UNIVERSITY OF MINES AND TECHNOLOGY, TARKWA

SECOND SEMESTER EXAMINATIONS, MAY 2018

COURSE NO: MC/CE/RN 164

COURSE NAME: Basic Electronics
CLASS: MC/CE/RN I TIME: 3 hours

Name: __________________________________________ Index Number: _______________

Instructions
Attempt all questions in Section A and Question 1 and any other question in Section B.

SECTION A
This section comprises of 80 multiple choice questions. Attempt all questions in this section. All
questions carry equal marks. Provide your answers in the Answer Booklet by writing the alphabet
corresponding to the correct answer in each question.

Atomic Theory
1. The valence electrons have __________.
A. very small energy B. least energy
C. maximum energy D. none of the above
2. A large number of free electrons exist in __________.
A. semiconductors B. metals
C. insulators D. non-metals
3. The electrons in the third orbit of an atom have ______ energy than the electrons in the second orbit.
A. more B. less
C. the same D. none of the above
4. When an electron jumps from higher orbit to a lower orbit, it __________ energy.
A. absorbs B. emits
C. sometimes emits, sometimes absorbs D. none of the above
5. Which of the following is quantised according to Bohr’s theory of atom?
A. linear momentum of electron B. linear velocity of electron
C. angular momentum of electron D. angular velocity of electron
6. A semiconductor has __________ band.
A. almost empty valence B. almost empty conduction
C. almost full conduction D. none of the above
7. The electrons in the conduction band are known as __________.
A. bound electrons B. valence electrons
C. free electrons D. none of the above
8. In insulators, the energy gap between valence and conduction bands is __________.
A. very large B. zero
C. very small D. none of the above
9. In a conductor, the energy gap between valence and conduction bands is __________.
A. large B. very large

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 C. very small D. none of the above
10. According to Bohr’s theory of atom, an electron can move in an orbit of __________.
A. any radius B. certain radius
C. some range of radii D. none of the above
11. The total energy of a revolving electron in an atom can __________.
A. have any value above zero B. never be positive
C. never be negative D. not be calculated
12. An atom is said to be ionised when any one of its orbiting electron __________.
A. jumps from one orbit to another B. is raised to a higher orbit
C. comes to the ground state D. is completely removed
13. Which subatomic particles have opposite charges?
A. Electrons and neutrons B. Energy and neutrons
C. Protons and electrons D. Protons and neutrons
14. Which subatomic particles have the same relative mass?
A. Electrons and protons B. Energy and protons
C. Neutrons and electrons D. Protons and neutrons
15. What force acts between electrons and protons?
A. Electro-proton forces B. Electrostatic forces
C. Gas D. Strong nuclear force

Semiconductor Physics
16. A semiconductor is formed by __________ bonds.
A. covalent B. electrovalent
C. co-ordinate D. none of the above
17. The most commonly used semiconductor is __________.
A. germanium B. silicon
C. carbon D. sulphur
18. A semiconductor has generally __________ valence electrons.
A. 2 B. 3
C. 6 D. 4
19. The strength of a semiconductor crystal comes from __________.
A. forces between nuclei B. forces between protons
C. electron-pair bonds D. none of the above
20. When a pentavalent impurity is added to a pure semiconductor, it becomes __________.
A. an insulator B. an intrinsic semiconductor
C. p-type semiconductor D. n-type semiconductor
21. Addition of pentavalent impurity to a semiconductor creates many __________.
A. free electrons B. holes
C. valence electrons D. bound electrons

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22. A pentavalent impurity has __________ valence electrons.
A. 3 B. 5
C. 4 D. 6
23. A hole in a semiconductor is defined as __________.
A. a free electron B. the incomplete part of an electron pair bond
C. a free proton D. a free neutron
24. The battery connections required to forward bias a pn junction are __________.
A. +ve terminal to p and −ve terminal to n B. −ve terminal to p and +ve terminal to n
C. −ve terminal to p and −ve terminal to n D. none of the above
25. The barrier voltage at a pn junction for germanium is about __________.
A. 3.5 V B. 3V
C. zero D. 0.3 V
26. In the depletion region of a pn junction, there is a shortage of __________.
A. acceptor ions B. holes and electrons
C. donor ions D. none of the above
27. A reverse biased pn junction has __________.
A. very narrow depletion layer B. almost no current
C. very low resistance D. large current flow
28. A pn junction acts as a __________.
A. controlled switch B. bidirectional switch
C. unidirectional switch D. none of the above
29. The leakage current across a pn junction is due to __________.
A. minority carriers B. majority carriers
C. junction capacitance D. none of the above
30. In an intrinsic semiconductor, the number of free electrons __________.
A. equals the number of holes B. is greater than the number of holes
C. is less than the number of holes D. none of the above

Diodes and Diode Applications

31. An ideal crystal diode is one which behaves as a perfect __________ when forward biased.
A. conductor B. insulator
C. resistance material D. none of the above
32. If the doping level in a crystal diode is increased, the width of depletion layer __________.
A. remains the same B. is decreased
C. is increased D. none of the above
33. A zener diode has __________.
A. one pn junction B. two pn junctions
C. three pn junctions D. none of the above
34. A zener diode is used as __________.

