Test your knowledge with free interactive questions on Seneca — used by over 10 million students.

Fuses and Circuit Breakers

Fuses and circuit breakers protect us from electrical appliances by stopping the flow of electric current flow if it gets too high. This stops the appliance overheating.

Fuses

Fuses

  • Fuses contain a thin wire that melts if the current flowing through an appliance is too high.
  • This breaks the circuit and stops the flow of electric current.
Circuit breakers

Circuit breakers

  • Circuit breakers are special devices that switch off the flow of current if the current is higher than a certain value.
  • Circuit breakers do the same job as fuses but can be used lots of times.

Fuse Ratings and Circuit Breaker Settings

Fuses and Circuit Breakers must be chosen correctly to allow correct function.

Fuse ratings

Fuse ratings

  • Fuse ratings tell us the level where a fuse will begin to melt. The fuse chosen should have a value just above the normal current that an electrical appliance uses.
    • For example, if the operating current is 3.9 A, and fuses with values of 3 A, 5 A or 13 A are available, the most suitable fuse is the 5 A fuse.
Jump to other topics
1

Principles of Science I

1.1

Structure & Bonding

1.2

Properties of Substances

1.3

Cell Structure & Function

1.4

Cell Specialisation

1.5

Tissue Structure & Function

1.6

Working with Waves

1.7

Waves in Communication

2

Practical Scientific Procedures and Techniques

3

Science Investigation Skills

4

Principles of Science II

4.1

Extracting Elements

4.2

Relating Properties to use of Substances

4.3

Organic Chemistry

4.4

Energy Changes in Industry

4.5

The Circulatory System

4.6

Ventilation & Gas Exchange

4.7

Urinary System

4.8

Cell Transport

4.9

Thermal Physics

4.10

Materials

4.11

Fluids

5

Contemporary Issues in Science

Practice questions on Fuses

Can you answer these? Test yourself with free interactive practice on Seneca — used by over 10 million students.

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
Answer all questions on Fuses

Unlock your full potential with Seneca Premium

  • Unlimited access to 10,000+ open-ended exam questions

  • Mini-mock exams based on your study history

  • Unlock 800+ premium courses & e-books

Get started with Seneca Premium