Which options are correct for a fuse wire?

A.)High resistance
B.)Low resistance
C.)Low melting point
D.)High melting point

Hint: Fuse is a wire used in an electric circuit, it helps from overcurrent protection. When the circuit receives very high current the wire should melt and break the circuit. Using this we can predict the properties of fuse wire.

Complete step by step answer:
Every electric circuit includes a small wire called fuse. This protects us from short circuits in the electric circuit due to high current (more than the prescribed limit) flowing through the circuit.

So, when high current (more than the prescribed limit) flows through the circuit, this may damage the electric appliances connected in the circuit. To prevent the damage, the fuse melts and breaks the circuit. In this way there is no current in the circuit and the appliances do not get damaged.

As we have seen the fuse should melt when the current increases, that means the melting point of the fuse should be less. In the fuse, low current should pass (less than or equal to the prescribed limit), so the fuse should have high resistance with low melting point.

Examples of wire that can be used as fuse is tin, lead, zinc, etc.
So, the correct answer is option A and C.

Additional Information:
Fuse is made of thin material; it has low melting point. As there can be current fluctuations, many a times, so it’s better to invest in low costing and good quality wire as fuse. So, the fuse should be of low cost.

Note: Students often get confused with the resistance, they think if a wire has high resistance then there would be difficulty in passing current, so they make the wrong option. But the resistance of the fuse usually is an insignificant part of the total circuit resistance. Since the resistance of fractional amperage fuses can be several ohms. Remember fuse is at the starting of a circuit.