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 A. an amplifier B. a voltage regulator
C. a rectifier D. a multivibrator
35. The disadvantage of a half-wave rectifier is that the __________.
A. components are expensive B. diodes must have a higher power rating
C. output is difficult to filter D. none of the above
36. There is a need of transformer for __________.
A. half-wave rectifier B. centre-tap full-wave rectifier
C. bridge full-wave rectifier D. none of the above
37. The PIV rating of each diode in a bridge rectifier is ______ that of the equivalent centre-tap rectifier.
A. one-half B. the same as
C. twice D. four times
38. For the same secondary voltage, the output voltage from a centre-tap rectifier is __________ than
that of bridge rectifier.
A. twice B. thrice
C. four times D. one-half
39. If the PIV rating of a diode is exceeded, __________.
A. the diode conducts poorly B. the diode is destroyed
C. the diode behaves as zener diode D. none of the above
40. The most widely used rectifier is __________.
A. half-wave rectifier B. centre-tap full-wave rectifier
C. bridge full-wave rectifier D. none of the above
41. If a certain zener diode has a zener voltage of 3.6 V, it operates in __________.
A. regulated breakdown B. zener breakdown
C. forward conduction D. avalanche breakdown
42. An LED __________.
A. emits light when reverse-biased B. senses light when reverse-biased
C. emits light when forward-biased D. acts as a variable resistance
43. Compared to a visible red LED, an infrared LED __________.
A. produces light with shorter wavelengths B. produces light of all wavelengths
C. produces only one colour of light D. produces light with longer wavelengths
44. A laser diode produces __________.
A. incoherent light B. coherent light
C. monochromatic light D. both B and C
45. A diode that has a negative resistance characteristic is the __________.
A. Schottky diode B. tunnel diode
C. laser diode D. hot-carrier diode

Bipolar Junction Transistors

46. The base of a transistor is __________ doped.

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 A. heavily B. moderately
C. lightly D. none of the above
47. In a pnp transistor, the current carriers are __________.
A. acceptor ions B. donor ions
C. free electrons D. holes
48. A transistor is a __________ operated device.
A. current B. voltage
C. both voltage and current D. none of the above
49. Most of the majority carriers from the emitter __________.
A. recombine in the base B. recombine in the emitter
C. pass through the base region to the collector D. none of the above
50. In a transistor, IC = 100 mA and IE = 100.5 mA. The value of βDC is __________.
A. 100 B. 50
C. about 1 D. 200
51. In a transistor if βDC = 100 and collector current is 10 mA, then IE is __________.
A. 100 mA B. 100.1 mA
C. 110 mA D. none of the above
52. The most commonly used transistor arrangement is __________ arrangement.
A. common emitter B. common base
C. common collector D. none of the above
53. As the temperature of a transistor goes up, the base-emitter resistance __________.
A. decreases B. increases
C. remains the same D. none of the above
54. If the value of αDC is 0.9, then value of βDC is __________.
A. 9 B. 0.9
C. 900 D. 90
55. A heat sink is generally used with a transistor to __________.
A. increase the forward current B. decrease the forward current
C. compensate for excessive doping D. prevent excessive temperature rise
56. The bias condition for a transistor to be used as a linear amplifier is called __________.
A. forward-reverse B. forward-forward
C. reverse-reverse D. collector bias
57. If the output of a transistor amplifier is 5 V rms and the input is 100 mV rms, the voltage gain is __.
A. 5 B. 500
C. 50 D. 100
58. When operated in cut off and saturation, the transistor acts like a __________.
A. linear amplifier B. switch
C. variable capacitor D. variable resistor
59. To saturate a BJT, __________.

