Drayton Manor High School

Electricity in the Home Old Exam Questions

Q1. The diagrams show the inside of a 13 amp plug.

(a) (i) Which one of the plugs, A, B, C or D, is correctly wired?

Write your answer, A, B, C or D, in the box.

A B

C D

The plug that is correctly wired is

(1)

(ii) What material is the outside casing of a plug made from?

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(1)

(b) An electric drill draws a current of 2 amps from the 230 volt mains electricity supply.

Use the equation in the box to calculate the power of the drill.

power = current × potential difference

Show clearly how you work out your answer.

........................................................................................................................

........................................................................................................................

Power .................................................. watts

(2)

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(c) A householder needs to replace a damaged plug. Most replacement plugs are sold
with a 13 amp fuse fitted inside. The householder thinks it would be better for shops
to sell the plugs without a fuse. He could then buy either a 3 A, 5 A or 13 A fuse to fit
inside the plug.

Explain an advantage of selling plugs without a fuse, rather than with a 13 amp fuse
fitted.

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(2)
(Total 6 marks)

Q2. (a) Describe the difference between an alternating current (a.c.) and a direct current
(d.c.).

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(2)

(b) The diagram shows how the electric supply cable is connected to an electric kettle.
The earth wire is connected to the metal case of the kettle.

If a fault makes the metal case live, the earth wire and the fuse inside the plug
protect anyone using the kettle from an electric shock.

Explain how.

........................................................................................................................

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(2)
(Total 4 marks)

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Q3. If a fault develops in an electrical circuit, the current may become too great. The circuit
needs to be protected by being disconnected.

A fuse or a circuit breaker may be used to protect the circuit.

One type of circuit breaker is a Residual Current Circuit Breaker (RCCB).

(a) (i) Use the correct answer from the box to complete the sentence.

earth live neutral

A fuse is connected in the ........................................... wire.

(1)

(ii) Use the correct answer from the box to complete the sentence.

are bigger are cheaper react faster

RCCBs are sometimes preferred to fuses because they

........................................... .
(1)

(iii) RCCBs operate by detecting a difference in the current between two wires.

Use the correct answer from the box to complete the sentence.

earth and live earth and neutral live and neutral

The two wires are the .............................................................................. wires.

(1)

(b) An RCCB contains an iron rocker and a coil.

A student investigated how the force of attraction, between a coil and an iron rocker,
varies with the current in the coil.

She supported a coil vertically and connected it in an electrical circuit, part of which
is shown in the figure below.

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She put a small mass on the end of the rocker and increased the current in the coil
until the rocker balanced. She repeated the procedure for different masses.

Some of her results are shown in the table below.

Current needed for the

Mass
rocker to balance in
in grams
amps

5 0.5

10 1.0

15 1.5

20 2.0

(i) State two extra components that must have been included in the circuit in the
figure above to allow the data in the above table to be collected.

Give reasons for your answers.

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(4)

(ii) A teacher said that the values of current were too high to be safe.

Suggest two changes that would allow lower values of current to be used in
this investigation.

Change 1 ..............................................................................................

...............................................................................................................

Change 2 ..............................................................................................

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(2)
(Total 9 marks)

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Q4. (a) The diagram shows a piece of two-core cable and a piece of three-core cable.

(i) Which one of the wires inside a three-core cable is missing from a two-core
cable?

Draw a ring around your answer.

earth wire live wire neutral wire

(1)

(ii) Use a word from the box to complete the following sentence.

double extra totally

A pottery table lamp fitted with a two-core cable is safe to use because it is

................................................. insulated.
(1)

(b) The cables connecting the power sockets in a building contain wires 1.8 mm thick.
The maximum current that can safely pass through these wires is 20 amps. A fuse is
included in the circuit to protect the wiring.

Explain how a fuse protects the wiring of a circuit.

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(3)
(Total 5 marks)

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Q5. The diagram shows the structure of a cable. The cable is part of an undersoil heating
circuit inside a large greenhouse.

(a) The cable is connected to the mains electricity supply through a residual current
circuit breaker. If the cable is accidentally cut the circuit breaker automatically
switches the circuit off.

(i) What is the frequency of the mains electricity supply in the UK?

...............................................................................................................
(1)

(ii) What happens, as the cable is cut, to cause the circuit breaker to switch the
circuit off?

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(2)

(iii) A circuit can also be switched off by the action of a fuse.

Give one advantage of using a circuit breaker to switch off a circuit rather than
a fuse.

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(1)

(b) The 230 volt mains electricity supply causes a current of 11 amps to flow through
the cable.

(i) Calculate the amount of charge that flows through the cable when the cable is
switched on for 2 hours and give the unit.

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Charge = ..................................................
(3)

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(ii) Calculate the energy transferred from the cable to the soil in 2 hours.

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Energy transferred =.................................................. J

(2)

(c) The heating circuit includes a thermistor. The thermistor is buried in the soil and
acts as a thermostat to control the increase in the temperature of the soil.

Describe how an increase in the temperature of the soil affects the thermistor.

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(2)
(Total 11 marks)

Q6. (a) Figure 1 shows the inside of a three-pin plug and a length of three-core cable.

The cable is to be connected to the plug.

Figure 1

(i) Complete Table 1 to show which plug terminal, A, B or C, connects to each of

the wires inside the cable.

