Q1. [3] medium thorough-understanding
Household electrical appliances such as lights, fans, and refrigerators are always wired in parallel rather than in series. Give TWO distinct reasons to justify this practice.
Generated by claude-sonnet-4-6 · 2026-06-26 01:11 · grounding rag
Model Answer
Household appliances are wired in parallel for the following reasons:
- Each appliance gets the same voltage (220 V): In a parallel circuit, every appliance is connected directly across the supply, so it operates at its rated voltage. In series, the supply voltage would be divided, causing appliances to work below their rated capacity.
- Independent operation: Each appliance has its own separate branch. It can be switched on or off independently without affecting the others. In series, if one appliance fails or is switched off, the circuit breaks and all appliances stop working.
Source: Electricity, Chapter 11 (Exercise Q.18c; Section 11.6)
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Explanation
Examiners expect two clearly distinct points. The two most scoring reasons are (i) equal/full voltage across each device and (ii) independent operation. Avoid repeating the same idea in different words — that scores only 1 mark. Mention the contrast with series briefly to strengthen each point. "Same rated voltage" and "independent switching/failure" are the two standard answers in the NCERT context.