Question

The element of an electric heater is made of:
A. Tin
B. Copper
C. Nichrome
D. Tungsten

Answer 1

Hint: A heating element of the electric heater must require a high melting point to sustain at high temperatures and average conductivity to allow more current passage. For an electric heater, it doesn’t require light. From these ideas, we can find the correct option.

Complete step-by-step answer:
As we know, heating elements are used to convert electrical energy into heat energy by a process of Joule heating. For these materials, resistance will be larger. But more than that, these materials have to allow more current to flow. Hence when the more electric current is flowing through the heating element, it will produce heat. Heating coils are commonly made up of Nichrome, which is an alloy of Nickel (80%) and Chromium (20%). A heating element can be coil, ribbon or strip of wire. Nichrome has a high melting point and it won’t oxidise at higher temperatures. It won’t allow the deformation due to the high temperatures. So the correct option is C.

Additional information:
We can discuss the other given options in the question. Each of these materials is used for specific purposes.
Copper; Widely used for the preparation of electrical equipment such as wiring and motors. It can conduct both electricity and heat. In ancient times it used to build bronze materials by adding tin into it.
Tin; the Melting point is very low compared to the other materials. Commonly used for polishing purposes to prevent corrosion. The tin cans are tin-coated steel cans.
Tungsten; It is extensively used as the filament in incandescent bulbs. They can produce both heat and light. It is considered as the metal with the highest melting point. In some furnaces and arc welding electrodes are using tungsten as a heating element.

Note: Tungsten is not preferred as the heating material in an electric heater. Since we do not want to waste the effective electric energy in the form of light. If we are considering the Ohm’s law, the voltage is the product of current and resistance. Only resistance can’t provide the heat as we are expecting. Large current flow also has to be required. We need a balance between the two extremes to provide a better heating element. So, nichrome is an average conductor material with moderate resistance.