Solution
(a) Electric field is established throughout the circuit, almost instantly
(with the speed of light) causing at every point a local electron
drift Establishment of a current does not have to wait for electrons
from one end of the conductor travelling to the other end However,
it does take a little while for the current to reach its steady value (b) Each ‘free’ electron does accelerate, increasing its drift speed until
it collides with a positive ion of the metal