Electronic Measurement Quiz
January 1963 Popular Electronics

January 1963 Popular Electronics Table of Contents People old and young enjoy waxing nostalgic about and learning some of the history of early electronics. Popular Electronics was published from October 1954 through April 1985. All copyrights are hereby acknowledged. See all articles from Popular Electronics.

The early 1960s was evidently a good time for printing quizzes in electronics magazines. Popular Electronics was no exception. As I look through my collection I am finding quite a few. Here is the latest, from the January 1963 edition, that tests basic knowledge of using analog multimeters (digital types were not around yet). I managed to get all the ones I tried correct, but with question 9 I thought maybe it was a trick question, so I didn't bother venturing a guess. Give it a try for yourself.

 

 

Electronic Measurement Quiz

Electronic circuits perform functions similar to many mechanical devices and natural phenomena, and finding an analogy between them often leads to a better understanding of both. See if you can match the numbered electronic circuits on the left with the lettered sketches on the right.

 

Here are other Popular Electronics quizzes:

- Lamp Brightness Quiz, January 1969 - Graph Interpretation Quiz, April 1967 - Electronic Quizoo, October 1962 - Electronic Photo Album Quiz, Mar 1963 - Electronic Analogy Quiz, Nov 1961 - Electronic Alphabet Quiz, May 1963 - RC Circuit Quiz, Jun 1963 - Diode Quiz, Jul 1961 - Kool-Keeping Kwiz, Jun 1970 - Electronic Curves Quiz, Feb 1963 - Electronic Numbers Quiz, Dec 1962 - Energy Conversion Quiz, Apr 1963 - Coil Function Quiz, Jun 1962 - Electronics Analogy Quiz, Aug 1960 - Audio Quiz, April 1955 - Electronic Unit Quiz, May 1962 - Capacitor Circuit Quiz, Jun 1968 - Magnetic Phenomena Quiz, Feb 1962 - Electronics Geography Quiz, Apr 1970 - Electronic Menu Quiz,  Aug 1963 - Electronic Noise Quiz, Aug 1962 - Electronic Current Quiz, Oct 1963 - Electronic Inventors Quiz, Nov 1963 - Resistor Function Quiz, Jan 1962 - Electronic Measurement Quiz, Jan 1963 - Vacuum Tube Quiz, Feb 1961

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Electronic Measurement Quiz Answers

1 TRUE. If a voltmeter is rated at 20,000 ohms-per-volt, it has an input resistance of 100 times 20,000 ohms on its 100-volt scale, and 600 times 20,000 ohms on its 600-volt scale. The higher this shunting resistance is, the less it re­duces the resistance across which the voltage is measured.

2 FALSE. If the instrument does not have a transit (shorting) position, set it on its highest current range-because the meter will then be using its lowest value of shunt resistance. If the meter coil is jiggled while being moved, the volt­age it generates can produce the largest amount of damping current.

3 TRUE. Glass-and .especially plastic-meter faces will have a static charge built up on them when they are rubbed with a dry cloth. The static charges will attract the needle on the inside, and more dust on the outside. Use a cloth dampened with anti-static fluid (such as Weston's "Statnul").

4 FALSE. Use the highest current range because the ammeter pointer is least apt to "pin" against a stop. Once the current magnitude has been determined, step down to lower current scales.

5 TRUE. Meter friction due to worn bearings or dirt tends to make the needle stop too soon when it is slowing down for an indication.

6 FALSE. Most meters are of the D'Arsonval type, which responds to the average value of the signal waveform. An a.c. meter scale increases this reading by a factor of 1.11 in order to indicate r.m.s. values of sine waves. For a square wave, r.m.s. and average are the same; hence, the factor is not needed and the meter will read high.

7 TRUE. An ammeter deflects correctly when electrons enter its negative terminal and leave by its positive terminal.

8 TRUE. If the accuracy of a meter is given, for example, as 3 % of full scale deflection, it means that a reading taken anywhere on that par­ticular range is accurate to only 3% of the total range on that scale. Therefore, if reading accuracy is what you want, select the smallest range that can indicate your reading.

9 FALSE. When determining low resistances, don't measure the voltage drop across both the un­known resistance and the ammeter. The ammeter resistance might be of the same magnitude or greater than the unknown resistance and introduce large errors.

10 TRUE. In selecting the highest voltage scale, you reduce the possibility of "pinning" the pointer against a stop. Once the voltage magnitude is determined, step down to lower voltage scales.

 

 

Posted August 22, 2012