UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, JAMAICA
Faculty of Science & Sport
School of Natural & Applied Sciences
Physics for Computer Studies (PHS1019)
SOLUTION TO TUTORIAL # 5
Question 1
A charge of 50 C leaves a battery and supplies 600 J of electrical energy to a lamp connected to
it. What is:
i) the p.d. of the battery?
w = QV
V = w/Q
= 600/50 = 12 V
ii) the current from the battery if the charge passes in 25 s?
I = Q/t
= 50/25 = 2 A
Question 2
A filament lamp is marked 240 V 60 W.
i) Calculate the current through the lamp when it is working normally.
P = IV
I = P/V = 60/240
I = 0.25 A
ii) Calculate the resistance of the lamp when it is working normally.
V = IR
R = V/I = 240/0.25
R = 960
iii) Sketch the current-voltage characteristic of the filament lamp.
I/A
0 V/V
Question 3
A car headlamp is marked 12 V, 65 W. It is switched on for a 30 minute journey.
Calculate the:
i) current in the lamp
P = IV
I = P/V = 65/12
I = 5.4 A
ii) charge which passes through the lamp during the journey
I = Q/t
Q = It
Q = 5.4 × 30 × 60 = 9720 C
iii) energy supplied to the lamp during the journey
E = Pt
E = 65 × 30 × 60 = 117000 J
iv) working resistance of the lamp
V = IR
R = V/I
= 12/5.4 = 2.2
Question 4
Three lamps were connected in a circuit with a battery of constant potential. The current, potential
difference and resistance for each lamp are listed in the data table below. [There is negligible
resistance in the wires and the battery.]
Current / (A) Potential Difference / (V) Resistance / (Ω)
Lamp 1 0.45 40.1 89.0
lamp 2 0.11 40.1 365
lamp 3 0.28 40.1 143
i) Using circuit symbols, draw a circuit showing how the lamps and battery are connected.
143
365
89.0
ii) What is the potential difference supplied by the battery?
V = 40.1 V
iii) Calculate the equivalent resistance of the circuit.
1/Req = 1/R1 1/R2 1/R3
1/Req = 1/89 1/365 1/143
1/Req = 0.0210
Req = 1/0.0210 = 47.6
iv) If lamp 3 is removed from the circuit, what would be the value of the potential
difference across lamp 1 after lamp 3 is removed?
V = 40.1 V
v) If lamp 3 is removed from the circuit, what would be the value of the current in lamp
2 after lamp 3 is removed?
V = 40.1 V
Question 5
Two resistors R1 and R2 are connected in parallel to a power supply. If the current through R1 is
0.25 A and the potential difference across R2 is 2.5 V.
i) Find the value R1
V = IR1
R1 = V/I = 2.5/0.25
R1 = 10
ii) If the power dissipated in R2 is 0.375W, what is the current through R2? Hence or
otherwise, determine the value of R2.
P = IV
I = P/V = 0.375/2.5
I = 0.15 A
V = IR
R2 = V/I = 2.5/0.15
R2 = 16.7
iii) What is the total current drawn from the cell?
Itotal = I1 I2
= 0.25 0.15 =0.40 A
Question 6
The arrangement of resistors shown in Fig 1below is connected to a battery.
25 Ω
100 Ω
The 25 Ω
power dissipated in the 100 Ω resistor is 0.95W. Calculate the:
i) current in the 25 Ω resistors..
P = I2R
I = (P/R)
= (0.95/100) = 0.097 A
I25 = 0.097/2 = 0.049 A
ii) power dissipated in each of the 25 Ω resistors.
P = I2R
P = (0.049)2 × 25 = 0.060 W
iii) voltage across the battery.
1/R// = 1/25 1/25
R// = 25/2 = 12.5
V = 0.097(100) 0.097(12.5) = 11 V
Question 7
Resistors 3.0 Ω, 4.0 Ω, and 8.0 Ω are connected in parallel across a 12 V supply.
i) Sketch a schematic diagram of the data given.
ii) Determine the total resistance of the network.
1/RT = 1/R1 1/R2 1/R3
1/RT = 1/3 1/4 1/8
1/RT = 0.71
RT = 1.4
iii) Determine the current through each resistor.
V = IR
I = V/R
I = 12/3 = 4 A
I = 12/4 = 3 A
I = 12/8 = 1.5 A
iv) Determine the power dissipated across each resistor.
P = I2R
P = 42 × 3 = 48 W
P = 32 × 4 = 36 W
P = 1.52 × 8 = 18 W
Question 8
A 4.0 m length of wire with a diameter of 1.4 mm is at room temperature. The current flowing
through the wire is 5.0 A with a 500 mV voltage drops across the wire. Determine the:
i) cross-sectional area of the wire in S.I units.
A = D2/4
A = ( × (1.4 × 10-3)2)/4
A = 1.5 × 10-6 m2
ii) resistance of the wire.
V = IR
R = V/I
= 0.500/5 = 0.10
iii) resistivity of the wire.
R = l/A
= RA/l
= (0.10 × 1.5 × 10-6)/4.0
= 3.8 × 10-8 m
iv) power dissipated in the wire.
P = IV
= 5.0 × 0.500 = 2.5 W
Question 9
A cylindrical copper cable of resistivity 1.78 × 10−8 Ω m carries a current of 40 A.
There is a potential difference of 250 mV between two points on the cable that are 80 cm apart.
Determine the:
i) resistance between the two points
V = 250 mV
= 0.250 V
V = IR
R = V/I = 0.250/40
R = 0.00625
ii) cross-sectional area of the cable.
R = l/A
0.00625 = (0.80 × 1.78 × 10-8)/A
A = 2.28 × 10-6 m2
iii) diameter of the cable.
A = r2 = D2/4
D2/4 = 2.28 × 10-6
D = ((4× 2.28 × 10-6)/)
= 1.70 × 10-3 m
Question 10
a) A 3.50 meter length of wire with a cross sectional area of 3.14 × 10–6 m2 is at room
temperature. The current in the wire is 24.0 A when connected to a 1.50 V source of potential
difference.
i) Determine the resistance of the wire.
R = V/I
R = 1.50/24.0 = 0.0625
ii) Calculate the resistivity of the wire. [Show all work, including the equation
and substitution with units.
R = l/A
= RA/l
= (0.0625 × 3.14 × 10-6)/3.50
= 5.61 × 10-8 m
b) The overhead wire used to supply power to UTECH computer lab C has area of cross-
section 5.0 x 10 -5 m2 and is made of copper of resistivity 1.72 x 10 -8 Ω m. Calculate the
resistance of one kilometer length of the wire.
R = l/A
R = (1.72 × 1000 × 10-8)/(5.0 × 10-5)
= 0.344
