UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH AFRICA

SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING
CONTINUOUS ASSESSMENT

Assessment No. 1: Assignment 1

2024_Year Module

ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING I

Module Code: EEA1501

Examiner: Mr. Tshepo Mahlare Moderator: Dr. Bessie Monchusi

External Moderator: NONE Marks: 100
Weight of Assessment: 15%

INSTRUCTIONS TO ALL STUDENTS:

This assessment submissions opens from 24 April 2024 at 08:00 and the due date is on
the 26 April 2024 at 21:00

Plagiarism is a violation of academic integrity, and students who do plagiarize or copy

verbatim from published work will be in violation of the UNISA policy on Academic
Integrity.

1. All file submissions must be in .PDF only.

2. The use of a non-programmable pocket calculator is permissible.
3. This is an open book assessment with no IRIS proctoring.
4. Plagiarism is prohibited. Plagiarism is the act of taking words, ideas and thoughts
of others and presenting it as your own. It is a form of theft which involves several
dishonest academic activities.
5. This question paper remains the property of the University of South Africa and
may not be reproduced.
6. Answer all questions. Each question must be started on a new page`.
7. All unit symbols must be given with your answers.
8. You must scan and submit your answer sheet in order, from question 1 to the last
question.
 Assessment Group Unique Due Date Weight
Number

Assignment 1 Formative 522115 26 April 2024 at 15%

21:00

QUESTION 1: TRUE or FALSE

1.1. How good a system is at converting output energy to input energy is termed the
efficiency of the system.
1.2. The mass of a substance liberated from an electrolyte by one coulomb is termed the
specific heat capacity of that substance.
1.3. Resistance in an electric circuit can be compared to friction in a mechanical system
such as the engine of a farm tractor.
1.4. If two wires of the same length, diameter and material are connected in parallel, the
resistance of the parallel combination is double that of one wire length.
1.5. Electrical resistances of metals such as copper, iron, tungsten etc. decrease with an
increase in temperature.
1.6. The Wheatstone Bridge uses a galvanometer to determine if the bridge is in balance
and so determines the value of an unknown resistor.
1.7. The weight of a given body consists of the gravitational force that is exerted by the
Earth on that body.
1.8. The energy conservation principle suggests that energy can never be destroyed but
can be changed from one particular form to another.
1.9. Conventional current flow refers to the movement of high energy particles from the
negative to the positive terminal.
1.10. Electrolysis consists of an electrically induced mixture of ferrous and non-ferrous
metals in which energy is consumed.
1.11. Linear resistors maintain their resistance constant when the temperature is maintained
constant.
1.12. The fourth band in the colour coding of resistors indicates the extent to which the actual
value of the resistance can change relative to the nominal value.
1.13. The equivalent resistance in the parallel connected circuit is greater than the least
resistance of the parallel connected circuit.
1.14. A positive sign always appears on the screen of a digital multimeter (DMM) when the
leads are reversed.
1.15. The internal resistance of a battery or an emf source will cause a voltage drop across
it when current flows which will result in the terminal voltage of the e.m.f. source being
less than the anticipated or rated e.m.f. value.
[15]

QUSETION 2

Your local municipality introduced two different type tariff systems namely “The two-part
structure” and “The lifeline structure” as from the first of March 2024. A two-part tariff is where
you pay a fixed R500.00 per month plus R1.55 cents per kWh and the lifeline is where you pay
R2.20 cents per kWh. Your family would like to find out which of the two tariff structures is the
most cost-effective option.

2.1. Determine the difference in cost between the two tariff structures for the month of July
2024. (10)

1
• 1x 1200W Stove for an average of 30 minutes a day.
• 9x 14W Lamps for an average of nine hours per day.
• 1x 2000W Kettle for an average of 45 minutes a day.
• 1x 4800W Clothes washer and dryer for an average of 1 hour 20 minutes a day.
• 1x 250W Television for an average of 6 hours per day.
• 1x 2500W Geyser is switched on for an average of 6 hours per day.
• 1x 400W Fridge is running at an average of 10 hours per day.

Fill in the table below to calculate the cost difference between the two tariff structures. Discuss
the best option from the two-tariff structures.

Power Time Days/ Energy Cost Cost

Qty.
(W) (h) Month (kWh) (Two-Part) (Lifeline)
1 1200
9 14
1 2000
1 4800
1 250
1 2500
1 400
Fixed Cost = R 500,00 N/A
Total Monthly Cost = R - R -
Cost Difference = R - R -

2.2. Repeat the above calculation with the geyser switched off for 24 hours a day, for the entire
month. Then discuss the cost saving difference for the entire month of July 2024. (10)
[20]

QUESTION 3: MULTIPLE CHOICE

3.1. A square has four sides of 400mm each. The area of the square is _________.

A. 1600 x 10-3 m2
B. 160000 x 10-3 m2
C. 1600 x 10-6 m2
D. 160000 x 10-6 m2

3.2. The derived SI unit of power is the _________.

A. Kilo Watt hour (kWh)

B. Joule (J)
C. Watt (W)
D. Newton (N)

2
3.3. The Newton (N) is the SI unit of _________.

