Pearson Edexcel International GCSE in Physics · 4PH1 · Free · no account needed
Resistance and Ohm's Law — exam questions
12 original Incandio exam-style questions on Resistance and Ohm's Law, 29 marks, about 29 minutes of writing. Each one carries the command word, the tariff and the specification statement it assesses, exactly as a paper presents them. This is an original Incandio practice question, written to reflect the structure and demands of the qualification. It is not an official Pearson Edexcel past-paper question.
This is the practice set for Resistance and Ohm's Law — the lesson that teaches it. Read the lesson first if the idea is new; come here when you want to find out whether you can turn it into marks. Completely free, no account needed to read.
What these questions ask of you
6 command words run through this set, and on Pearson Edexcel International GCSE Physics each one means something precise. Answering the wrong command is the commonest way a candidate who understands the lesson still loses the mark.
- Which (1 mark)
- one option chosen from the set given
- State (1 mark)
- one precise fact or definition
- Calculate (1–5 marks)
- select the equation, substitute, evaluate — and state the unit Misread as: giving a bare number with no equation and no unit
- Explain (2–4 marks)
- the physics that causes it, set out as a line of reasoning Misread as: describing the change without giving the physical reason for it
- Suggest (1–3 marks)
- a plausible answer applying taught physics to an unfamiliar arrangement
- Give (1–2 marks)
- a short factual answer
Assessed on Paper 1 (4PH1/1P) and Paper 2 (4PH1/2P), against AO1, AO2, AO3.
Where these sit in the specification
Pearson Edexcel International GCSE Physics (4PH1) — statements 2.13 · 2.10 · 2.8. Incandio is aligned to this specification; it is not published by, endorsed by or affiliated with Pearson, and it reproduces none of Pearson's wording.
The 12 questions
Answer them on paper, then open the lesson's exam practice to have them marked. The mark scheme, the accepted and rejected answers and the annotated model answer are in Incandio and are not printed here — an answer beside its question is not practice.
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A student connected a length of resistance wire in series with a battery, an ammeter and a variable resistor, with a voltmeter across the wire. She changed the setting of the variable resistor and recorded both meters each time.
Table 1 — the student's readings for the resistance wire Voltage across the wire / V Current / A 1.0 0.20 2.0 0.40 3.0 0.60 4.0 0.80 5.0 1.00 (a)
(1)Give
Give the current when the voltage across the wire is 3.0 V, using Table 1.
A student connected a length of resistance wire in series with a battery, an ammeter and a variable resistor, with a voltmeter across the wire. She changed the setting of the variable resistor and recorded both meters each time.
Table 1 — the student's readings for the resistance wire Voltage across the wire / V Current / A 1.0 0.20 2.0 0.40 3.0 0.60 4.0 0.80 5.0 1.00 current = ............................ A
(b)
(3)Calculate
Calculate the resistance of the wire, using any row of Table 1.
A student connected a length of resistance wire in series with a battery, an ammeter and a variable resistor, with a voltmeter across the wire. She changed the setting of the variable resistor and recorded both meters each time.
Table 1 — the student's readings for the resistance wire Voltage across the wire / V Current / A 1.0 0.20 2.0 0.40 3.0 0.60 4.0 0.80 5.0 1.00 resistance of the wire = ............................ Ω
(c)
(3)Explain
Explain what Table 1 shows about the relationship between voltage and current for this wire.
A student connected a length of resistance wire in series with a battery, an ammeter and a variable resistor, with a voltmeter across the wire. She changed the setting of the variable resistor and recorded both meters each time.
Table 1 — the student's readings for the resistance wire Voltage across the wire / V Current / A 1.0 0.20 2.0 0.40 3.0 0.60 4.0 0.80 5.0 1.00 (d)
(3)Suggest
Suggest what Table 1 would look like if the student replaced the resistance wire with a filament lamp.
A student connected a length of resistance wire in series with a battery, an ammeter and a variable resistor, with a voltmeter across the wire. She changed the setting of the variable resistor and recorded both meters each time.
Table 1 — the student's readings for the resistance wire Voltage across the wire / V Current / A 1.0 0.20 2.0 0.40 3.0 0.60 4.0 0.80 5.0 1.00 (Total for Question 1 = 10 marks)
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(1)Which
Which is the correct unit for resistance?
Unit A volt B ampere C ohm D watt (Total for Question 2 = 1 mark)
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(1)State
State what happens to the current in a series circuit when the resistance is increased, with the supply voltage unchanged.
(Total for Question 3 = 1 mark)
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(3)Calculate
A current of 0.25 A flows through a 48 Ω resistor. Calculate the voltage across it.
............................ V
(Total for Question 4 = 3 marks)
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(3)Calculate
A lamp draws 0.30 A from a 6.0 V supply. Calculate its resistance.
resistance = ............................ Ω
(Total for Question 5 = 3 marks)
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(2)Explain
Explain why increasing the supply voltage in a series circuit increases the current.
(Total for Question 6 = 2 marks)
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(2)Explain
Explain what a component's resistance tells you about it.
(Total for Question 7 = 2 marks)
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(3)Suggest
Suggest why the resistance of a filament lamp is larger when it is bright than when it is dim.
A filament lamp — The filament of a lamp is a thin metal wire. At a low voltage it glows dull red at about 800 °C; at its working voltage it glows white at about 2500 °C. Its resistance at the working voltage is several times its resistance when dim.
(Total for Question 8 = 3 marks)
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(4)Calculate
Two resistors of 12 Ω and 8 Ω are connected in series across a 6.0 V supply. Calculate the current in the circuit and the potential difference across the 12 Ω resistor.
potential difference across the 12 Ω resistor = ............................ V
(Total for Question 9 = 4 marks)
Have them marked, then defend the answer
Practice tells you the mark; teaching it back tells you whether you understand it. On Incandio a topic counts as mastered only once you have taught it and defended it.
- Mark these questions — 12 questions, marked on Incandio against the authored scheme, with the mistake you actually made named.
- Teach it — explain Resistance and Ohm's Law to Ember, an AI pupil who does not have it yet and asks the awkward question.
- Defend it — argue it against Georg Ohm over three rounds, marked against descriptors you can read first.
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Back to the lesson
- Resistance and Ohm's Law — What slows the electrons down, the one equation that ties the whole topic together, and when it stops being true.
- All of Incandio Physics · Incandio Exam Practice