Current Electricity - Question Bank
Chapter 3: Current Electricity
Section-A: 1-Mark Questions
1. What is meant by current and conventional current?
2. Define the SI unit of current.
3. How does drift velocity of electrons change with temperature?
4. What is the effect of temperature on the relaxation time of electrons
in a metal?
5. Which physical quantity does the voltage versus current graph for a
metallic conductor depict? Give its SI unit.
6. Draw the graph showing the variation of resistance of a cylindrical
conductor with its radius.
7. Draw the graph showing the variation of resistance of a conductor with
a rise in temperature.
8. Alloys of metals usually have resistivity than their constituent
metals. Alloys have much temperature coefficients of resistance
than pure metals. The resistivity of manganin increases with
temperature. The resistivity of a typical insulator is greater than a
metal by a factor of .
9. If 2.25 × 1020 electrons pass through a wire in one minute, find the
magnitude of the current flowing through the wire.
10. Define EMF of a cell.
11. What happens to the conductivity of electrolytes as temperature in-
creases?
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12. What are ohmic conductors? Give two examples.
13. What are non-ohmic devices? Give two examples.
14. Draw the V-I graph for GaAs.
15. How is the temperature coefficient of resistivity different for metals and
semiconductors?
16. Name two substances with a positive temperature coefficient of resis-
tivity.
17. Name two materials with a negative temperature coefficient of resistiv-
ity.
18. What happens to the resistivity of metals with an increase in temper-
ature?
19. What happens to the resistivity of semiconductors with an increase in
temperature?
20. Define the terminal potential difference of a cell.
Multiple Choice Questions (Each 1M)
1. The resistance of a metal wire increases with increasing temperature
due to:
(a) Decrease in free electron density
(b) Decrease in relaxation time
(c) Increase in mean free path
(d) Increase in the mass of electron
2. The SI unit of mobility is:
(a) Drift velocity
(b) Mobility
(c) Resistivity
(d) Potential gradient
3. The carriers of electricity in a metallic conductor are:
(a) Holes
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(b) Negative ions
(c) Positive ions
(d) Electrons
4. The time rate of flow of charge through any cross section of a conductor
is:
(a) Electric potential
(b) Electric current
(c) Electric intensity
(d) Electric charge
5. When no current is passed through a conductor:
(a) The free electrons do not move
(b) The average speed of a free electron over a large period of time is
not zero
(c) The average velocity of a free electron over a large period of time
is zero
(d) The average of the velocities of all the free electrons at an instant
is non-zero
6. A steady current is flowing through a conductor of non-uniform cross-
section. The charge passing through any cross-section of it per unit
time is:
(a) Directly proportional to the area of cross-section
(b) Inversely proportional to the area of cross-section
(c) Proportional to square of the area of cross-section
(d) Independent of the area of cross-section
7. Drift velocity of electrons is due to:
(a) Motion of conduction electrons due to random collisions
(b) Motion of conduction electrons due to the electric field E
(c) Repulsion of conduction electrons due to inner electrons of ions
(d) Collision of conduction electrons with each other
8. Which set consists of good conductors of electricity?
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(a) Cu, Ag, Au
(b) Cu, Si, Diamond
(c) Cu, Hg, NaCl
(d) Cu, Ge, Hg
9. The specific resistance of a conductor increases with:
(a) Increase in temperature
(b) Increase in cross-sectional area
(c) Decrease in length
(d) Decrease in cross-sectional area
10. Nichrome and copper wires of same length and area of cross-section
are connected in series, current is passed through them, which wire
gets heated first?
(a) Nichrome
(b) Copper
(c) Both equally
(d) None of them
Assertion and Reasons (Each 1M)
1. Assertion: The current density j at any point in an ohmic resistor is
in the direction of the electric field E at that point.
Reason: A point charge released from rest in a region having only an
electrostatic field always moves along electric lines of force.
(a) Both assertion and reason are true, and reason is the correct ex-
planation of assertion.
(b) Both assertion and reason are true, but reason is not the correct
explanation of assertion.
(c) Assertion is true, but reason is false.
(d) Both assertion and reason are false.
2. Assertion: The 200 W bulbs glow with more brightness than 100 W
bulbs.
Reason: A 100 W bulb has more resistance than a 200 W bulb.
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2-Mark Questions
1. What is drift velocity of electrons? How do you explain the flow of
current in a conductor based on this?
2. Establish the relation between drift velocity and electric current.
3. Define relaxation time of electrons in a conductor. Give its SI unit.
Explain how it varies with increase in temperature of conductor.
4. A negligibly small current is passed through a wire of length 15 m and
uniform cross-section 6.0 × 107 m2 . Find the resistance of the wire at
room temperature.
5. What are the factors on which the resistance of a conductor depends?
Give the corresponding relation.
6. A potential difference of 6V is applied across a conductor of length
0.12m. Calculate the drift velocity of electrons, if the electron mobility
is 5.6 × 10−6 m2 V −1 s−1 .
7. A current of 1 A flows through a wire of length 0.24 m and area of
cross-section 1.2mm2 , when it is connected to a battery of 3 V. Find
the number density of free electrons in the wire, if the electron mobility
is 4.8 × 10−6 m2 V −1 s−1 . Given that charge on electron = 1.6 × 10−19 C.
8. An electron moves in a circle of radius 0.15 m with a constant speed of
3.6 × 106 m/s. What electric current does this correspond to?
9. Determine the temperature coefficient of resistivity of silver.
10. Define electric power and electric energy. Give their SI units.
11. Define conductivity of a conductor. State its SI unit. Explain the
variation of conductivity with temperature for a metallic conductor.
3-Mark Questions
1. Show the variation of resistivity of:
(i) Copper with temperature
(ii) Nichrome with temperature
(iii) Silicon with temperature
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2. Two cells of different EMFs and internal resistances are connected in
series. Find the expressions for equivalent EMF and equivalent internal
resistance of the combination.
3. A resistance R is connected across a cell of EMF 8V and internal re-
sistance r. A Voltmeter measures the potential difference between the
terminals of the cell as V . Obtain the expression for r in terms of E,
V , and R. Draw the related circuit diagram as well.
5-Mark Questions
1. Define the resistivity of a conductor and give its SI unit. Plot a graph
showing the variation of resistivity with temperature for:
(i) Copper
(ii) Nichrome
(iii) Semiconductor
Explain the behavior using the mathematical expression of the resis-
tivity of a conductor.
2. Explain the variation of resistivity of metals, semiconductors, and in-
sulators with graphs. Define the temperature coefficient of resistivity
and write its SI unit.
