CURRENT ELECTRICITY
Electric Current
Questions for practice
1. The amount of charge passing through the cross section of a wire is q(t)= at2 + bt + c. If
the values of a , b, c in SI units are 4 , 5 , 3 respectively, find the value of current at t =
2s.
2. An electron moves in a circular orbit of radius 10 cm with a constant speed of 4.0 X 106
ms-1 . Determine the electric current at a point on the orbit.
Ohm’s law , Resistance, Resistivity
Questions for practice
1. A copper wire of radius 0.1mm and resistance 1kΩ is connected across a power supply
of 20V .(a) How many electrons are transferred per second between the supply and the
wire at one end ? (b) Write down the current density in the wire.
2. Find the resistivity of a conductor in which a current density of 2.5 Am-2 is found to exist
,when an electric field of 15 Vm-1 is applied on it.
3. A 1 m long copper wire carries a current of 1A .If the cross section of the wire is 2.0 mm2
and the resistivity of copper is 1.7 X 10-8 Ωm ,find the force experienced by moving
electron in the wire.
4. Two wires A & B of equal mass and of the same metal are taken .The diameter of the
wire A is half the diameter of wire B . If the resistance of wire A is 24Ω. Calculate the
resistance of wire B .
5. A wire has a resistance of 16Ω . It is melted and drawn into a wire of half its length .
Calculate the resistance of the new wire . What is the percentage change in its
resistance?
6. A uniform wire is cut into four segments . Each segment is twice as long as the earlier
segment . If the shortest segment has a resistance of 4 Ω , find the resistance of the
original wire.
7. A wire of certain resistance R is stretched so that its radius decreases by factor n .
Calculate its new resistance.
Drift velocity ,mobility and relaxation time.
Questions for practice
1. When 5V potential difference is applied across a wire of length 0.1m ,the drift speed of
electrons is 2.5 X 10-4m/s . If the electron density in the wire is 8x1028 m-3 ,find the
resistivity of material of wire.
2. Two conducting wires A & B of the same diameter but made of different materials joined
in series across a battery .The no. density of A is 1.5 times that in B . Find the ratio of
drift velocities of electrons in wire A to that in wire B .
3. A wire whose cross-sectional area is increasing linearly from its one end to other end ,is
connected across a battery of V volts. Which of the following quantities remain constant
in the wire ? Explain your answer. (a) drift speed (b) current density (c ) electric current
(d) electric field.
4. Calculate the electric field in a copper wire of cross sectional area 2 mm2 carrying a
current of 1 A . The conductivity of copper = 6.25 X 107 Sm-1.
5. A current of 2A is flowing through a wire of length 4m and cross sectional area [Link]
each cubic meter of the wire contains 1029 free electrons ,find the average time taken by
an electron to cross the length of the wire.
6. Two wires made of the same material have the same length but different cross sectional
areas in the ratio 1:2 .p They are connected together with a cell of voltage V . Find the
ratio of the drift velocities of free electrons in the two wires when they are joined in ( i )
series and ( ii) parallel.
Temperature variation of resistance
Questions for practice
1. The resistance of a platinum wire of a thermometer at ice point is 5 Ω and at steam point
is 5.23 Ω. When the thermometer is inserted in a hot bath ,the resistance of platinum
wire is 5.795 Ω. Calculate the temperature of the bath.
2. When current passes through the nichrome wire of an electric toaster its resistance at
room temperature 270C is found to be 75.3Ω. When the toaster is connected to 230V
supply current settles to a steady value of 2.68 A. What is the steady temperature of
nichrome element . [Link] of resistance is 1.70 X 10-4 oC -1.
Combination of resistances
Questions for practice
1. Find the equivalent resistance of the networks shown in figure between the points A & B.
EMF , Internal Resistance , Terminal potential difference
Questions for practice
1. A cell of emf E and internal resistance r is connected across a resistor of variable
resistance R . Show graphically the variation of (a) terminal voltage with external
resistance (b) current supplied by cell and external resistance ( c ) terminal voltage with
current supplied by cell
2. A straight line plot showing the terminal potential difference (V) of a
cell as a function of current drawn from it is shown in figure . What is
the internal resistance of the cell.
3. A cell is connected across an external resistance 12Ω and supplies
0.25A current. When the external resistance is increased by 4 Ω ,the
current reduces to 0.2 A . Calculate the emf and internal
resistance of the cell.
4. A battery of emf 12V and internal resistance 2Ω is
connected to a 4Ω resistor as shown in figure. Show that
when a voltmeter placed across the cell ,gives the same
reading.
5. 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?
6. (a)A car has a fresh storage battery of emf 12V and internal resistance 5.0 X 10-2Ω. If the
starter motor draws a current of 90 A , What is the terminal voltage of the battery when
the starter is on. (b) After long use internal resistance of storage battery increases to
500 Ω . What maximum current can be drawn from the battery ?
Combination of cells in series and parallel
For cells of different emf For cells of same emf
Questions for practice
1. Two identical cells each of emf 1.5 V are connected in parallel
across a parallel combination of two resistors each of
resistance 20Ω .A voltmeter connected in the circuit measures
1.2 V . Calculate the internal resistance of each cell.
2. In the circuit diagram given the cells E1 and E2 have emfs 4V &
8 V and internal resistances 0.5Ω & 1.0Ω respectively.
Calculate the current in each resistance.
3. A network of resistances is connected to a 16 V battery with
internal resistor 1 Ω as shown in figure.(a) compute equivalent
resistance of the network (b) obtain the current in each resistor
( c ) obtain voltage drops VAB , VBC , VCD.
4. Two identical cells ,when connected either in parallel or in series ,give same current in
an external resistance of 5 Ω . The internal resistance of each cell will be _____Ω.
Heating effect of current,electric energy & electric power
Questions for practice
1. An electric motor operates on a 50V supply and draws a current of 12 A . If the motor
yields a mechanical power of 150 W ,what is the percentage efficiency of the motor ?
2. A heating element is marked 210V ,630 W . What is the current drawn by the element
when connected to 210 V d.c mains ? What is the resistance of the element?
3. An electric Power station ( 100 MW) transmits power to a distant load through long and
thin cables. Which of the two modes of transmission would result in lesser power
wastage? power transmission of 20,000 V or 200 V ?
4. An electric bulb is marked 100W, 230 V. If the supply voltage drops to 115 V, what is the
heat and light energy produced by the bulb in 20 minute ? calculate the current flowing
through it.
5. Two heaters are marked 200 V, 300 W and 200 V, 600 W if the heaters are combined in
series and the combination connected to a 200 V DC supply, which heater will produce
more heat?
6. A fuse with a circular cross-sectional radius of 0.15 mm blows at 15 A. What should be
the radius of cross-section of a fuse made of the same material which will blow at 30 A?
KIRCHHOFF’s LAWS
Questions for practice
1. In the given circuit ,calculate the current through 20 Ω
resistance using Kirchhoff’s rules.(fig 1)
2. Determine the current in each
branch of the network shown
using KCL & KVL.(fig 2)
3. Calculate the current through
the galvanometer when a
potential difference of 10 V is maintained across
AC .
Wheatstone bridge
Questions for practice
1. Calculate equivalent resistance between points A & B .
