Electricity Review Packet – AP Physics 2
1.
A heating coil is placed in a thermally insulated tank of negligible heat capacity. The tank contains 0.1 kilogram of
water and 0.01 kilogram of ice, both initially at a temperature of 0°C. The resistance of the coil is 25 ohms,
independent of temperature, and there is a current of 2 amperes in the coil. Calculate each of the following quantities.
(a) The heat transferred to the water and ice by the heating coil in time t
(b) The time t1 necessary to melt all the ice (The latent heat of fusion of ice is 3.34 x 106 joules per kilogram.)
(c) The additional time t2 necessary to bring the water to a boil (The specific heat of water is
per kilogram • Kelvin.)
4.19 x 103 joules
Electricity Review Packet – AP Physics 2
5. (15 points) Four lightbulbs are connected in a circuit with a 24 V battery as shown above.
(a)
i. Determine the average potential energy change of an electron as it moves from point Z to point X.
ii. Indicate whether the electron gains or loses potential energy as it moves from point Z to point X.
____ Gains energy ____ Loses energy
(b) Calculate the equivalent resistance of the circuit.
(c)
i. Calculate the magnitude of the current through point Y.
ii. Indicate on the diagram the direction of the current through point Y.
(d) Calculate the energy dissipated in the 12 W bulb in 5 s.
(e) Rank the bulbs in order of brightness, with 1 being the brightest. If any bulbs have the same
brightness, give them the same ranking.
____ Bulb A ____ Bulb B ____ Bulb C ____ Bulb D
Basic Circuits with Identical Capacitors—Charge on a Capacitor 159
Shown below are eight capacitor circuits. All of the capacitors are identical, and all are fully charged. The
batteries are also identical. In each circuit, one capacitor is labeled X.
Rank these circuits in terms of the charge on capacitor X. That is, put first the circuit in which capacitor X
has the largest charge, and put last the circuit in which capacitor X has the smallest charge. If two or more
circuits result in identical charges on capacitor X, give these circuits equal ranking.
A
B
X
C
D
X
X
X
E
G
F
H
X
X
X
X
Largest
1____ 2____ 3____ 4____ 5____ 6____ 7____ 8____
Smallest
Or, all of these capacitors have the same charge on them. __________
Please carefully explain your reasoning.
How sure were you of your ranking? (circle one)
Basically Guessed
Sure
1
2
3
4
5
6
159
7
8
Very Sure
9
10
L. Takahashi, D. Maloney, C. Hieggelke
Ranking Task Exercises in Physics
171
Electricity and Magnetism
Circuits with Identical Capacitors—Charge on a Capacitor 160
Shown below are eight capacitor circuits. All of the capacitors are identical, and all are fully charged. The
batteries are also identical. In each circuit, one capacitor is labeled X.
Rank these circuits in terms of the charge on capacitor X. That is, put first the circuit in which capacitor X
has the largest charge, and put last the circuit in which capacitor X has the smallest charge. If two or more
circuits result in identical charges on capacitor X, give these circuits equal ranking.
A
B
C
D
X
X
X
X
E
G
F
X
H
X
X
X
Largest
1____ 2____ 3____ 4____ 5____ 6____ 7____ 8____
Smallest
Or, all of these capacitors have the same charge on them. __________
Please carefully explain your reasoning.
How sure were you of your ranking? (circle one)
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1
2
3
4
5
6
160
7
8
Very Sure
9
10
L. Takahashi
Ranking Task Exercises in Physics
172
Electricity and Magnetism
Simple Capacitor Circuits—Charge on a Capacitor 161
Shown below are eight capacitor circuits. All of the capacitors are either 1 µF or 2 µF, and all are fully
charged. The batteries are also identical. In each circuit, one capacitor is labeled X.
Rank these circuits in terms of the charge stored in capacitor X. That is, put first the circuit in which
capacitor X has the largest charge stored, and put last the circuit in which capacitor X has the smallest
charge stored. If two or more circuits result in identical charge stored for capacitor X, give these circuits
equal ranking.
A
2 µF
B
1 µF
2 µF
C
D
1 µF
2 µF
1 µF
X
X
F
E
2 µF
2 µF
1µF
X
X
G
H
X
X
1 µF
1 µF
2 µF
X
X
Largest
1 µF
1 µF
1 µF
1____ 2____ 3____ 4____ 5____ 6____ 7____ 8____
2 µF
Smallest
Or, the capacitors marked X all have the same charge stored. _______
Please carefully explain your reasoning.