Table 1

Wire Plug terminal

Live

Neutral

Earth
(2)

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(ii) Name a material that could be used to make the case of the plug.

...............................................................................................................
(1)

(b) Figure 2 shows an electric drill and an extension lead. The drill is used with the
extension lead.

Figure 2

Electric drill Extension lead

(i) The drill is used for 50 seconds.

In this time, 30 000 joules of energy are transferred from the mains electricity
supply to the drill.

Calculate the power of the drill.

...............................................................................................................

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Power = .................................................. W
(2)

(ii) A second drill is used with the extension lead. The power of this drill is 1200
W.

The instructions for using the extension lead include the following information.

When in use the lead may get hot:

DO NOT go over the maximum power

• lead wound inside the case: 820 watts
• lead fully unwound outside the case: 3100 watts

It would not be safe to use this drill with the extension lead if the lead was left
wound inside the plastic case.

Explain why.

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(3)

(c) Table 2 gives information about three different electric drills.

Table 2

Drill Power Power output

input in in watts
watts

X 640 500

Y 710 500

Z 800 500

A person is going to buy one of the drills, X, Y or Z. The drills cost the same to buy.

Use only the information in the table to decide which one of the drills, X, Y or Z, the
person should buy.

Write your answer in the box.

Give a reason for your answer.

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(1)
(Total 9 marks)

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ANSWERS

M1. (a) (i) D

(ii) plastic or rubber

accept a specific type of plastic
accept electrical insulator

(b) 460
allow 1 mark for correct substitution ie 2 × 230
2

(c) any two from:

• not all appliances need a 13 A fuse

idea that 13 A is (much) bigger than required by many
appliances
do not accept some appliances require more than 13 A
do not accept 13 A fuse will blow

• can choose the most suitable fuse (for the appliance)

accept install correct fuse for the appliance

• (in the event of a fault) 13 A fuse may allow too much current to flow through
an appliance
or
fuse may not melt (before appliance is damaged)

• may already have the fuse

idea of reusing a fuse
do not accept cheaper unless explained correctly
2
[6]

M2.(a) d.c. flows in (only) one direction

1

a.c. changes direction (twice every cycle)

accept a.c. constantly changing direction
ignore references to frequency
1

(b) a current flows through from the live wire / metal case to the earth wire
accept a current flows from live to earth
do not accept on its own if the current is too high
1

this current causes the fuse to melt

accept blow for melt
do not accept break / snap / blow up for melt
1
[4]

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M3.(a) (i) live

(ii) react faster

(iii) live and neutral

(b) (i) ammeter

to measure current
accept to measure amps

plus any one from:

• variable resistor (1)

to vary current (1)
accept variable power supply
accept change or control

• switch (1)
to stop apparatus getting hot / protect battery
or
to reset equipment (1)

• fuse (1)
to break circuit if current is too big (1)

(ii) any two from:

• use smaller mass(es)

• move mass closer to pivot
• reduce gap between coil and rocker
• more turns (on coil)coil / loop
• iron core in coil
accept use smaller weight(s)
2
[9]

M4. (a) (i) earth wire

(ii) double

(b) if too much current flows through the wire

accept power for current
do not accept electricity for current
accept if more than 20 amps flows through the wire
1

the fuse (overheats and) melts

accept ‘blows’ for melts
do not accept explodes / breaks / snaps etc
1

breaking the circuit

accept stopping the current flow
1
[5]

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M5.(a) (i) 50(Hz)
ignore any unit given

(ii) any two from

• (some) current flows to Earth

accept ground for Earth

• current flows through copper braid

accept current flows through the earth wire
accept electricity for current in either the first or second
marking point but not both

• RCCB detects difference between current in live and neutral wire

2

(iii) can be reset

accept does not need replacing

or

faster acting
accept switches circuit off faster
1

(b) (i) 79 200

allow 1 mark for correct substitution, ie 11 =

an answer 22 gains 1 mark
2

coulombs / C
do not accept c
1

(ii) 18 216 000

accept for 2 marks 18 216 kJ or 18.216 MJ

or

230 × their (b)(i) correctly calculated

allow 1 mark for correct substitution, ie 230 × their (b)(i) or
allow 1 mark for power calculated as 2530(W)
2

(c) increases temperature of thermistor

1

changes resistance (of thermistor)

do not accept increases resistance (of thermistor)
an answer decreases resistance (of thermistor) gains 2
marks
1
[11]

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M6.(a) (i)
Wire Plug terminal

Live C

Neutral A

Earth B

all 3 correct for 2 marks

allow 1 mark for 1 correct

(ii) plastic or rubber

accept:
ABS UF / urea formaldehyde
nylon PVC

(b) (i) 600

allow 1 mark for correct substitution,

ie P =
provided no subsequent step
2

(ii) power is greater than 820 (W)

power is 1200 W is insufficient
1

the lead /cable / wire will overheat / get (too) hot

accept lead / cable will melt
may overheat / get hot is insufficient
1

so there is a risk of fire

accept causing a fire
1

(c) X

any one from:

• most / more efficient

• smallest energy input (per second)

• cheapest to operate
mark only scores if X is chosen
mark is for the reason
accept smallest input (power) for same output (power)
accept wastes least energy
smallest (power) input is insufficient
uses least electricity is insufficient
1
[9]

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