CHAPTER 19 ELECTRIC CIRCUITS

Name:

QUESTIONS

19.2 Electric currents

1. What is the current flowing through a section of wire if 2.0 C of charge passes through it
in 5 seconds?

2. How many electrons move through a conductor every second if they produce a 3 A
current?

3. How many electrons will move through the cross-section of a wire in an 8 second period
of time if the wire has a current of 1 A?

19.3 Resistors and resistance

4. A 30 cm length of wire has a resistance of 1.6 Ω. How much resistance will a 90 cm
length of wire have that is cut from the same roll of wire?

5. What will be the resistance of a 2 m length of nichrome wire if it has a diameter of

1 mm?

6. A 4 m length of wire has a cross-sectional area of 1 × 10–3 m2 and a resistance of

60.0 μΩ.
(a) Calculate the resistivity of the metal the wire is made from.

(b) What metal is the wire made from? (Use table 19.1.)

19.4 Power supply

7. Calculate the amount of electrical potential energy given to 2 μC of charge by a 12.0 V
battery.

8. (a) How much current passes through a 6 Ω resistor if there is a potential drop of 2 V
experienced by charges moving through it?

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(b) How much heat energy is dissipated when 4 μC of charge has passed through the
resistor?

9. How large is the resistance of a conductor which allows a current of 2 A to pass through
it when a potential difference of 10 V is placed over it?

19.5 Series and parallel circuits

10. Consider the circuit shown at right.
(a) Calculate the current through the 2.50 Ω resistor.

(b) Calculate the current through the 6.00 Ω resistor.

(c) Calculate the voltage drop across the 6.00 Ω resistor.

(d) Calculate the voltage gain across the power supply.

11. For the circuit shown at right, calculate:

(a) the current in the circuit

(b) the voltage drop across the 20.0 Ω resistor

(c) the voltage drop across the 15.0 Ω resistor.

12. For the circuit shown at right, calculate:

(a) the current through the 4.00 Ω resistor

(b) the current through the 8.00 Ω resistor

(c) the current through the power supply.

13. For the circuit shown below, calculate:

(a) the voltage drop across the 10.0 Ω resistor

(b) the voltage drop across the 20.0 Ω resistor

(c) the current through the 20.0 Ω resistor

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(d) the current through the power supply.

14. Calculate how many 20.0 Ω resistors, connected in parallel to a 2.00 V power supply,
would result in a current of 1.00 A through the power supply.

Review questions

Understanding

1. Draw circuit diagrams showing a 12.0 V battery and resistors of 2.00 Ω, 4.00 Ω and
6.00 Ω:
(a) in series

(b) in parallel.

2. Define an electric current.

3. (a) Identify the charge carriers in a metal.

(b) Describe how these charge carriers move in a conductor under the influence of a
power supply.

4. Explain how heat energy is produced when an electric current passes through a metal.

5. Explain what is meant by the potential difference across the ends of a resistor.

6. A battery is marked 25 V. Explain what this means.

7. Explain what is meant by:

(a) a conductor

(b) a resistor

(c) an insulator.

8. Demonstrate by means of diagrams the correct way of connecting into a circuit:

(a) an ammeter

(b) a voltmeter.

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Application
9. In the circuit shown below, the current through the 4.00 Ω resistor is 5.00 A. Calculate:
(a) the current through the 8.00 Ω resistor

(b) the current through the power supply.

10. In the circuit shown below, the current through the power supply is 6.00 A and the
current through R1 is 4.00 A.
(a) Calculate the current through R2.

(b) Deduce which resistor has the greater resistance.

11. A current of 2.00 A is flowing through a wire.

(a) Calculate how many coulombs pass through a cross-section of the wire in 3.00 s.

(b) Calculate how many electrons pass through a cross-section of the wire in this time.

12. An electric current is flowing through a wire. A charge of 4.20 C passes through a cross-
section of the wire in 3.00 s. Calculate the current in amps.

13. A current flows through a wire for 2.50 s. During this time 5.60 × 1018 electrons pass
through a cross-section of the wire.
(a) Calculate the charge passing through a cross-section of the wire in this time.

(b) Calculate the current in amps.

14. When 2.50 C pass through a certain resistor, 50.0 J of heat energy is generated. Calculate
the potential difference across the resistor.

15. The potential difference across a certain resistor is 32.0 V. Calculate how much heat
energy is produced when 12.0 C of electric charge passes through the resistor.

16. Calculate the change in electric potential energy as 2.00 C of charge passes through a
2.50 V battery.

17. When a current of 2.00 A passes through a certain resistor there is a potential difference
of 16.0 volts across it. Calculate the resistance of the resistor.

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18. A coil of wire has a resistance of 3.20 Ω. Calculate the potential difference across the coil
when there is a current of 2.00 A passing through the coil.

19. The following table refers to the potential difference V across a resistor of resistance R
when a current I passes through it. Calculate the values of the missing quantities and
complete the table.

20. You are given four pieces of wire made of the same material. The lengths and diameters
of the wires are given in the following table. List these in order of increasing resistance.
Justify your answer.

21. In the circuit shown at top right, the current through the 6.00 Ω resistor is 4.00 A.
Calculate the current through each of the 3.00 Ω resistors.

22. In the circuit shown below, the power supply has a voltage of 20.0 V and the voltage drop
across the 6.00 Ω resistor is 12.0 V. Calculate the voltage drop across each of the 2.00 Ω
resistors.

23. In the circuit shown below, the voltage drop across the 5.00 Ω resistor is 20.0 V.
Calculate:
(a) the voltage drop across the 8.00 Ω resistor

(b) the voltage of the battery.

24. For the circuit shown below, calculate:

(a) the total resistance

(b) the current through the power supply

(c) the potential drop across the 12.0 Ω resistor.

25. When a certain resistor is connected to a 25.0 V power supply, the current through the
resistor is 12.5 A. Calculate the resistance of a second resistor, connected in series, that
reduces the current to 5.00 A.

26. In each of the following cases, calculate the total resistance.

(a) Resistors of 12.0 Ω and 16.0 Ω in series

(b) Resistors of 12.0 Ω and 4.00 Ω in parallel

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(c) Resistors of 12.0 Ω, 10.0 Ω and 17.0 Ω in series

(d) Resistors of 12.0 Ω, 10.0 Ω and 17.0 Ω in parallel

(e) Six 15.0 Ω resistors in series

(f) Five 2.00 Ω resistors in parallel.

27. For the circuit shown below, calculate:

(a) the potential drop across the 12.0 Ω resistor

(b) the potential drop across the 4.00 Ω resistor

(c) the current through the 4.00 Ω resistor

(d) the potential gain across the power supply

(e) the current through the power supply.

28. For the circuit shown below, calculate:

(a) the current through the 25.0 Ω resistor

(b) the current through the 15.0 Ω resistor

(c) the current through the power supply.

Challenges
29. Consider the circuit shown below. Determine:
(a) the total equivalent resistance R that would replace all of the resistors in the circuit
without changing the value of I

(b) the value of I

(c) the value of I2

(d) the potential drop across the 8 Ω resistor.

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30. (a) Given four 10 Ω resistors, how many different total resistances can be obtained by
placing them in varying combinations?

(b) What will be the highest resistance possible?

(c) What will be the lowest?

31. Determine the value on the ammeter in the following circuit.

32. Copper metal has about 1029 free electrons per m3 that act as charge carriers. What will be
the average velocity of the electrons in a copper wire if it has a radius of 2 mm and a
current of 2 A passing through it?

Notes:

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