Question

The most important safety method used for protecting home appliances from short-circuiting or overloading is

• A. earthing
• B. use of fuse
• C. use of stabilizers
• D. use of electric meter

Answer 1

The correct option is B

use of fuse

Short-circuit:

1. In a short circuit the current travels with a low electrical resistance across an unintended path which increases the current in the circuit.
2. We know Ohm’s Law states that,
   $V=IR$ where $V$ is the voltage, $I$ is the current and $R$ is the resistance.

Hence when the resistance drops near to zero and $V$ becomes constant as it is dependent on the source of electricity, therefore $I$ rises.

Overloading:

• Overloading is the situation where too much current is passed in the circuit, this can happen due to many reasons like adding a lot of resistances in parallel in the given circuit.

Effect of short-circuit and overloading:

• When short-circuit or overloading happens, the current in the circuit increases drastically. It results in high heat production and fire can be caught.

Protection from short-circuit and overloading:

• To protect the device from short-circuit or overloading, a fuse is commonly used.
• Fuse is a safety device which breaks the circuit and stops the excessive current flow when the current rating is more than the safe value.

Hence, Option (B) is correct.