Login or Register for FREE!
Subelement T5
ELECTRICAL PRINCIPLES
Section T5C
Capacitance and inductance terminology and units; Radio frequency definition and units; Impedance definition and units; Calculating power
What describes the ability to store energy in an electric field?
  • Inductance
  • Resistance
  • Tolerance
  • Correct Answer
    Capacitance

This one can throw people off a bit; many confuse Inductance and Capacitance, which are pretty similar on this question.

A capacitor is a passive component that consists of at least one pair of conductors separated by a dielectric (an insulator). When voltage is applied to the capacitor (creating a difference in potential between the two) it creates an electric field across the dielectric which stores energy. The easiest way for me to remember these is that an inductor, being a coil of wire, is used to create an electromagnet (you can make an electromagnet by wrapping a coil of insulated wire around a nail, for example), and so an inductor stores energy in a magnetic field. The capacitor stores energy in an electric field.

Once again:

What is the ability to store energy in a MAGNETIC field called? Inductance

What is the ability to store energy in an ELECTRIC field called? Capacitance

MICE acronym for above = Magnetic & Inductance pair while Capacitance & Electric pair

Last edited by kd7bbc. Register to edit

Tags: electronics definitions capacitance arrl chapter 3 arrl module 5

What is the unit of capacitance?
  • Correct Answer
    The farad
  • The ohm
  • The volt
  • The henry

The basic unit of capacitance, the Farad, is named for the physicist Michael Faraday.

The other units listed here are:

"Henry was Inducted into the hall of fame, and Faraday tipped his Cap(acitance)."

An additional memory aid: Many of us have heard of a Faraday Cage. Cages CAPture things (CAPacitance)

Last edited by kd7bbc. Register to edit

Tags: electronics definitions capacitance arrl chapter 3 arrl module 5

What describes the ability to store energy in a magnetic field?
  • Admittance
  • Capacitance
  • Resistance
  • Correct Answer
    Inductance

An inductor is a coil of wire, usually around a non-ferrite (nonmagnetic)
core. The basic unit of inductance is the henry. Whenever you make a coil of wire, it creates a magnetic field; think of an electromagnet, which is basically an inductor with a ferrite core. The ability to store energy in such a field is Inductance. So remember -- _inductance creates a magnetic field

Capacitance has a very similar (and in fact opposite) effect to an inductor and creates an electric field.

Last edited by thewitcherhome. Register to edit

Tags: electronics definitions inductance arrl chapter 3 arrl module 5

What is the unit of inductance?
  • The coulomb
  • The farad
  • Correct Answer
    The henry
  • The ohm

An inductor is a passive electrical component that stores energy in a magnetic field; its unit is the henry, which is named for Joseph Henry.

The other (incorrect) answers here are:

Study Tip: Consider using the line "Henry was inducted into the hall of fame, and (Farad)ay tipped his Cap(acitance)" to jog your memory.

Last edited by mspeterson476. Register to edit

Tags: electronics definitions inductance arrl chapter 3 arrl module 5

What is the unit of impedance?
  • The volt
  • The ampere
  • The coulomb
  • Correct Answer
    The ohm

Impedance is actually very similar to resistance in many ways -- which makes sense, since impede and resist are roughly synonymous. Thus it makes sense that they share the same unit -- Ohms.

The main difference between resistance and impedance is that impedance changes with frequency. Inductors pass direct current (frequency of \(0\)) but have a higher impedance the higher the frequency, since inductors tend to resist changes in current. Capacitors have infinite impedance with DC and the higher the frequency the lower the impedance (capacitors resist changes in voltage).

Last edited by kd7bbc. Register to edit

Tags: arrl chapter 3 arrl module 5

What does the abbreviation “RF” mean?
  • Correct Answer
    Radio frequency signals of all types
  • The resonant frequency of a tuned circuit
  • The real frequency transmitted as opposed to the apparent frequency
  • Reflective force in antenna transmission lines

RF is "Radio Frequency" - it's not reflected force or any of these other choices. Just learn this one.

Last edited by pelliamelia. Register to edit

Tags: arrl chapter 2 arrl module 2

What is the abbreviation for megahertz?
  • MH
  • mh
  • Mhz
  • Correct Answer
    MHz

M is the SI abbreviation for mega, indicating millions or \[\times10^6\] Hz is the SI unit abbreviation for Hertz or cycles per second.

Therefore the proper abbreviation for megahertz is...

MHz

Hopefully you will find this easy to remember as you will be seeing it a lot.