How sure were you of your ranking? (circle one)
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1
2
3
4
5
6
161
7
8
Very Sure
9
10
L. Takahashi, C. Hieggelke
Ranking Task Exercises in Physics
173
Electricity and Magnetism
Basic Circuits with Identical Capacitors—Voltage Across a Capacitor162
Shown below are eight capacitor circuits. All of the capacitors are ,and all are fully charged. The batteries
are also identical. In each circuit, one capacitor is labeled X.
Rank these circuits in terms of the voltage across capacitor X. That is, put first the circuit in which
capacitor X has the largest voltage, and put last the circuit in which capacitor X has the smallest voltage.
If two or more circuits result in identical voltages for capacitor X, give these circuits equal ranking.
A
B
X
C
D
X
X
X
E
G
F
H
X
X
X
X
Largest
1____ 2____ 3____ 4____ 5____ 6____ 7____ 8____
Smallest
Or, the capacitors marked X all have the same voltage drop. _______
Please carefully explain your reasoning.
How sure were you of your ranking? (circle one)
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Sure
1
2
3
4
5
6
162
7
8
Very Sure
9
10
L. Takahashi, C. Hieggelke, D. Maloney
Ranking Task Exercises in Physics
174
Electricity and Magnetism
Circuits with Resistors and Capacitors—Current 163
The circuit shown below has circuit elements α, β, γ , and δ, which are either a 1 F capacitor or a 1, 2, or
4 ohm resistor. Rank the arrangements of circuit elements given below in order from largest to smallest
magnitude of current that flows after a long time through the 6 volt battery connected as shown.
α
6V
γ
β
Arrangements
δ
α
β
γ
δ
Arrangement A
1F=1 Farad
4Ω = 4 ohms
1Ω = 1 ohm
2Ω = 2 ohms
Arrangement B
1Ω
1F
2Ω
4Ω
Arrangement C
2Ω
1Ω
4Ω
1F
Arrangement D
4Ω
2Ω
1F
1Ω
Arrangement E
1F
1Ω
2Ω
4Ω
Arrangement F
1Ω
4Ω
2Ω
1F
Arrangement G
2Ω
4Ω
1F
1Ω
Ranking of arrangements by magnitude of current through the battery:
Largest
1_____ 2_____ 3_____ 4_____ 5_____ 6_____ 7_____
Smallest
Which of these arrangements have the same magnitude of current, if any?
________________________________________________________________________
Please carefully explain your reasoning.
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1
2
3
4
5
6
163
7
8
Very Sure
9
10
K. Wetz
Ranking Task Exercises in Physics
175
Electricity and Magnetism
Current Carrying Wires with Different Lengths—Net Charge 164
The figures below show six segments of wires that are carrying electric currents. In all six cases, the
currents are flowing to the right (into the page). As you can see from the values in the figures, the pieces
of the wires shown have different lengths, and they are carrying different currents. For the ranking below,
we are only interested in the segments of the wires actually shown in the figures.
Rank these segments from greatest to least on the basis of the net electric charge, i.e., the difference in
number of positive charges and negative charges in each segment. That is, put first the segment that has
the greatest net electric charge on it, and put last the segment that has the smallest net electric charge on
it.
5A
3A
B
A 30 cm
12 cm
2A
C
45 cm
2A
4A
Greatest
E
D
12 cm
5A F
30 cm
1______ 2______ 3_______ 4______ 5______ 6______
Or, all of these segments have the same net charge.
_______
Or, the net charge is zero for all of these segments.
Please carefully explain your reasoning.
_______
How sure were you of your ranking? (circle one)
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1
2
3
4
5
6
164
7
20 cm
Smallest
8
Very Sure
9
10
D. Maloney
Ranking Task Exercises in Physics
176
Electricity and Magnetism
Batteries and Bulbs—Bulb Brightness165
Identical batteries are connected in different arrangements to the same light bulb. Rank these items on
the basis of bulb brightness.
+
-
+
A
-
+
+
-
-
+
-
+
-
C
B
+
+
+
-
+
-
+
-
-
-
D
E
Brightest 1_________ 2_________ 3________ 4_________ 5_________ Least Bright
Or, all bulbs have the same brightness. _______
Please carefully explain your reasoning.
