Chapter 4 Exercise

1. Calculate the effective resistance of the following resistor connections:

a.

c.

d.

b.

2. Consider the following resistor network:

a. What is the effective resistance?

b. Suppose the resistor network is connected to a 36.0V source, what is the voltage drop
across each of them?
c. What is the current flowing through the 200 resistor?
3. Consider the following light bulb circuit with a brightness control feature:

a. Explain the function of switch S1 and S2.

b. What is the power dissipated by the light bulb when

is both opened and closed.

4. Show that when resistors are connected in parallel, the effective resistance is less than the
lowest resistor connected.
5. Consider the following resistor network:

a. What is the effective resistance?

b. Suppose the resistor is connected to a battery of 3.0 , what is the current flowing through
the middle wire and its direction?
6. A 10.0 battery is connected to a resistor of 200 in series to a variable resistor of that
can vary from100 to 400 as shown:

a. What is the minimum and maximum potential difference across the variable resistor,
?

b. Find an equation relating the potential difference across the variable resistor, , and
its resistance, , and sketch the graph relating

and .

7. A thermistor has the following characteristic graph:

450
400
350

Resistance ()

300
250
200
150
100
50
0
0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

Temperature (C)

a. Is this a positive or negative coefficient thermistor?

b. Suppose the thermistor is connected in series to a light bulb with resistance of 300
to a 12 battery. What is the power dissipated by the light bulb at:
i. 20
ii. 40
iii. 80
c. How does the surrounding temperature affect the brightness of the light bulb?
8. A temperature sensor can be designed using a thermistor in the following setup:

Suppose the thermistor is a negative coefficient thermistor.

a) Explain what does the term negative coefficient thermistor means.
b) Describe how the output voltage,

will be affected by the surrounding

temperature.
9. A circuit is connected to a 15.0 source as shown:

a. What is the effective resistance of the circuit?

b. What is the current flowing through each of the resistor?
10. Consider the following resistor network with the resistance measured in ohms:

Suppose

is measured to be 21.2V, what is the value of

11. Given the following devices:

12V Battery
A variable resistor
A light dependent resistor (LDR)
A switching circuit that switches itself on when the voltage reading turns higher
than 6.0V.
The characteristic of the LDR is given to be:

a. Design a light sensor circuit connected to the lighting that switches itself on when the
surrounding light falls below 10.0 lux.
b. It is found that the light switches on when it is too bright, how can the design be modified
so that the light switches on when light level falls below 5.0 lux instead?
c. Suppose now the light sensor is to be modified so that is connected to a window opener
instead that turns on when light level goes higher than 10.0 lux. How can the light sensor
be modified to achieve this?
12. Given three resistors of 4, 8 and 12.
a. How can they be connected such that the effective resistance is the highest and lowest?
And find the resistance of such configuration.
b. The resistors are connected in such a way that the effective resistance is 11, how are
they being connected?
13. 4 resistors are connected in parallel with a middle bridging wire connected A as shown:

What is the current flowing through A?