical cells ‘n’, each of emf ‘ε’, internal resistance ‘r’ connected in series are charged by a d.c.
source of emf ‘e’ using a resistor R.
(i) Draw the circuit arrangement.
(ii) Deduce the expressions for (a) the charging current and (b) the potential difference across the combination of
the cells.
2 (a) The potential difference applied across a given resistor is altered so that the heat produced per second
increases by a factor of 9. By what factor does the applied potential
difference change?
(b) In the figure shown, an ammeter A and a resistor of 40 are connected to the
terminals of the source. The emf of the source is 12 V having an internal
resistance of 2 O. Calculate the voltmeter and ammeter readings.

3 (a) Show on a plot the variation of: (i) resistivity of copper temperature and (ii) variation of resistivity of
nichrome with temperature.
(b) State four limitations of Ohm’s law.
4 (a) The resistance of the platinum wire of a platinum resistance thermometer at the ice point is 5 Ω and at the
steam point is 5.23 Ω. When the thermometer is inserted in a hot bath, the resistance of the platinum wire is
5.795 Ω. Calculate the temperature of the bath. [345.650 C]
(b) The resistance of a conductor at 200 C is 3.15 Ω and at 1000 C is 3.75 Ω. Determine the temperature
coefficient of the conductor at 00 C. [0.00250 C-1; 3.0 Ω]
5 (a) Two coils require 20 minutes and 60 minutes respectively to produce same amount of heat energy when
connected separately to the same source. If they are connected in parallel arrangement to the same source,
find the time required to produce same amount of heat by the combination of coils. [15 min]
(b) A dry cell of emf 1.5 V and internal resistance 0.10 Ω is connected across a resistor in series with a very low
resistance ammeter. When the circuit is switched ON, the ammeter reading settles to a steady value of 2.0 A.
What is the steady: (i) rate of chemical energy consumption of the cell, (ii) rate of energy dissipation inside
the cell, (iii) rate of energy dissipation inside the resistor, and (iv) power output of the source? [3.0 W; 0.40
W; 2.6 W; 2.6 W]

Write all the formulae :

Plot all the graphs:

Draw all the diagrams (well labelled):