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1
2
3
4
5
6
165
7
8
Very Sure
9
10
C. Hieggelke, D. Maloney, T. O’Kuma
Ranking Task Exercises in Physics
177
Electricity and Magnetism
Simple Resistor Circuits—Current
166
All the resistors in the circuits below are identical at 2Ω each. The batteries are ideal with voltages of 6
or 12 volts as shown below. All connecting wires have negligible resistance. Rank the current passing
through the upper right hand corner of each circuit from greatest to least.
A
12V
B
6V
C
12V
D
6V
E
12V
F
6V
Greatest 1_______ 2________ 3________ 4________ 5________ 6________ Least
Or, the current is the same in each situation. __________
Please carefully explain your reasoning.
How sure were you of your ranking? (circle one)
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2
3
4
5
6
166
7
8
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9
10
C. Hill, C. Lam, M. Mann
Ranking Task Exercises in Physics
178
Electricity and Magnetism
Current Carrying Wires with Different Resistances—Net Charge 167
Shown below are six segments of wires that are carrying electric currents. All of these segments have the
same length and the same diameter, but the wires are made of different materials so they have different
resistances. The currents flowing in these segments also vary. Specific values for each of these properties
are given in the figures.
Rank these situations from highest to lowest on the basis of the net electric charge on each segment, i.e.,
on the basis of the difference between the number of positive and negative charges in the wire segment.
Put first the situation that has the greatest net charge, and put last the situation with the smallest net
charge, i.e., the smallest difference between the number of positive and negative charges.
I=2A
R = 5Ω
R = 3Ω
A
R = 3Ω
B
C
I=4A
I=3A
I=3A
R = 7Ω
R = 5Ω
D
Largest
I=4A
I=7A
R = 3Ω
E
F
1______ 2______ 3______ 4______ 5______ 6______ Smallest
Or, all of these segments have the same net charge.
__ Approximate value:
Or, all of these segments have zero net charge. _____
Please carefully explain your reasoning.
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2
3
4
5
6
167
7
8
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9
10
D. Maloney
Ranking Task Exercises in Physics
179
Electricity and Magnetism
Simple Series Circuit—Voltage Across Bulb X 168
+ , and three light bulbs, shown as
The eight circuits below all have one battery, shown as
. All of
the batteries are identical. The bulbs can have different resistances (resistance is the opposition a circuit
element presents to the flow of current) given in units of ohms, Ω . The specific values for these
resistances are given in the figures. One of the three bulbs in each circuit is designated by an X. This is
the bulb we are interested in. All of the wires in these circuits are identical and of equal length.
Rank these circuits, from greatest to least, on the basis of the voltage drop across the bulb marked X. That
is, put first the circuit where the voltage drop across bulb X is the largest of any of the X bulbs, and put
last the circuit where the voltage drop across bulb X is the smallest of all of the X bulbs. We are not
interested in the voltage drops across any of the other bulbs.
A
B
+
X
10 Ω
C
+
+
X
Ω
20 Ω 30 Ω
10 Ω
X
10 Ω 20 Ω
10 Ω 20 Ω 10 Ω
D
E
+
+
X
10 Ω
X
20 Ω 30 Ω
F
30 Ω
G
+
Greatest
H
+
X
10 Ω
20 Ω 10 Ω
+
X
10 Ω 20 Ω
X
10 Ω 20 Ω 10 Ω
1_____ 2_____ 3_____ 4_____ 5_____ 6_____ 7_____ 8_____
Or, all of these circuits have the same voltage drop across bulb X.
Or, all of these have zero voltage drop across bulb X. ____
Please carefully explain your reasoning.
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1
2
3
4
5
6
168
10 Ω
7
20 Ω 30 Ω
Least
_____
8
Very Sure
9
10
D. Maloney
Ranking Task Exercises in Physics
180
Electricity and Magnetism
Simple Resistor Circuits—Voltage Drop 169
All the resistors in the circuits below are identical at 2Ω each. The batteries are ideal with voltages of 6
or 12 volts as shown. All connecting wires have negligible resistance. Rank the voltage at the upper righthand corner relative to the ground. Place the highest voltage first and the lowest voltage last.
A
12V
B
6V
C
12V
D
6V
E
12V
F
6V
Highest 1_______ 2________ 3________ 4________ 5________ 6________ Lowest
Or, all of the voltages are the same. _______
Please carefully explain your reasoning.
