In-text Questions — Series Circuits — Electricity

1. 12 marksNCERT Cl-10 Science, In-text Qs after the series worked example in §11.6.1, Q1

   Draw a schematic diagram of a circuit consisting of a battery of three cells of 2 V each, a 5 Ω resistor, an 8 Ω resistor, and a 12 Ω resistor, and a plug key, all connected in series.

   Hint. Every component sits on a single loop, one after another, with no branching.

   Step 1 — Combine the cells. Three 2 V cells in series give a battery of 6 V total, drawn as several cell symbols in a row with consistent polarity.

   Step 2 — Arrange the rest of the loop. The battery, the 5 Ω, 8 Ω and 12 Ω resistors, and the plug key are all connected one after another in a single unbranched loop, since that's what 'all connected in series' requires.

   ✦ Answer: A single closed loop containing the 6 V battery (three 2 V cells), the 5 Ω, 8 Ω and 12 Ω resistors, and the plug key, all in one path with no branches.

   Where students slip. Drawing the resistors on separate branches — a series connection specifically means one single path, with every component carrying the same current.

2. 23 marksNCERT Cl-10 Science, In-text Qs after the series worked example in §11.6.1, Q2

   Redraw the circuit of Question 1, putting in an ammeter to measure the current through the resistors and a voltmeter to measure the potential difference across the 12 Ω resistor. What would be the readings in the ammeter and the voltmeter?

   Hint. Find the total resistance and total voltage first — the ammeter reading follows directly from those.

   Step 1 — Find the total resistance. R = 5 + 8 + 12 = 25 Ω.

   Step 2 — Find the total voltage and the current. V = 3 × 2 = 6 V. Since it's a series circuit, I = V/R = 6/25 = 0.24 A everywhere, which is the ammeter reading (placed anywhere in the loop).

   Step 3 — Find the voltmeter reading. The voltmeter across the 12 Ω resistor reads V₁₂ = I × 12 = 0.24 × 12 = 2.88 V.

   ✦ Answer: Ammeter reads 0.24 A; voltmeter (across the 12 Ω resistor) reads 2.88 V.

   Where students slip. Placing the ammeter in parallel with a component, or the voltmeter in series with the circuit — an ammeter must be in series (to measure the shared current) and a voltmeter in parallel (to measure a specific voltage drop).

Solutions written by the tuition.in editorial team and checked against the NCERT Class 10 Science textbook, Reprint 2026-27 (jesc111.pdf) — seven in-text question sets (23 questions total, not 16 as some older manifests claim) plus one end-of-chapter Exercise (18 questions, correctly counted). Unchanged by rationalisation. Table 11.2's resistivity values (used for several answers) were read directly from the book, including nichrome's 100 × 10⁻⁶ Ω·m.. Questions are referenced from the NCERT textbook for identification.