Deck 5: Electricity and Magnetism: What Is Lightning

Question 1

In his famous experiment of the late 1700s, Charles Coulomb

A) repeated Benjamin Franklin's kite and lightning demonstration.
B) measured static electricity using a piece of amber.
C) proved Newton's three laws of motion.
D) measured the force of the electric charge in objects.
E) showed that muscle contractions are both electric and chemical.

Answer 1

D

Question 2

In the United States, how much electrical current will flow through a 250-watt stereo system to play a compact disk?

A) 0.46 amps
B) 1.04 amps
C) 2.17 amps
D) 20.8 amps
E) 83.33 amps

Answer 2

C

Question 3

When you cut a magnet in half you get

A) two monopole magnets.
B) two magnets with only north poles.
C) two dipole magnets.
D) one magnetic dipole.
E) one isolated south pole and one isolated north pole.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Every electrical circuit contains

A) an electromagnet.
B) an electrical conductor.
C) an electric switch.
D) a circuit breaker.
E) a lighting device.

Question 5

What important practical device followed directly from Michael Faraday's work?

A) the battery
B) the thermostat
C) the electromagnet
D) the electric switch
E) the electric generator

Question 6

Which of the following is an example of using the Earth's magnetic field for navigation?

A) Sailors of the past used compasses to direct their course.
B) Some bacteria navigate up and down within pond ooze.
C) Some migratory birds are directed by the magnetic field.
D) The Australian silvereye can see the magnetic fields using a form of color vision.
E) All of the choices are ways in which the magnetic field is or was used for navigation.

Question 7

William Gilbert discovered many important properties of magnets. Which of the following was not among Gilbert's findings?

A) Every magnet has at least two poles.
B) If magnetic poles are alike, they repel each other.
C) Steel rods can be magnetized by stroking them with a lodestone.
D) Electric currents can be produced by changing magnetic fields.
E) Iron's magnetism can be destroyed by heating.

Question 8

In what way does Newton's law of universal gravitation differ from Coulomb's law?

A) Electrical forces can be either attractive or repulsive, while gravity is only attractive.
B) Only Newton's law of gravity requires a universal constant.
C) Only Coulomb's law addresses distance in describing the effect of one object on another.
D) Newton's law required experimentation but Coulomb's law did not.
E) Newton's and Coulomb's laws are really identical, so there is no significant difference.

Question 9

Ohm's Law states

A) electrical pressure = flow charge/flow resistance.
B) current = voltage (volts) + flow charge (coulombs).
C) power (watts) = current (amps) x voltage (volts).
D) voltage (volts) = current (amps) x resistance (ohms).
E) voltage (volts) = electrical pressure x resistance (ohms).

Question 10

Coulomb's law states that force is dependent on all the following except

A) the Coulomb constant.
B) the sizes of the two objects.
C) the charge of the smaller object.
D) the distance between the two objects.
E) the charge of the larger object.

Question 11

The load in an electric hair dryer is located

A) where the dryer plugs into the electrical outlet.
B) where the electrical cord is attached to the dryer.
C) in the on/off switch.
D) in the heating element and fan.
E) where the heated air is exhausted.

Question 12

What is the force field surrounding a charged object?

A) Gravitational field
B) Gravitational force
C) Electrical field
D) Electrical force
E) Magnetic field

Question 13

In which of the objects below would you not find an electromagnet?

A) electric buzzer
B) electric motor
C) electric switch
D) thermostat
E) light bulb

Question 14

Which scientist was most influential in Coulomb's work?

A) Benjamin Franklin
B) James Clerk Maxwell
C) Isaac Newton
D) Thomas Edison
E) Michael Faraday

Question 15

Electric fields and electric currents can be produced by

A) changing magnetic fields.
B) radiation.
C) magnetic monopoles.
D) certain magnetic bacteria.
E) static electrical charges.

Question 16

How is the force of two charged particles related to their charges?