Visually, you might also notice that MHz is made up of all straight lines.

Last edited by john scrip. Register to edit

Tags: arrl chapter 2 arrl module 2

What is the formula used to calculate electrical power (P) in a DC circuit?
  • Correct Answer
    P = I × E
  • P = E / I
  • P = E - I
  • P = I + E

\[P={E}\times{I}\]

\[E=\frac{P}{I}\]

\[I=\frac{P}{E}\]

  • P for Power (Watts)
  • E for Electromotive Force (Voltage, Volts)
  • I for Intensity (Current) (Amperes, Amps)

Last edited by kd7bbc. Register to edit

Tags: formulas math electrical power electrical current electromotive force (voltage) power law arrl chapter 3 arrl module 4

How much power is delivered by a voltage of 13.8 volts DC and a current of 10 amperes?
  • Correct Answer
    138 watts
  • 0.7 watts
  • 23.8 watts
  • 3.8 watts

\(P = I \times E\) \(=\) \(10 \times 13.8\) \(=\) \(138\) watts

The formula for electrical power is \(P = I \times E\).

"Power (in watts) equals Current (in amperes) multiplied by Potential Energy (in volts)."

\(P\) (watts) = \(10\) (amps)\(\times 13.8\) (volts)

\(10 \times 13.8 = 138\)

\(138\) watts

Last edited by kd7bbc. Register to edit

Tags: math dc power electrical power electromotive force (voltage) electrical current power law arrl chapter 3 arrl module 4

How much power is delivered by a voltage of 12 volts DC and a current of 2.5 amperes?
  • 4.8 watts
  • Correct Answer
    30 watts
  • 14.5 watts
  • 0.208 watts

Power is the rate of of electrical energy generation or consumption.

\(P = V \times I\) (watts \(=\) volts \(\times\) amperes)

Where \(P\) is power (\(W\)), \(V\) is voltage (\(V\)), and \(I\) is current (\(A\)).

  • \(P = I \times V\)
  • \(V = 12V\)
  • \(I = 2.5A\)

\(P = 12V \times 2.5A = 30W\)

Last edited by kd7bbc. Register to edit

Tags: math dc power electrical power electromotive force (voltage) electrical current power law arrl chapter 3 arrl module 4

How much current is required to deliver 120 watts at a voltage of 12 volts DC?
  • 0.1 amperes
  • Correct Answer
    10 amperes
  • 12 amperes
  • 132 amperes

We will use the Power Law, which is most commonly written as:

\[P = I \times E\]

We are given:

\begin{align*} \text{(Power) } P &= 120\text{ watts}\\ \text{(Current) } I &= \text{?}\\ \text{(Voltage) } E &= 12\text{ volts}\\ \end{align*}

To solve for \(I\) we can divide both sides by \(E\) and get

\begin{align*} I &= \frac{P}{E}\\ 4 &= \frac{120}{12}\\ &= 10\text{ amperes} \end{align*}

Last edited by kd7bbc. Register to edit

Tags: math ohm's law electrical current electrical power arrl chapter 3 arrl module 4

What is impedance?
  • Correct Answer
    The opposition to AC current flow
  • The inverse of resistance
  • The Q or Quality Factor of a component
  • The power handling capability of a component

The inverse of resistance is conductance (the measure is the Mho - can you see how this is related to Ohm?). So that's not the answer.

The measure of \(Q\) is something covered on the General and Extra exams - it's too deep for the Technician exam. So that's not the answer.

Power handling capability? Power is measured in Watts, so the power handling capability would be measured in Watts. Components are certainly rated in things like Watts and Volts and even Amps, but none of those things are called impedance. So that's not the answer.

And that leaves "It is a measure of the opposition to AC current flow in a circuit."

Impedance, incidentally, is measured in Ohms.

Last edited by kd7bbc. Register to edit

Tags: arrl chapter 3 arrl module 5

What is the abbreviation for kilohertz?
  • KHZ
  • khz
  • khZ
  • Correct Answer
    kHz

There is no easy way to remember this, you just have to know your metric abbreviations.

The abbreviation for Hertz is Hz, eliminating all except for kHz. However, on the real test, there may be different choices.

Any metric abbreviation lower than mega, or 1,000,000, is not capitalized, which includes kilo. So, the correct answer choice is kHz. This is useful to know for other Technician Class test questions, just remember that >= 1,000,000 is capitalized, < 1,000,000 isn’t.

Last edited by snorby. Register to edit

Tags: none

Go to T5B Go to T5D