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Q.State and explain Kirchhoff's laws for an electrical network. Apply these to obtain the condition of balance for a Wheatstone's bridge. (2+5)

Odisha ChseOdisha CHSE +2 Science Board Exam 2019Subjective· 7mImportance★★★★★
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KCL: currents into a junction sum to zero (charge conservation). KVL: potential changes around a loop sum to zero (energy conservation). For a balanced Wheatstone bridge, P/Q = R/S.

Kirchhoff's laws (2 marks):

  1. Junction (current) rule: At any junction in a circuit, the algebraic sum of the currents is zero; i.e. the total current entering a junction equals the total current leaving it. This follows from conservation of charge.

    Sum(I) = 0.

  2. Loop (voltage) rule: Around any closed loop of a circuit, the algebraic sum of the changes in potential is zero; i.e. the sum of the emfs equals the sum of the potential drops (IR terms). This follows from conservation of energy.

    Sum(emf) = Sum(I R).

Wheatstone's bridge - condition of balance (5 marks):

A Wheatstone bridge has four resistances P, Q, R, S arranged in a quadrilateral ABCD. A cell (with key) is connected across one diagonal (A to C) and a galvanometer G across the other diagonal (B to D). Let P be in arm AB, Q in BC, R in AD, S in DC.

At balance no current flows through the galvanometer (I_g = 0). Let current I1 flow through P and Q, and I2 through R and S.

Applying the loop rule to loop ABDA (with I_g = 0): …

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