BASIC ELECTRONICS PRE-TEST

1. The most basic particle of negative charge is the

a. coulomb. b. electron. c. proton. d. neutron.

2. The coulomb is a unit of

a. electric charge. b. potential difference. c. current. d. voltage.

3. Which of the following is not a good conductor?

a. copper. b. silver. c. glass. d. gold.

4. The electron valence of a neutral copper atom is

a. 0. b. 1 c. 2 d. 3

5. The unit of potential difference is the

a. volt. b. ampere. c. siemens. d. coulomb.

6. Which of the following statements is true?

a. Unlike charges repel each other. b. Like charges repel each other.

c. Unlike charges attract each other. d. Both b and c.

7. In a metal conductor, such as a copper wire,

a. positive ions are the moving charges that provide current.

b. free electrons are the moving charges that provide current.

c. there are no free electrons.

d. none of the above.

9. The most basic particle of positive charge is the

a. coulomb. b. electron. c. proton. d. neutron.

10. If a neutral atom losses one of its valence electrons, it becomes a(n)

a. negative ion. b. electrically charged atom. c. positive ion. d. both b and c.

11. The unit of electric current is the

a. volt. b. ampere. c. coulomb. d. siemens.

12. A semiconductor, such as silicon, has an electron valence of

a. 4 b. 1. c. 7. d. 0.
12. Which of the following statements is true?

a. Current can exist without voltage. b. Voltage can exist without current.

c. Current can flow through an open circuit. d. Both b and c.

13. The unit of resistance is the

a. volt. b. coulomb. c. siemens. d. ohm.

14. When using a DMM to measure the value of a resistor

a. make sure that the resistor is in a circuit where voltage is present.

b. make sure there is no voltage present across the resistor.

c. make sure there is no other component connected across the leads of the resistor.

d. both b and c.

15. In a circuit, the opposition to the flow of current is called

a. conductance. b. resistance. c. voltage. d. current.

16. The nucleus of an atom is made up of

a. electrons and neutrons. b. ions. c. neutrons and protons. d. electrons only.

17. Which of the following statements is false?

a. The resistance of an open circuit is practically zero.

b. The resistance of a short circuit is practically zero.

c. The resistance of an open circuit is infinitely high.

d. There is no current in an open circuit.

18. A carbon composition resistor having only three color stripes has a tolerance of

a. 5%. b. 20%. c. 10%. d. 100%.

20. A resistor with a power rating of 25 W is most likely a

a. carbon-composition resistor. b. metal-film resistor.

c. surface-mount resistor. d. wire-wound resistor.

21. When checked with an ohmmeter, an open resistor measures

a. infinite resistance. b. its color-coded value.

c. zero resistance. d. less than its color-coded value.

22. One precaution to observe when checking resistors with an ohmmeter is to

a. check high resistances on the lowest ohms range.

b. check low resistances on the highest ohms range.

c. disconnect all parallel paths.

d. make sure your fingers are touching each test lead.

23. A carbon-film resistor is colorcoded with red, violet, black, and

gold stripes. What are its resistance and tolerance?

a. 27 ohms 5%. b. 270 ohms 5%. c. 270 ohms 10%. d. 27 ohms 10%.

24. A potentiometer is a

a. three-terminal device used to vary the voltage in a circuit.

b. two-terminal device used to vary the current in a circuit.

c. fixed resistor.

d. two-terminal device used to vary the voltage in a circuit.

25. Which of the following resistors has the smallest physical size?

a. wire-wound resistors. b. carbon-composition resistors.

c. surface-mount resistors. d. potentiometers.

26. Which of the following statements is true?

a. Resistors always have axial leads.

b. Resistors are always made from carbon.

c. There is no correlation between the physical size of a resistor and its resistance value.

d. The shelf life of a resistor is about 1 year.

27. With the four-band resistor color code, gold in the third stripe corresponds to a

a. fractional multiplier of 0.01.

b. fractional multiplier of 0.1.

c. decimal multiplier of 10.

d. resistor tolerance of 10%.

28. Reading from left to right, the colored bands on a resistor are yellow, violet, brown and gold. If the
resistor measures 513 ohms with an ohmmeter, it is

a. well within tolerance.

b. out of tolerance.

c. right on the money.

d. close enough to be considered within tolerance.

Essay Question

Summary

■ The most common types of resistors

include carbon-composition, carbon-

fi lm, metal-fi lm, wire-wound, and

surface-mount or chip resistors.

Carbon-fi lm and metal-fi lm resistors

are better than carbon-composition

resistors because they have tighter

tolerances, are less affected by

temperature and aging, and generate

less noise internally.

■ A thermistor is a thermally sensitive

resistor whose resistance value

changes with temperature. If the

resistance of a thermistor increases

with temperature, it is said to have a

positive temperature coeffi cient

(PTC). If the resistance of a thermistor

decreases with temperature, it is said

to have a negative temperature

coeffi cient (NTC).

■ Wire-wound resistors are typically

used in high-current applications.

Wire-wound resistors are available

with wattage ratings of about 1 to

100 W.

■ Resistors are usually color-coded to

indicate their resistance value in

ohms. Either a four-band or a fi veband

code is used. The fi ve-band

code is used for more precise R

values. Chip resistors use a three- or

four-digit code to indicate their

resistance value.

■ Zero-ohm resistors are used with

automatic insertion machines when

it is desired to short two points on a

printed-circuit board. Zero-ohm

resistors are available in 1

⁄8- or ¼-W

ratings.

■ A potentiometer is a variable resistor

with three terminals. It is used to

vary the voltage in a circuit. A

rheostat is a variable resistor with

two terminals. It is used to vary the

current in a circuit.

■ The physical size of a resistor

determines its wattage rating: the

larger the physical size, the larger the

wattage rating. There is no

correlation between a resistor’s

physical size and its resistance value.

■ The most common trouble in

resistors is an open. An ohmmeter

across the leads of an open resistor

will read infi nite, assuming there is

no other parallel path across the

resistor.

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