Questions

Electrical Resistivity
1. A power cable has a resistance of 11.2Ω and is made of an alloy of aluminium of resistivity 2.8x10−8Ωm . It is used to
link a power station to a town 160km away.

a) Show that the cross-sectional area of the cable is 4.0x10−4 m 2 .

b) Calculate the radius of the power cable.

2. Consider two pieces of copper wire (ρ = 1.69x10−8Ωm). The first one has a length of 400mm and a diameter of
1.0mm. The second one has a length of 200mm and a diameter of 0.5mm. Do they have the same resistance? if not,
which has the larger resistance?

3. A cylindrical conductor of length l , diameter d and resistivity ρ has resistance R . A different cylindrical conductor has
a resistivity of 2ρ , length 2l and diameter 2d. Circle the resistance of the second cylindrical conductor below:

A. 2R

B. R

R
C.
2

R
D.
4
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Electrical Resistivity
4. The electrical resistance of a wire depends on its temperature and on the resistivity of the material.

a) List two other factors that affect the resistance of a wire.

1.

2.

b) Explain why the resistivity rather than the resistance of a material is given in tables of properties of materials

5. The figure below shows an electrical circuit that contains a thin insulated copper wire formed as a bundle.

The ammeter and the battery have negligible resistance and the voltmeter has an infinite resistance. The copper wire
has length 1.8 m and diameter 0.27 mm. The resistance of the wire is 0.54 Ω. There is a potential difference of 3.0V.

a) Calculate the resistivity of copper.

b) State and explain the effect on the ammeter reading and the voltmeter reading when the temperature of the
copper wire bundle is increased. Internal resistance is negligible.
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Electrical Resistivity
6. The table give values of resistance per metre of nichrome wire of different diameters.

Diameter Cross-Sectional Area 1/Cross-Sectional Area Resistance per Metre

(mm) (m2) (m-2) (Ωm-1)

1.7 0.57

1.5 0.73

1.3 0.98

1.1 1.34

0.9 2.04

0.7 3.38

a) Complete the table by calculating values for the cross-sectional area of the wire and its reciprocal.

b) Draw a graph of resistance per metre (y-axis) against the reciprocal of the cross-sectional area (x-axis).

c) Use the graph to determine the value of resistivity of nichrome wire.

7. The heating element of an electric fire is made of nichrome ( ρ = 1.3x10−6 Ωm ) and forms the shape of a rectangular
ribbon. The dimensions of the ribbon are shown below:

What length of element is needed to provide a power of 1200W when the element is connected to a p.d. of 240V?
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Electrical Resistivity
8. There are three types of components that vary with temperature: metal conductors, thermistors and
superconductors.

a) The filament in a light bulb is a metal conductor. Explain how the resistance changes with temperature and
why.

b) A thermistor is made from a semiconducting material which has a negative temperature coefficient. Sketch a
graph to show the variation with temperature of the resistance of a negative temperature coefficient (ntc)
thermistor.

c) Sketch a graph to show the variation with temperature T of the resistance R of a wire made of a
superconducting material below and above the superconducting critical transition temperature Tc.