5
Question Question 5
Use the data in Table 11.2 to answer the following :
(a) Which among iron and mercury is a better conductor?
(b) Which material is the best conductor?
| Material | Resistivity (Ω m) | |
|---|---|---|
| Conductors | Silver | 1.60 x 10-8 |
| Copper | 1.62 x 10-8 | |
| Aluminium | 2.63 x 10-8 | |
| Tungsten | 5.20 x 10-8 | |
| Nickel | 6.84 x 10-8 | |
| Iron | 10.0 x 10-8 | |
| Chromium | 12.9 x 10-8 | |
| Mercury | 94.0 x 10-8 | |
| Manganese | 1.84 x 10-6 | |
| Alloys | Constantan (alloy of Cu and Ni) | 49 x 10-6 |
| Manganin (alloy of Cu, Mn and Ni) | 44 x 10-6 | |
| Nichrome (alloy of Ni, Cr, Mn and Fe)) | 100 x 10-6 | |
| Insulators | Glass | 1010 - 1014 |
| Hard rubber | 1013 - 1016 | |
| Ebonite | 1015 - 1017 | |
| Diamond | 1012 - 1013 | |
| Paper (dry) | 1012 |
(a) Iron with a lesser resistivity of 10.0 x 10-8 is a better conductor than mercury having a resistivity of 94.0 x 10-8.
(b) Silver is the best conductor because it's resistivity of 1.60 x 10-8 is the least in the table.