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 A. IB = IC(sat) B. IB = IC(sat)/βDC
C. VCC must be at least 10 V D. the emitter must be grounded
60. Once in saturation, a further increase in base current will __________.
A. cause the collector current to increase B. not affect the collector current
C. cause the collector current to decrease D. turn the transistor off

Field Effect Transistors

61. A JFET has three terminals, namely __________.
A. cathode, anode, grid B. emitter, base, collector
C. source, gate, drain D. none of the above
62. A JFET is also called __________ transistor.
A. unipolar B. bipolar
C. unijunction D. none of the above
63. A JFET has high input impedance because __________.
A. it is made of semiconductor material B. input is reverse biased
C. of impurity atoms D. none of the above
64. In a JFET, IDSS is known as __________.
A. drain to source current B. drain to source current with gate shorted
C. drain to source current with gate open D. none of the above
65. A MOSFET is sometimes called __________ JFET.
A. many gate B. open gate
C. insulated gate D. shorted gate
66. A MOSFET uses the electric field of a __________ to control the channel current.
A. capacitor B. battery
C. generator D. none of the above
67. The pinch-off voltage in a JFET is analogous to __________ voltage in a vacuum tube.
A. anode B. cathode
C. grid cut off D. none of the above
68. A MOSFET differs from a JFET mainly because __________.
A. of power rating B. the MOSFET has two gates
C. the JFET has a pn junction D. none of above
69. A certain D-MOSFET is biased at VGS = 0 V. Its datasheet specifies IDSS = 20 mA and VGS(off) = – 5
V. The value of the drain current is __________.
A. 20 mA B. 0 mA
C. 40 mA D. 10 mA
70. A certain p-channel E-MOSFET has a VGS (th) = – 2 V. If VGS = 0 V, the drain current is __________.
A. 0 mA B. ID (on)
B. maximum D. IDSS

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Silicon Controlled Rectifiers
71. An SCR has __________ pn junctions.
A. two B. three
C. four D. none of the above
72. An SCR behaves as a __________ switch.
A. unidirectional B. bidirectional
C. mechanical D. none of the above
73. An SCR is sometimes called __________.
A. triac B. diac
C. unijunction transistor D. thyristor
74. In normal operation of an SCR, gate is __________ w.r.t. cathode.
A. positive B. negative
C. at zero potential D. none of the above
75. The control element in an SCR is __________.
A. cathode B. anode
C. anode supply D. gate
76. An SCR is a __________ triggered device.
A. voltage B. current
C. voltage as well as current D. none of the above
77. In an SCR circuit, the supply voltage is generally __________ that of breakover voltage.
A. equal to B. less than
C. greater than D. none of the above
78. If firing angle in an SCR circuit is increased, the output __________.
A. remains the same B. is increased
C. is decreased D. none of the above
79. If gate current is increased, then anode-cathode voltage at which SCR closes __________.
A. is decreased B. is increased
C. remains the same D. none of the above
80. When SCR starts conducting, then __________ loses all control.
A. gate B. cathode
C. anode D. none of the above

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SECTION B

Attempt only two question in this section. Question 1 is compulsory. All questions carry equal marks.

QUESTION 1

a. Draw the electrical symbol for the following semiconductor devices: zener diode, Schottky diode,
tunnel diode, PNP transistor, n-channel JFET, p-channel D-MOSFET, Dual-gate n-channel E-
MOSFET, and LASCR. [8 marks]

b. Identify each of the electronic symbols in Table 1 below. [12 marks]

Table 1 Electronic symbols

SN CIRCUIT SYMBOL SN CIRCUIT SYMBOL SN CIRCUIT SYMBOL

a. b. c.

d. e. f.

g. h. i.

j. k. l.

QUESTION 2

a. Consider the circuit given in Figure 1:

i. What type of circuit is this? [2 marks]
ii. What is the total peak secondary voltage? [2 marks]
iii. What is the average value of the output waveform? [2 marks]
iv. What is the peak current through each diode? [2 marks]
v. What is the PIV for each diode? [2 marks]
b. Why is the base current in a transistor so much less than the collector current? [2 marks]
c. In a certain transistor circuit, the base current is 2 percent of the 30 mA emitter current. Determine
the collector current and βDC. [3 marks]
d. Determine whether or not the transistor in the Figure 2 is in saturation. Assume VCE(sat) = 0.3 V.
[5 marks]

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 Figure 1 Electric circuit for Question 2a Figure 2 Electric circuit for Question 2d

QUESTION 3

a. Find the value of RS required to self-bias a p-channel JFET with IDSS = 18 mA and VGS(off) = 8 V.
Assume VGS to be 4 V. [5 marks]
b. Graphically determine the Q-point for the circuit in Figure 3(a) using the transfer characteristic curve
in Figure 3(b). [5 marks]
c. The datasheet for an E-MOSFET gives ID(on) = 100 mA at VGS = 8 V and VGS(th) = 4 V. Find ID when
VGS = 6 V. [5 marks]
d. For a certain D-MOSFET, IDSS = 18 mA and VGS(off) = 10 V.
i. Is this an n-channel or a p-channel? [1 mark]
ii. Determine ID at VGS = 4 V. [2 marks]
iii. Determine ID at VGS = -4 V. [2 marks]

Figure 3 Electric circuit and its corresponding graph for Question 3b

Dr S. Nunoo/Dr J. K. Annan

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