Circuits Starting Check · H2 Physics 9478

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Which circuit arrangement measures a filament lamp’s I–V characteristic using a source, switch, variable control and both meters?

Both meters parallel across the source, with no current control.
Source, switch, variable resistor, ammeter and lamp in series; voltmeter parallel across the lamp.
Voltmeter in series and ammeter parallel across the lamp.
Both meters in series, with the variable resistor parallel.

A 1.5 m metal wire of area 0.20 mm² carries 0.40 A at 2.4 V. Find R and ρ, then state how heating changes its I–V response.

R=6.0 Ω; ρ=45 Ω m; heating leaves the I–V slope constant.
R=3.6 Ω; ρ=4.8 × 10⁻⁶ Ω m; current grows more than proportionally.
R=6.0 Ω; ρ=8.0 × 10⁻⁷ Ω m; heating raises metal resistance so current grows less than proportionally.
R=0.16 Ω; ρ=1.2 × 10⁻⁹ Ω m; heating lowers metal resistance.

A cell has e.m.f. 1.50 V and internal resistance 0.30 Ω supplying a 2.7 Ω load. Find I, terminal p.d. and load power.

I=5.0 A; terminal p.d.=0 V; load power=67.5 W
I=0.556 A; terminal p.d.=1.50 V; load power=0.833 W
I=0.50 A; terminal p.d.=0.15 V; load power=0.075 W
I=0.50 A; terminal p.d.=1.35 V; load power=0.675 W

A 12 V source supplies 3.0 kΩ in series with a parallel pair of 6.0 kΩ and 2.0 kΩ. Find total resistance, source current and p.d. across the parallel branch.

4.5 kΩ; 2.67 mA; 4.0 V
11 kΩ; 1.09 mA; 8.0 V
2.0 kΩ; 6.0 mA; 12 V
4.5 kΩ; 375 A; 8.0 V

Which option gives the equivalent capacitance of 6.0 μF and 3.0 μF first in series and then in parallel?

3.0 μF in series; 6.0 μF in parallel
2.0 μF in series; 9.0 μF in parallel
9.0 μF in series; 2.0 μF in parallel
4.5 μF in both

An initially uncharged 20 μF capacitor charges through 0.50 MΩ from an ideal 12 V source. Find τ and the capacitor p.d. after one time constant.

τ=10 s; p.d. 12 V
τ=25 s; p.d. 6.0 V
τ=10 s; capacitor p.d. after τ is 7.59 V
τ=0.040 s; p.d. 4.41 V

A student has to draw a circuit diagram in which a cell drives a current through a single fixed resistor and a voltmeter measures the potential difference across that resistor. Where must the two voltmeter terminals be joined in the finished diagram?

One to each end of the resistor.
In the loop between the cell and the resistor, so the current passes through it.
Both to the same end of the resistor.
One to the resistor and one left unconnected.

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What relationship should a circuit diagram have to the electrical connections and physical layout of the apparatus?

A circuit diagram describes appearance but not electrical connections.
Symbols encode nodes and connections; their page positions need not match the apparatus layout.
Wire shape and component position must reproduce the bench layout exactly.
Crossing lines are always connected even without a junction mark.

At a fixed applied electric field, which microscopic explanation accounts for the usual temperature effects in a metal and an NTC semiconductor?

Metal carrier density rises strongly; NTC drift stops completely.
Temperature changes only wire dimensions, not microscopic transport.
Metal: more lattice scattering lowers drift speed and raises ρ; NTC: a strong carrier-density rise lowers ρ.
Both materials heat by losing all charge carriers, so both resistances rise.

For a cell with fixed e.m.f. and internal resistance, how do terminal p.d., useful output power and internal dissipation depend on load current?

Terminal p.d. stays equal to e.m.f. and internal dissipation is zero.
Lost volts fall as current rises, so useful power is always proportional to I.
Internal resistance creates energy and increases terminal p.d.
As I rises, lost volts Ir and internal I²r rise; terminal p.d. falls and useful power is I(E−Ir).

Which option correctly states the series and parallel circuit rules and predicts the effect of heating an NTC thermistor in series with a fixed resistor across a fixed d.c. supply? Both possible divider outputs are unloaded.

Series shares current and p.d.s add; parallel shares p.d. and currents add. Heating lowers the p.d. across the NTC and raises it across the fixed resistor.
Series shares p.d. and parallel shares current; NTC output always rises.
All resistances add in both topologies; NTC output never changes.
Parallel current is zero and divider output is independent of sensor position.

Which derivation gives the equivalent-capacitance rules for parallel capacitors and for an initially uncharged series chain with isolated intermediate junctions?

Series capacitance always exceeds every component capacitance.
Parallel shares V so capacitances add; series shares Q so reciprocals add.
Parallel shares Q so reciprocals add; series shares V so capacitances add.
Both arrangements share Q and V, so capacitance is unchanged.

For an ideal RC circuit, which description gives capacitor charge, p.d. and current magnitude during charging from zero and discharging from an initial charge?

Current rises during charging while capacitor p.d. falls.
After one τ every charging or discharging process is complete.
Charging Q and V rise as 1−e⁻ᵗ/τ while current falls; discharging quantities decay as e⁻ᵗ/τ; τ=RC.
All quantities rise linearly during charging and fall linearly during discharge.

Two resistors are to be drawn in parallel with each other. Which set of connections produces a parallel combination rather than a series one?

Both left-hand ends meet at one junction and both right-hand ends meet at a second junction.
The right-hand end of the first is joined to the left-hand end of the second, and the free ends go to the cell.
Both resistors are joined to the same single junction and their other ends are left free.
The two resistors are drawn side by side on the page without any wire between them.

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About 10 minutes

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Which statement correctly gives why an ideal ammeter is series-connected and an ideal voltmeter parallel-connected?

Both instruments go in series because current and voltage share one path.
Both go in parallel because ideal meters draw the same current.
An ammeter measures branch current in series and ideally has zero resistance; a voltmeter measures node p.d. in parallel and ideally has infinite resistance.
An ammeter has infinite resistance and goes in parallel; a voltmeter has zero resistance and goes in series.

At constant ρ, length triples and area doubles. State the resistance factor.

Resistance factor 1/6
Resistance factor 3/2
Resistance factor 6
Resistance factor 2/3

A 1.8 V cell supplies 0.60 A and has terminal p.d. 1.5 V. Find r.

0.50 Ω
0.18 Ω
2.0 Ω
5.0 Ω

Which option gives the resistance of 6.0 Ω in series with two 8.0 Ω resistors in parallel?

14.0 Ω
7.0 Ω
22.0 Ω
10.0 Ω

Two equal capacitors C are connected first in series and then in parallel. State both equivalent capacitances.

Both C
Series C²; parallel 2/C
Series C/2; parallel 2C
Series 2C; parallel C/2

After one RC time constant, what fraction of final capacitor p.d. is reached during charging from zero, and what fraction of initial capacitor p.d. remains during resistor discharge?

Charging reaches 1.000; discharge retains zero.
Charging reaches 0.632; discharge retains 0.368.
Charging reaches 0.368; discharge retains 0.632.
Both are 0.500.

Two resistors are to be drawn in parallel with each other. Which set of connections produces a parallel combination rather than a series one?

Both left-hand ends meet at one junction and both right-hand ends meet at a second junction.
The right-hand end of the first is joined to the left-hand end of the second, and the free ends go to the cell.
Both resistors are joined to the same single junction and their other ends are left free.
The two resistors are drawn side by side on the page without any wire between them.

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Circuits Starting Check · H2 Physics 9478

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