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

Electrical Safety: Earthing Metal Cases

Metals conduct electricity, so metal cases may need earthing to stop them giving us electric shocks.

Metal cases

Metal cases

  • Lots of electrical appliances, such as toasters and microwave ovens, have metal casings.
  • If there is a fault in the appliance, one of the wires may touch the metal case. Metals conduct electricity, so anyone touching the case could then receive an electric shock.
Earth wire

Earth wire

  • An earth wire is a low resistance wire that connects the metal case to the ground.
  • If the casing is touched by a wire inside the appliance, the current will flow through the earth wire.
  • Because the resistance of the earth wire is low, a very high current will flow through it, breaking the fuse in the device. This will stop the flow of current and make the appliance safe.
Jump to other topics
1

Energy

2

Electricity

3

Particle Model of Matter

4

Atoms & Radiation

5

Forces

5.1

Basics of Motion

5.2

Forces

5.3

Effects of Forces

5.4

Pressure

6

Waves

6.1

Wave Basics

6.2

Waves at a Boundary

6.3

Sound Waves

6.4

Electromagnetic Waves

6.5

Lenses

6.6

Heat & Radiation

7

Magnetism

8

Astrophysics

Practice questions on Earthing

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

  1. 1
  2. 2
    Earth wires:True / false
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
Answer all questions on Earthing

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