A. Energy
B. Mass
C. Force
D. Acceleration

3.4. 1 kWh is equal to _________.

A. 746W
B. 3.6 x 106J
C. 3.6hp
D. 746kW

3.5. A body of mass 10kg rests on a surface travelling downwards with an acceleration of
3m/s2. Determine the apparent weight.

A. 30N
B. 128.1N
C. 68N
D. 128.1kg.m/s2

3.6. Efficiency can be defined as _________.

Power output
A.  100
Power input
Energy input for a certain period
B.  100
Energy output for a certain period
Power input
C.  100
Power output
Kinetic Energy
D.  100
Potential Energy

3.7. A closed circuit consists of a voltage source and some resistance in series. What happens
if the voltage is kept constant and the resistance is doubled?

A. The current through the resistor is doubled.

B. The power dissipated in the resistor is doubled.
C. The current through the resistor is halved.
D. The power dissipated in the resistor is halved.

3.8. A current of 6A flows through a resistor. The power dissipated in the resistor is 792W.
What is the resistance of the resistor?

A. 22
B. 132
C. 0.045
D. 7.5m

3
3.9. 10C charge is transferred in a certain time to result in a current of 2.5A. What is the time
in ms?

A. 4ms
B. 4000ms
C. 0.25ms
D. 250ms

3.10. A 100W light bulb burns for 10 hours a day for a week. The weekly consumption of energy
will be _________.

A. 7000kWh
B. 7kWh
C. 0.007kWh
D. 7Wh

300Ω

500Ω 200Ω

E
100Ω

Figure 1

3.11. Irrespective of the battery voltage in Figure 1, above, the smallest current will flow in the
_________ resistance.

A. 500Ω
B. 300Ω
C. 200Ω
D. 100Ω

3.12. Choose the correct statement.

A. Resistivity is a constant for a material relating the current through it and the voltage across
it.
B. Resistivity of a material is directly proportional to the temperature of that material.
C. One of Kirchhoff’s laws states that the sum of the currents in a closed loop is equal to
zero.
D. Resistances of coils can be identified by a code system.

3.13. An electric kettle is required to heat 600ml of water from 10C to boiling point in 5 min, the
supply voltage being 240V. The efficiency of the kettle is 87%. Assume the specific heat
capacity of water to be 4190J/kg.K and 1 litre of water to have a mass of 1kg. The
resistance of the heating element is _________.

A. 63.4
B. 59.5
C. 56.5
D. 66.4

4
3.14. A battery with e.m.f of 12.48V has an internal of 0.8Ω. What will be the terminal voltage
when connected to a 20Ω load?
A. 12.48V
B. 12V
C. 12.24V
D. 20V

3.15. A coil of 8  resistance is in parallel with a coil of 20 resistance. This combination is
connected in series with a third coil of 12 resistance. If the whole circuit is connected
across a battery, having an e.m.f. of 30V and an internal resistance of 2, what is the
terminal voltage of the battery?

A. 26.96V
B. 27.55V
C. 26.32V
D. 26.57V
[15]

QUESTION 4

A series/parallel circuit connected across a 12.2V supply, consists of four resistors. Two resistors,
R1 and R2, are connected in series. R1 and R2 are then connected in series with a parallel
combination of R3 and R4. The values of R1, R2 and R3 are 47, 56 and 82 respectively.
R3 = 82Ω

R1 = 47Ω R2 = 56Ω

P2 = 296mW R4 = __Ω

E = 12.2V

4.1. Knowing the power dissipated in R2 is 296mW. Determine the value of R4. (12)
4.2. Calculate the total resistance of the circuit. (2)
4.3. Calculate the power dissipated by R1, R3 and R4. (6)
[20]

QUESTION 5

A fixed crane (mechanical gears and pulleys) which is driven by an electric motor can lift a load
of 5000kg of building material in a time of one minute to a height of 50m. The electric motor has
an efficiency of 92% and the crane’s hoist system (ropes and pulleys) has an efficiency of 96%.
See below Figure 2 for the block diagram of the cascaded system and calculate the following:

240V
D.C. MOTOR CRANE LOAD
SOURCE
Figure 2

5
5.1 The energy output of the crane (2)
5.2 The power output of the crane (2)
5.3 The output power of the motor. (2)
5.4 The input power to the motor. (2)
5.5 The current taken from a 240Vd.c. supply (2)
5.6 The electrical energy consumed in kWh when the motor runs at this load for 4 hours. (2)
5.7 Discuss the law of conservation of energy. (3)
[15]

QUESTION 6

A battery which consists of twelve 1.04V cells has an internal resistance of 1Ω and it is connected
across a circuit as shown in Figure 3.

R1 = 220Ω

R3 = 470Ω

R2 = 330Ω
R6 = 150Ω

IT
R4 = 560Ω R5 = 100Ω

r = 1Ω
EE=12V
= 12.48V
Figure 3
6.1. Calculate the total resistance RT. (8)
6.2. Calculate the total current, IT. (2)
6.3. Calculate the current flowing through R3. (Current Divider Rule) (3)
6.4. Calculate the power dissipated by R6. (2)
[15]

TOTAL MARKS: 100

FULL MARKS: 100