Basics Electricity.
Basics Electricity.
How much voltage does a standard automobile battery usually supply?
Which component has a positive and a negative side?
Fuses, resistors and potentiometers are not 'polarized' (current can flow through them either way). The battery, however, has a positive terminal and a negative terminal.
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A cell, that can be repeatedly recharged by supplying it with electrical energy, is known as a:
A 'storage cell' can be recharged repeatedly. A 'primary cell', such as a common Zinc-Carbon flashlight cell, can only be used once.
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Which of the following is a source of electromotive force (EMF)?
An important difference between a conventional flashlight battery and a lead acid battery is that only the lead acid battery:
The 'conventional' Zinc-Carbon or Alkaline flashlight battery CANNOT be recharged while a 'storage cell' like a car battery can be recharged numerous times.
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An alkaline cell has a nominal voltage of 1.5 volts. When supplying a great deal of current, the voltage may drop to 1.2 volts. This is caused by the cell's:
An ideal battery would supply precisely the same voltage regardless of the current drawn. Real-life batteries exhibit 'internal resistance' which causes a drop in voltage when current is drawn. Ever noticed the headlights dim when the starter is cranked on a cold winter day ?
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An inexpensive primary cell in use today is the carbon-zinc or flashlight cell. This type of cell can be recharged:
The 'conventional' Zinc-Carbon or Alkaline flashlight battery CANNOT be recharged while a 'storage cell' like a car battery can be recharged numerous times.
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Battery capacity is commonly stated as a value of current delivered over a specified period of time. What is the effect of exceeding that specified current?
One important specification of rechargeable batteries is the 'capacity' expressed in milliampere-hour (or ampere-hour), a certain amount of current that can be delivered for a given period of time (typically, 20 hours). Exceeding the capacity reduces operating time, the battery is depleted more rapidly.
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To increase the current capacity of a cell, several cells should be connected in:
To increase the voltage output, several cells are connected in:
key word: VOLTAGE. Adding cells in series brings up the available voltage. However, the total current available from the string remains limited to what a single cell can supply.
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A lithium-ion battery should never be:
How do you find a resistor's tolerance rating?
The last band in a resistor's colour code identifies 'tolerance': an allowed variance in percentage from the nominal value. For example, a GOLD band means 5%.
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What do the first three-colour bands on a resistor indicate?
What would the fourth colour band on a 47 ohm resistor indicate?
The last band in a resistor's colour code identifies 'tolerance': an allowed variance in percentage from the nominal value. For example, a GOLD band means 5%.
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What are the possible values of a 100 ohm resistor with a 10% tolerance?
How do you find a resistor's value?
A club project requires that a resistive voltage divider provide a very accurate and predictable ratio. Out of the list below, which resistor tolerance would you select?
Key words: ACCURATE and PREDICTABLE. The smallest possible "tolerance" will ensure that the actual value of the resistors fall within a narrow range of their nominal values.
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You need a current limiting resistor for a light-emitting diode (LED). The actual resistance is not critical at all. Out of the list below, which resistor tolerance would you select?
Key words: NOT CRITICAL. A wide tolerance is amply acceptable when the actual value of the resistor is not critical. The extra cost of a precision resistor is not needed.
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If a carbon resistor's temperature is increased, what will happen to the resistance?
Which colour band would differentiate a 120-ohm from a 1200-ohm resistor?
The first two bands are significant digits, the third band is a multiplier. The fourth band is tolerance. In this example, both first bands read '1', both second bands read '2'. The third band multiplies by 10 or 100 as the case may be.
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Given that red=2, violet=7 and yellow=4, what is the nominal value of a resistor whose colour code reads "red", "violet" and "yellow"?
The first two bands are significant digits, the third band is a multiplier. The fourth band is tolerance. In this example, the first two digits are '27' and the multiplier adds four zeroes (or multiplies by 10 000). Result = 270 000 ohms or 270 kilohms.
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If an ammeter marked in amperes is used to measure a 3000 milliampere current, what reading would it show?
Milli is a thousandth. A thousand milliamperes is one ampere. Converting from milliamperes to amperes: from small units to larger units, requires fewer digits, decimal point moves to the left by three positions, a thousand times less.
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If a voltmeter marked in volts is used to measure a 3500 millivolt potential, what reading would it show?
Milli is a thousandth. A thousand millivolts is one volt. Converting from millivolts to volts: from small units to larger units, requires fewer digits, decimal point moves to the left by three positions, a thousand times less.
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Kilohm is a thousand ohms. Converting from kilohm to ohms: from large units to smaller units, requires more digits, decimal point moves to the right by three positions, a thousand times more.
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Kilovolt is a thousand volts. Converting from kilovolts to volts: from large units to smaller units, requires more digits, decimal point moves to the right by three positions, a thousand times more.
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A current of one quarter ampere may be written as:
One quarter ampere is 0.25 amperes. Milli is one thousandth. One ampere is a thousand milliamperes. Converting from ampere to milliampere: from large units to smaller units, requires more digits, decimal point moves to the right by three positions, a thousand times more.
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A millivolt is a thousandth of a volt. A volt is one thousand millivolts. Converting from volts to millivolts: from large units to smaller units, requires more digits, decimal point moves to the right by three positions, a thousand times more.
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Name three good electrical conductors.
Wood, paper and mica do NOT conduct electricity. The best conductors, in descending order, are: Silver, Copper, Gold and Aluminum.
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Name four good electrical insulators.
Why do resistors sometimes get hot when in use?
Power is voltage times current, P = E * I. When current flows through a resistor, a 'voltage drop' ensues. Volts times amperes become watts. Power is dissipated as heat.
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What is the best conductor among the following materials?
The best conductors, in descending order, are: Silver, Copper, Gold and Aluminum. Carbon is a poor conductor, it is used to fabricate resistors. Silicon is used to make 'semiconductors'.