How sure were you of your ranking? (circle one)
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Sure
1
2
3
4
5
6
169
7
8
Very Sure
9
10
C. Hill, C. Lam, M. Mann
Ranking Task Exercises in Physics
181
Electricity and Magnetism
Parallel Circuits—Voltmeter Readings Across Open Switches I 170
All resistors shown are identical in the circuits below. The switches in each case are open. Rank the
voltmeter readings from highest to lowest.
2V
7V
VA
VB
3V
9V
VC
VD
Highest 1___________ 2____________ 3____________ 4____________ Lowest
Or, all of the readings are zero. __________
Please carefully explain your reasoning.
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1
2
3
4
5
6
170
7
8
Very Sure
9
10
M. Nelson
Ranking Task Exercises in Physics
182
Electricity and Magnetism
Parallel Circuits—Voltmeter Readings Across Open Switches II
171
All resistors shown are identical in the circuits below. The switches in each case are open. Rank the
voltmeter readings from highest to lowest.
3V
3V
VA
VB
3V
3V
VC
VD
Highest 1___________ 2____________ 3____________ 4____________ Lowest
Or, all readings are zero. __________
Or, all readings are 3 V. __________
Or, not enough information is given to be able to rank these readings. ___________
Please carefully explain your reasoning.
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2
3
4
5
6
171
7
8
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9
10
M. Nelson
Ranking Task Exercises in Physics
183
Electricity and Magnetism
Circuit with Two Open and Closed Switches—Ammeter Readings 172
Shown below is a DC circuit that contains two switches. Each switch is resistanceless when closed. All of
the connecting wires should be considered to have zero resistance. All of the resistors shown are identical.
The circuit contains an ideal ammeter and an ideal voltmeter. The diagram shows the switches open.
Below the diagram are four different switch configurations for the circuit.
A
V
S1
S2
Configuration
S1
S2
A
open
open
B
open
closed
C
closed
open
D
closed
closed
Rank these configurations in terms of the ammeter reading.
Largest
1 ______ 2 ______
3 ______
4 ______
Smallest
Or, all configurations produce the same ammeter reading. __________
Or, all configurations produce a zero ammeter reading. __________
Please carefully explain your reasoning.
How sure were you of your ranking? (circle one)
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2
3
4
5
6
172
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8
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9
10
L. Takahashi, C. Hieggelke
Ranking Task Exercises in Physics
184
Electricity and Magnetism
Circuit with Two Open and Closed Switches—Voltmeter Readings 173
Shown below is a DC circuit that contains two switches. Each switch is resistanceless when closed. All of
the connecting wires should be considered to have zero resistance. All of the resistors shown are identical.
The circuit contains an ideal ammeter and an ideal voltmeter. The diagram shows the switches open.
Below the diagram are four different switch configurations for the circuit.
A
V
S1
S2
Configuration
S1
S2
A
open
open
B
open
closed
C
closed
open
D
closed
closed
Rank these configurations in terms of the voltmeter reading.
Largest
1 ______
2 ______
3 ______
4 ______
Smallest
Or, all configurations produce the same voltmeter reading. __________
Or, all configurations produce a zero voltmeter reading. __________
Please carefully explain your reasoning.
How sure were you of your ranking? (circle one)
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2
3
4
5
6
173
7
8
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9
10
L. Takahashi, C. Hieggelke
Ranking Task Exercises in Physics
185
Electricity and Magnetism
Circuit with Three Open and Closed Switches—Voltmeter Readings I 174
Shown below is a DC circuit that contains a number of switches. Each switch is resistanceless when
closed. All of the connecting wires may be considered to have zero resistance. All of the resistors shown
are identical. The circuit contains an ideal voltmeter. The diagram shows all of the switches open. Below
the diagram are eight different switch configurations for the circuit.
Rank these configurations in terms of the voltmeter reading. That is, put first the configuration for which
the voltmeter gives the largest reading, and put last the configuration for which the voltmeter gives the
smallest reading. If two or more configurations produce the same voltmeter reading, give these
configurations equal ranking.
V
S1
S2
S3
Configuratio
S1
S2
S3
A
open
open
open
B
open
closed
closed
C
open
closed
open
D
open
open
closed
E
closed
closed
closed
F
closed
open
open
G
closed
open
closed
H
closed
closed
open
n
Largest 1_____ 2_____ 3_____ 4_____ 5_____ 6_____ 7_____ 8_____ Smallest
Or, all configurations produce the same voltmeter reading. __________
Please carefully explain your reasoning.
