11 mark
The circuit symbols W, X, Y and Z are shown below. Which row correctly identifies these four components?
Electricity 1 · Practice Test A
⬅ Back to Electricity 1New page — if anything looks wrong or a mark scheme disagrees with your working, tell Mr Stewart.
N5 Physics · Electricity 1 — Circuits and Resistance
Practice Test A
Answer everything, then mark it in one go.
25marks
35 minsuggested
10questions
Have your jotter and a pen beside you. Do every calculation in your jotter, the way you would in the real test — this page asks only for the relationship you used and your final answer with its unit.
Nothing is timed and nothing is sent anywhere — your answers stay on this device, so you can close the tab and come back.
Relationships you may need
| Quantity | Relationship |
|---|---|
| Voltage, current, resistance | V = IR |
| Resistors in series | RT = R1 + R2 + … |
| Resistors in parallel | 1 / RT = 1 / R1 + 1 / R2 + … |
| Power | P = IV |
Resistor colour-band reference
| Colour | Digit | Multiplier | Tolerance |
|---|---|---|---|
| black | 0 | ×1 | — |
| brown | 1 | ×10 | ±1% |
| red | 2 | ×100 | ±2% |
| orange | 3 | ×1000 | — |
| yellow | 4 | ×10 000 | — |
| green | 5 | ×100 000 | — |
| blue | 6 | ×1 000 000 | — |
| violet | 7 | — | — |
| grey | 8 | — | — |
| white | 9 | — | — |
| gold | — | — | ±5% |
| silver | — | — | ±10% |
✏️ Working goes in your jotter. On this page you give the relationship and the final answer only — the mark scheme at the end shows the substitution you should have written down.
Warm-up
5 marksEveryone should aim for full marks here. One step, no rearranging.
21 mark
A pupil makes the following statements about an electric circuit.
- The current in a circuit is the charge passing a point each second.
- In a metal wire the charge carriers are electrons.
- The current in a series circuit is smaller after each resistor.
31 mark
The circuit shown is set up. The reading on voltmeter V1 is 5·4 V. The reading on voltmeter V2 is
41 mark
The circuit shown is set up. The reading on ammeter A1 is 0·84 A and the reading on ammeter A2 is 0·52 A. The reading on ammeter A3 is
51 mark
Three 18 Ω resistors are connected as shown. The total resistance between X and Y is
Core
13 marksThe demand of the real test — one rearrangement, one conversion or one intermediate step.
64 marks
A resistor is taken from the school stock box. Its colour bands are shown below.
(a) State the resistance of this resistor, in kΩ.1
(b) Calculate the maximum resistance this resistor could have and still be within its stated tolerance.2
(c) The resistor is measured with an ohmmeter, which reads 1·84 kΩ. State whether the resistor is within its stated tolerance. You must justify your answer.1
76 marks
A pupil sets up the circuit shown to test two resistors from the stock box.
(a) Calculate the total resistance of the circuit.1
(b) Calculate the reading on the ammeter. Give your answer in milliamperes.3
(c) Calculate the potential difference across the 4·7 kΩ resistor.2
83 marks
A pupil investigates a resistor R using an ammeter and a voltmeter, and plots the results shown.
(a) Read a point from your line and use it to determine the resistance of resistor R.2
(b) The pupil replaces resistor R with a filament lamp and repeats the experiment, obtaining the sketch graph shown. State what this graph shows about the resistance of the filament lamp as the current in it increases.1
Push
7 marksTwo or more steps, an unfamiliar context, and a judgement to justify.
95 marks
A gardener builds a soil-warming system for a greenhouse, powered from a 12 V supply. Two heating cables, each of resistance 47 Ω, are connected in parallel. A 15 Ω resistor protects the supply. Switch S brings the second cable into the circuit.
(a) Determine the total resistance of the circuit when switch S is closed.3
(b) Determine the reading on the ammeter when switch S is closed.2
102 marks
The gardener now connects a third identical 47 Ω heating cable in parallel with the other two. A friend says:
"Adding another cable adds more resistance to the circuit, so the reading on the ammeter will fall."State whether the friend is correct, and justify your answer using the physics of parallel circuits.
Your result
0out of 25
0%percentage
—indicative band
Bands are indicative only — they are a guide to where you are, not a grade.
Sources & credits: questions are adapted from National 5 Physics past papers, reproduced and adapted for educational use — past papers and marking instructions © Qualifications Scotland (SQA). Numbers, contexts and circuits have been changed; the resistor colour-code question is original. Circuit diagrams and graphs drawn for this site © R Stewart, 2026.