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Which type of material listed will most readily allow an electric current to flow?
As the name implies, a 'conductor' readily passes electrical current. An Insulator ( synonym = dielectric ) does not let current flow. A resistor conducts but badly.
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A length of metal is connected in a circuit and is found to conduct electricity very well. It would be best described as having a:
Reciprocal = 'the inverse of something'. 1 over resistance yields CONDUCTANCE. Low resistance implies high conductance. High resistance implies little conductance.
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Voltage drop means:
As current flows through electronic components, some voltage is 'lost'. Remember voltage as 'pressure', there is more 'pressure' before a resistor than after it: this represents a 'voltage drop'.
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Which electrical circuit will have no current?
'Open' circuit = no current ( a loop from one side of the voltage source to the other side does NOT exist, the loop is open ). 'Closed' circuit = current ( a path exists from one side of the voltage source to the other side, current flows, the loop is closed ). 'Short circuit' = heavy current ( a very low resistance path exists between from one side of the voltage source to the other side, large current ensues ).
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Which electrical circuit draws too much current?
'Open' circuit = no current ( a loop from one side of the voltage source to the other side does NOT exist, the loop is open ). 'Closed' circuit = current ( a path exists from one side of the voltage source to the other side, current flows, the loop is closed ). 'Short circuit' = heavy current ( a very low resistance path exists between from one side of the voltage source to the other side, large current ensues ).
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What term means the number of times per second that an alternating current flows back and forth?
Frequency is the number of cycles per second of an Alternating Current (AC). Frequency is expressed in hertz (Hz). One hertz is one cycle per second.
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Approximately what frequency range can most humans hear?
Hz = hertz = cycles per second. Frequencies audible to humans range from 20 Hz to 20 000 Hz. Speech frequencies important for intelligibility in communications range from 300 Hz to 3000 Hz.
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Why do we call signals in the range 20 Hz to 20 000 Hz audio frequencies?
Hz = hertz = cycles per second. Frequencies audible to humans range from 20 Hz to 20 000 Hz. Speech frequencies important for intelligibility in communications range from 300 Hz to 3000 Hz.
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What does 60 hertz (Hz) mean?
Hz = hertz = cycles per second. Frequency is the number of cycles per second of an Alternating Current (AC). Frequency is expressed in hertz (Hz). One hertz is one cycle per second.
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If the frequency of the waveform is 100 Hz, the time for one cycle is:
100 Hz = 100 hertz = 100 cycles per second. The duration of ONE cycle, the "period", is 1 / frequency. In this example, 1 / 100 Hz yields 0.01 second.
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Current in an AC circuit goes through a complete cycle in 0.1 second. This means the AC has a frequency of:
One cycle in 0.1 second, how many cycles in a second ? The duration of ONE cycle, the "period", and frequency have an inverse relation: Frequency is 1 / period. In this example, 1 / 0.1 second yields 10 hertz.
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A signal is composed of a fundamental frequency of 2 kHz and another of 4 kHz. This 4 kHz signal is referred to as:
'Harmonics' are integer MULTIPLES (e.g., 2x, 3x, 4x, 5x,...) of a given frequency. The base frequency is referred to as the 'fundamental'.
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A force of repulsion exists between two _________ magnetic poles.
How is a voltmeter usually connected to a circuit under test?
key word: VOLTMETER. An instrument to measure voltage. The voltmeter is always connected in parallel to measure a difference of potential between two points, across a component, etc.
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How is an ammeter usually connected to a circuit under test?
key word: AMMETER. Ammeter comes from the words ampere + meter, it is used to measure current. Current flows THROUGH a circuit. The circuit must be 'broken' and the ammeter inserted in series with the circuit to measure current. Ammeters have very low resistance and, thus, have little effect once inserted in the circuit.
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What does a multimeter measure?
The correct instrument to measure plate current or collector current of a transmitter is:
Which of the following meters would you use to measure the power supply current drawn by a small hand-held transistorized receiver?
When measuring current drawn from a DC power supply, it is true to say that the meter will act in circuit as:
This is a bit of a catch. A PERFECT conductor would exhibit ZERO resistance. An ammeter actually has a very low resistance. [ For example, a 10 A ammeter can have a resistance of 0.005 ohms, a 1 A ammeter can have 0.05 ohms and a 500 mA ammeter can introduce 0.2 ohms of resistance in the circuit. ]
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When measuring the current drawn by a receiver from a power supply, the current meter should be placed:
Ammeter comes from the words ampere + meter, it is used to measure current. Current flows THROUGH a circuit. The circuit must be 'broken' and the ammeter inserted in series with the circuit to measure current. Ammeters have very low resistance and, thus, have little effect once inserted in the circuit.
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Potential difference is measured by means of:
The instrument used for measuring the flow of electrical current is the:
Ammeter comes from the words ampere + meter, it is used to measure current. Current flow THROUGH a circuit. The circuit must be 'broken' and the ammeter inserted in series with the circuit to measure current. Ammeters have very low resistance and, thus, have little effect once inserted in the circuit.
Original copyright; explanations transcribed with permission from Francois VE2AAY, author of the ExHAMiner exam simulator. Do not copy without his permission.
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In measuring volts and amperes, the connections should be made with:
The voltmeter is always connected in parallel to measure a difference of potential between two points, across a component, etc. Ammeter comes from the words Ampere + meter, it is used to measure current. Current flow THROUGH a circuit. The circuit must be 'broken' and the ammeter inserted in series with the circuit to measure current. Ammeters have very low resistance and, thus, have little effect once inserted in the circuit.
Original copyright; explanations transcribed with permission from Francois VE2AAY, author of the ExHAMiner exam simulator. Do not copy without his permission.
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