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Very Sure
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
174
L. Takahashi
Ranking Task Exercises in Physics
186
Electricity and Magnetism
Circuit with Three Open and Closed Switches—Voltmeter Readings II 175
Shown below is a DC circuit that contains a number of switches. Each switch is resistanceless when
closed. All of the connecting wires may be considered to have zero resistance. All of the resistors shown
are identical. The circuit contains an ideal voltmeter. The diagram shows all of the switches open. Below
the diagram are eight different switch configurations for the circuit.
Rank these configurations in terms of the voltmeter reading. That is, put first the configuration for which
the voltmeter gives the largest reading, and put last the configuration for which the voltmeter gives the
smallest reading. If two or more configurations produce the same voltmeter reading, give these
configurations equal ranking.
S1
V
S2
S3
Configuration
S1
S2
S3
A
open
open
open
B
open
closed
closed
C
open
closed
open
D
open
open
closed
E
closed
closed
closed
F
closed
open
open
G
closed
open
closed
H
closed
closed
open
Largest 1_____ 2_____ 3_____ 4_____ 5_____ 6_____ 7_____ 8_____ Smallest
Or, all configurations produce the same voltmeter reading. __________
Please carefully explain your reasoning.
How sure were you of your ranking? (circle one)
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1
2
3
4
5
6
175
7
8
Very Sure
9
10
L. Takahashi
Ranking Task Exercises in Physics
187
Electricity and Magnetism
Circuit with Three Open and Closed Switches—Ammeter Readings 176
Shown below is a DC circuit that contains a number of switches. Each switch is resistanceless when
closed. All of the connecting wires may be considered to have zero resistance. All of the resistors shown
are identical. The circuit contains an ideal ammeter. The diagram shows all of the switches open. Below
the diagram are eight different switch configurations for the circuit.
Rank these configurations in terms of the ammeter reading. That is, put first the configuration for which
the ammeter gives the largest reading, and put last the configuration for which the ammeter gives the
smallest reading. If two or more configurations produce the same ammeter reading, give these
configurations equal ranking.
A
S1
S2
S3
Configuration
S1
S2
S3
A
open
open
open
B
open
closed
closed
C
open
closed
open
D
open
open
closed
E
closed
closed
closed
F
closed
open
open
G
closed
open
closed
H
closed
closed
open
Largest 1_____ 2_____ 3_____ 4_____ 5_____ 6_____ 7_____ 8_____ Smallest
Or, all configurations produce the same ammeter reading. __________
Please carefully explain your reasoning.
How sure were you of your ranking? (circle one)
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2
3
4
5
6
176
7
8
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9
10
L. Takahashi
Ranking Task Exercises in Physics
188
Electricity and Magnetism
Simple Series Circuit with Various Resistors—Current I 177
In the circuit below, there are seven possible combinations of R1, R 2, and R3. Rank the combinations, in
terms of the current measured by the ammeter, from highest to lowest.
R3
A
10V
R2
R1
R2
R3
A
1
2
3
B
2
1
3
R1
C
3
2
1
D
2
2
2
E
4
1
1
F
1
1
4
G
0
5
1
Highest 1______ 2______ 3______ 4______ 5______ 6______ 7______ Lowest
Or, all of the combinations have the same current. __________
Please carefully explain your reasoning.
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2
3
4
5
6
177
7
8
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9
10
P. D’Alessandris, J. Taylor, R. Krupp
Ranking Task Exercises in Physics
189
Electricity and Magnetism
Simple Series Circuit with Various Resistors—Voltmeter
178
In the circuit below, there are seven possible combinations of R1, R 2, and R3. Rank the combinations, on
the basis of the reading on the voltmeter, from highest to lowest.
R3
A
10V
R2
V
R1
R2
R3
A
1
2
3
B
2
1
3
C
3
2
1
R1
D
2
2
2
E
4
1
1
F
1
1
4
G
0
5
1
Highest 1______ 2______ 3______ 4______ 5______ 6______ 7______ Lowest
Or, all of the combinations have the same voltage. __________
Please carefully explain your reasoning.
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2
3
4
5
6
178
7
8
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9
10
P. D’Alessandris, J. Taylor, R. Krupp, D. Maloney
Ranking Task Exercises in Physics
190
Electricity and Magnetism