8 Charge and current
OCR Physics A Exam-style questions
1 a To form a complete set of base units, one electrical unit is required. State
that unit.
(1 mark)
b Figure 1 shows an electrical circuit used to deposit copper onto a metal plate.
The conventional current, I, flowing in the external circuit is shown.
Figure 1
Mark on Figure 1:
i the direction of the electron flow in the connecting wire AB (1 mark)
ii the direction of the drift velocity of the positively charged copper ions in
the solution. (1 mark)
c The current measured by the ammeter in Figure 1 is 0.34 A. In order to coat
the metal plate with copper to the required depth, the current must flow
steadily for 12 minutes. Determine the charge flowing through the ammeter in
this time.
charge = C (2 marks)
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8 Charge and current
OCR Physics A Exam-style questions
2 a Define the coulomb.
(1 mark)
b The label on a car battery states capacity = 80 A h, which indicates that the
battery is theoretically capable of delivering a current of 1 A for 80 hours. In
order to fully charge it, the battery is connected to a charger delivering a
constant current of 0.64 A.
Calculate:
i the minimum time for a full charge to be delivered
time = hours (1 mark)
ii the number of coulombs added to the battery in that time.
number = C (2 marks)
c There was a thunderstorm a short time before the scheduled launch of the
Apollo 15 spacecraft. Equipment mounted on the launch gantry recorded a
current of 90 kA lasting for 1.2 ms.
Calculate:
i the total charge flowing in the strike
charge = C (1 mark)
ii the number of electrons that would need to be transferred to complete the
discharge.
number of electrons = (2 marks)
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8 Charge and current
OCR Physics A Exam-style questions
3 a State the difference between the directions of a conventional current and the
charge flow in a metal wire.
(1 mark)
b State Kirchhoff’s first law.
(2 marks)
c Figure 3a shows a junction, P, in a complex electrical circuit.
Figure 3a
Determine the magnitude and direction of the current in the wire PB.
magnitude of current = mA
direction of current =
(2 marks)
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8 Charge and current
OCR Physics A Exam-style questions
d Figure 3b shows an electrical circuit containing three power supplies
connected to a single point A through protective resistors.
Figure 3b
Explain how you would use ammeters to demonstrate that Kirchhoff’s first law may
be applied at the junction P, no matter what settings are on each power supply.
(4 marks)
4 a The wires connecting a light bulb to a 4.0 V battery are made of copper. The
wire has a diameter equal to 0.34 mm. The current in the wire is 0.4 A.
The number, n, of free electrons per m³ in copper is 8.0 × 1028 m–3.
i State what is meant by the term mean drift velocity, and describe the
motion of the electrons in the wire.
(2 marks)
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8 Charge and current
OCR Physics A Exam-style questions
ii Calculate the mean drift velocity, v, of the electrons in this wire.
v= m s–1 (3 marks)
b Figure 4 shows an aluminium connecting wire attached to an aluminium
terminal block. The terminal block has a cross-sectional area equal to five
times that of the connecting wire.
Figure 4
When the arrangement is connected to a power supply, a current flows in the
wire. Calculate the value of the ratio:
Mean drift velocity of electrons in connecting wire
Mean drift velocity of electrons in terminal block
ratio = (1 mark)
5 a The number density of charge carriers, n, is an important factor in
determining the electrical properties of a substance.
A technician has three rectangular blocks, each with the same dimensions.
One block is a metal conductor, one a semiconductor, and one an insulator.
The blocks are connected individually to a fixed power supply.
Compare the values of n associated with each block and explain how these
values will affect the current that each block draws from the power supply.
(4 marks)
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8 Charge and current
OCR Physics A Exam-style questions
b Integrated circuit chips (ICs) have blocks made of a semiconductor material
linked by blocks of metal. Figure 5a shows a small section of an IC in which
one block of a semiconductor is linked in series with two blocks of gold. The
cross-sectional areas of all three blocks are the same.
Figure 5a
You may assume that the current in the base layer is negligible.
i Use Figure 5b to sketch a graph of the current against distance travelled
by the charge carriers.
Figure 5b (2 marks)
ii The semiconductor has a number density of charge carriers equal to
3.6 × 1018 m–3.
The number density of charge carriers for gold is 5.9 × 1022 m–3.
Calculate the value of the ratio:
mean drift velocity of the charge carriers in the gold
mean drift velocity of the charge carriers in the semiconductor
and state the units in which it is measured.
ratio = unit = (3 marks)
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