A) Proportional to the product of their charges divided by the cube of the distance between them
B) Proportional to the product of their charges divided by the square of the distance between them
C) Proportional to the ratio of their charges divided by the distance between them
D) Proportional to the ratio of their charges multiplied by the square of the distance between them
E) No known relation between charged particles and force

Question 17

Mary Shelley's Frankenstein was inspired by some experiments and demonstrations in electricity based upon

A) Galvani's research.
B) Voltaire's research.
C) the writings of Alessandro Volta.
D) Benjamin Franklin's research.
E) William Gilbert's compass.

Question 18

The functioning of an electric motor depends on the fact that

A) like charges attract, unlike charges repel.
B) like magnetic poles attract, unlike magnetic poles repel.
C) an electrical current produces a magnetic field.
D) permanent magnets are always stronger than electromagnets.
E) all motors must have several electromagnets.

Question 19

Hans Christian Oersted discovered the relationship between the forces of magnetism and electricity by

A) many long years of tedious research.
B) reading the writings of Galvani.
C) an accidental discovery during a physics lecture.
D) interpreting his dreams and obsessions.
E) replicating the experiments of Volta.

Question 20

Which of the following can produce magnetic fields?

A) gravitational force
B) static electrical force
C) moving electrical charges
D) winding a coil of wire
E) rubbing amber against a magnet

Question 21

How does a magnetic compass work?

Question 22

Which is not true based on Maxwell's equations?

A) Like charges attract, unlike charges repel.
B) Coulomb's law applies to the equations.
C) There are no magnetic monopoles in nature.
D) Magnetic phenomena can be produced by electrical effects.
E) Electrical phenomena can be produced by magnetic effects.

Question 23

Which of the following items would use only low-resistance wires?

A) a toaster
B) a space heater (electric heater for a room in your house)
C) an electrical transmission line
D) an incandescent light bulb
E) a hair dryer

Question 24

What is the main difference between an electric motor and an electric generator?

Question 25

How much power is consumed per hour by an electric stove drawing 40 amps? (Note - This electric stove is plugged into a 230 volt wall socket.)

A) 5.75 watts/hour
B) 345 watts/hour
C) 9.2 kilowatts/hour
D) 5.75 kilowatts/hour
E) 9200 kilowatts/hour

Question 26

List Maxwell's equations (in statement form). Explain at least one of these equations by giving examples from everyday life.

Question 27

Compare alternating current with direct current. Give examples of each type of current.

Question 28

One amp of electrical current is equal to

A) one newton per second
B) one coulomb of charge per second
C) one thousand watts per hour
D) one volt times one amp
E) one amp divided by one volt per second

Question 29

Describe how the electromagnet operates.

Question 30

Explain the operation of a car battery.

Question 31

How does electricity differ from gravity?

Question 32

Why is it no longer possible to start automobile engines by using a hand crank?

Question 33

What are the three components of every electric circuit?

Question 34

How does a nerve in a living organism carry an electrical signal?

Question 35

In the equation for Ohm's law, resistance is in the unit

A) volts
B) amps
C) ohms
D) watts
E) coulombs

Question 36

How could you make an electromagnet?

Question 37

Describe events at the atomic level when a thunderstorm results in the lightning strike of a tall tree.

Question 38

Can a magnetic monopole ever be created from ordinary magnets? Why or why not?

Question 39

What is the difference between series and parallel circuits?

Question 40

Who developed the first battery and upon whose work was this development based?

Question 41

How did Michael Faraday get his start as a scientist?

Question 42

What was Benjamin Franklin's contribution to the understanding of the electrical "fluid"?

Question 43

Explain how someone shipwrecked on an island might "discover" and use electricity.

Question 44

At Earth's magnetic poles, what becomes of the magnetic field of force lines?

Question 45

How did Galvani's experiments challenge the eighteenth century doctrine of vitalism?

Question 46

What is fundamentally different in the way that a battery generates electricity versus an electric generator?

Question 47

How is increasing the amperage (number of amps) in a circuit like turning up the flow of water at a faucet?

Question 48

If the current (in amps) remains the same, but the voltage increases, what effect does this have on the power (in watts) consumed by some device?

Question 49

If you were lost in unfamiliar territory, how could you make a compass for navigation?

Question 50

Compare the flow path of electrical charges through a nerve cell with the electrical flow path of lightning.