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Notes

Electric current is the flow of charge carriers measured in amps. Current flows between two oppositely charged conductors when connected by a wire. In metals, current is the flow of electrons from the negative terminal to the positive terminal of a cell. Current is measured using an ammeter, which should be connected in series with the circuit. Electric current cannot be stored and the total current entering a junction must equal the total leaving.

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53 views

Notes

Electric current is the flow of charge carriers measured in amps. Current flows between two oppositely charged conductors when connected by a wire. In metals, current is the flow of electrons from the negative terminal to the positive terminal of a cell. Current is measured using an ammeter, which should be connected in series with the circuit. Electric current cannot be stored and the total current entering a junction must equal the total leaving.

Uploaded by

Mohammed Ibrahim Lodhi -802797/SLC
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Electricity notes

● Electric current is the flow of charge carriers and is measured


in units of amperes (A) or amps
● Charge can be either positive or negative
● When two oppositely charged conductors are connected
together (by a length of wire), charge will flow between the two
conductors, causing a current

Charge can flow between two conductors. The direction of


conventional current in a metal is from positive to negative

● In electrical wires, the current is a flow of electrons


● Electrons are negatively charged; they flow away from the
negative terminal of a cell towards the positive terminal
● Conventional current is defined as the flow of positive charge
from the positive terminal of a cell to the negative terminal
○ This is the opposite to the direction of electron flow, as
conventional current was described before electric
current was really understood
● Current is measured using an ammeter
● Ammeters should always be connected in series with the part
of the circuit you wish to measure the current through

Series circuit components connected one after another; current is


the same in each component

Parallel circuit components are connected side by side and the


current splits into alternative paths and then recombines.

Electric current in a circuit cannot be stored. This means that when


circuits join or divide, the total current going into a junction must
be equal to the total current leaving the junction
Electricity notes
The total p.d. across the components in a series circuit is equal to
the sum of the individual p.d.s across each component. V = V1 +
V2 + V3

The p.d. across devices in parallel in a circuit are equal.

The p.d. across an arrangement of parallel resistance is the same as


the p.d. across one branch.

● Charge, current and time are related by the following equation:

● Where the symbols:


○ Q stands for charge (measured in coulombs, C)
○ I stands for current (measured in amps, A)
Electricity notes
Electricity notes
Electricity notes

Direct Current (dc)

● Direct current is produced when using dry cells and batteries


(and sometimes generators, although these are usually ac)
○ The electrons flow in one direction only, from the negative
terminal to the positive terminal

Alternating Current (ac)

● Alternating current typically comes from mains electricity and


generators
● It is needed for use in transformers in the National Grid
(covered later in this topic)
○ The direction of electron flow changes direction regularly
Electricity notes
○ A typical frequency for the reversal of ac current in mains
electricity is 50 Hz

Properties of parallel circuits We can summarise the results for


parallel circuits as follows:

(i) the sum of the currents in the branches of a parallel circuit


equals the current entering or leaving the parallel section
Electricity notes
Electricity notes
Electricity notes
Electricity notes

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