Lesson T5.1.3

T5.1.3 Conductors and insulators Quiz: KS3 Physics, Unit 5

20 questions

Written by Revision Ninja · Last reviewed 11 October 2026

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Lesson T5.1.3, Conductors and insulators: 20 multiple choice questions for the KS3 Physics (National Curriculum), Unit 5: Electricity and magnetism, written with Revision Ninja.

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The 20 questions

  1. What is a conductor?

    • A material that allows electric charge to flow through it easily.
    • A material that stops electric charge from flowing at all, which keeps the current away from users.
    • A material that stores electric charge permanently, so that it cannot move through the material.
    • A material that turns electric charge into heat only, so no current can flow through it at all.

  2. What is an insulator?

    • A material that carries electric charge very well, which makes it useful for building wires.
    • A material that always produces a magnetic field, which is why it is used inside electromagnets.
    • A material that does not let electric charge flow through it easily.
    • A material that heats up as soon as a current flows, which is why it is used in heaters.

  3. Which of these is a good conductor of electricity?

    • Plastic, which is used to cover handles on tools and appliances to keep users safe
    • Copper
    • Rubber, which is used to cover cables and keep people safe from shocks from the wires
    • Glass, which is used for windows and bulbs because it blocks the flow of current entirely

  4. Which of these is a good insulator?

    • Copper, which is used for household wires because it carries current very easily
    • Rubber
    • Iron, which is used in cores of transformers because it allows current to flow easily
    • Aluminium, which is used in power lines because it has a very low resistance to current

  5. Why are electrical wires covered in plastic?

    • Plastic stores charge in the wire for later use, which is then released when the switch is turned off.
    • Plastic converts the current into light, which means the wire glows whenever a current flows.
    • Plastic insulates the wire so that current does not leak to the user.
    • Plastic makes the current flow faster in the wire, which reduces the time taken to reach the device.

  6. Which material has a very high resistance?

    • Glass
    • Silver, which is the best conductor of electricity of all the metals and has the lowest resistance
    • Copper, which is one of the best conductors of electricity and has a very low resistance
    • Iron, which is a metal that conducts electricity well and has a low resistance to current

  7. What carries the charge in a metal conductor?

    • Atoms that are pushed along the wire, which move the metal particles along the current path
    • Protons that move through the metal lattice, which is the fixed structure of the metal atoms
    • Neutrons that drift along the wire, which carry the charge from one end to the other
    • Free electrons that move through the metal

  8. Which statement about conductors and insulators is correct?

    • Conductors and insulators have the same resistance, because both allow charge to move through them.
    • Insulators have a lower resistance than conductors, which is why they are used for wires.
    • Insulators have a much higher resistance than conductors.
    • Conductors are made only of gas and insulators of metal, which is why they behave differently.

  9. Why is a metal handle on a kettle often covered with plastic or wood?

    • To make the kettle heat up faster, because plastic and wood warm up the water more quickly.
    • To insulate the user from electricity and to stop a shock.
    • To make the handle a better conductor, which helps the electricity to pass to the user safely.
    • To store the charge inside the handle, which keeps the electricity from reaching the water.

  10. A wire has a resistance that is very large compared with a copper wire. What is it most likely made of?

    • Solid aluminium used in power lines, which is chosen because it is light and conducts well
    • Pure silver used in electronics, which is chosen because it conducts current best of all metals
    • Pure copper used in household wires, which is chosen because it has the lowest resistance of all
    • Nichrome, a resistance alloy used in heating elements

  11. Which of these is an insulator used in cables?

    • PVC plastic
    • Aluminium, which is the metal used to carry the current along the inside of the cable
    • Steel, which is the metal used to strengthen cables and carry some of the load along them
    • Copper, which is the metal used to carry current along the inside of most household cables

  12. Why do power lines use metal rather than plastic as the conductor?

    • Metal has a low resistance, so it carries current with little energy lost.
    • Metal makes the current travel more slowly, which gives the power station time to adjust the supply.
    • Metal stores electricity better than plastic does, which is why it is used for long power lines.
    • Metal insulates the current from the air, which keeps the electricity from escaping into the air.

  13. Which statement about the flow of electrons in a conductor is correct?

    • Electrons move through the conductor when there is a potential difference across it.
    • Electrons move only when the conductor is heavy, which is why thick metal wires carry more current.
    • Electrons move only in insulators, not in metals, because metals keep their electrons fixed.
    • Electrons never move in a conductor, because the metal atoms hold them fixed in place at all times.

  14. Why is an insulator used to coat a copper wire?

    • To make the current flow out of the wire sideways, which spreads the current into the surroundings.
    • To stop the current from escaping into anything that touches the wire.
    • To increase the number of free electrons in the copper, which makes the wire carry more current.
    • To make the copper wire hotter so it works better, because heat helps the metal conduct electricity.

  15. Which pair contains two conductors?

    • Rubber and glass, which are both insulators used to stop electricity passing through them
    • Plastic and wood, which are both insulators used to cover handles and switches safely
    • Copper and iron
    • Ceramic and rubber, which are both insulators used to hold wires apart in electrical fittings

  16. Which pair contains two insulators?

    • Copper and rubber, which contains one metal conductor and one insulator and is not a pair
    • Iron and glass, which contains one metal conductor and one insulator and so is not a pair
    • Aluminium and plastic, which contains one metal conductor and one insulator and so is not a pair
    • Glass and rubber

  17. What is the effect of a long thin wire on the resistance of a circuit?

    • Only thickness affects resistance, not length, because the length of a wire does not change its flow.
    • A longer or thinner wire gives a smaller resistance, because more wire means more room for charge.
    • Length and thickness have no effect on resistance, which depends only on the battery voltage.
    • A longer or thinner wire gives a greater resistance.

  18. What does a material with a high resistance do to the current in a circuit?

    • It reduces the current flowing through the circuit.
    • It increases the current flowing through the circuit, because the material makes charge build up.
    • It has no effect on the current at all, because resistance does not change how much charge flows.
    • It doubles the current in the circuit, because a higher resistance concentrates the charge.

  19. Which material is most suitable for the body of an electrical plug to stop people receiving a shock?

    • A plastic such as polypropylene
    • Aluminium, which conducts well and is light enough to make the plug easy to hold and use
    • Silver, which is the best conductor of all metals and so is safest for holding the plug
    • Copper, which carries current efficiently and so transfers the electricity safely to the user

  20. Why does a long thin wire get hotter than a short thick one when the same current flows through both?

    • It has a higher resistance, so more energy is transferred to heat in it.
    • It is made of insulating material, which traps the heat inside the wire instead of letting it out
    • It has a lower resistance, so the current through it is larger and heats the wire more
    • It carries more charge per second, which makes it hotter as the charge flows along the wire

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