P5 Electricity

Syllabus Statement:
P5.2 Electrical Quantities
P5.2.1 Electric Charge
1. State that there are positive and negative charges
2. State that unlike charges attract and that like charges
repel
3. Describe and interpret simple experiments to show the
production and detection of electrostatic charges by
friction
4. State that charging a body involves the addition or removal of electrons
5. Describe an electric field as the region in which an electric charge experiences a force
6. Distinguish between electrical conductors and insulators and give typical examples
P5.2.2 Current, Potential Difference, and Electromotive Force (e.m.f.)
1. Demonstrate understanding of current, potential difference, e.m.f. and resistance
2. State that current is related to the flow of charge
Q
3. Show understanding that a current is a rate of flow of charge and recall and use the equation I =
t
4. State that current in metals is due to a flow of electrons
5. State that the potential difference (p.d.) across a circuit component is measured in volts
6. Use and describe the use of an ammeter and a voltmeter, both analogue and digital
7. State that the electromotive force (e.m.f.) of an electrical source of energy is measured in volts
8. Show an understanding that e.m.f. is defined in terms of energy supplied by a source in driving
charge around a complete circuit
P5.2.3 Resistance
p.d .
1. State that resistance= and understand qualitatively how changes in p.d. or resistance affect
current
current
2. Sketch and explain the current-voltage characteristics of an ohmic resistor and a filament lamp
V
3. Recall and use the equation R=
I
4. Recall and use quantitatively the proportionality between resistance and length, and the inverse
proportionality between resistance and cross-sectional area of a wire

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Electric Charge

Electric charge can be ______________ or ______________. Protons have positive charge,

______________ are negatively charged. Materials that have electric charges that can move are called
______________. Materials where there are no free charges able to move are called ______________.
Electrical Conductors Electrical Insulators
metals wood
graphite plastic
electrolyte solutions rubber
glass
pure water
For example:

Static electricity is the build-up of electric charge on an insulator. This occurs when ______________
are added or removed from an object.
When a strip of polythene is rubbed with a wool cloth, it becomes ______________ charged.
Rubbing transfers ______________ from one object (the wool, which becomes ____________ charged)
to another object (the polythene strip, which becomes ______________ charged).

If a negatively charged strip is brought close to another negatively charged strip, ______________
occurs.
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Like charges repel. Unlike charges ______________.

Electric fields
An electric field is a region in which an electric charge experiences a ______________. Charges
produce electric fields and these exert forces on any other charges around them. If the net charge on an
object is zero, the fields from the positive and negative charges ______________ out. An electric field is
only produced when there is a net charge.

Electroscope
An electroscope is a device that can be used to show the presence of ______________ and, if charged,
can detect the type of charge on an object.
It can be negatively charged by touching it with a ______________ charged object.

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The negatively-charged electroscope can detect the type of charge on a rod brought near to it.

negatively-charged positive rod negative rod

The positive rod ______________ the electrons on the electroscope and the leaf ______________. The
negative rod ______________ the electrons on the electroscope and the leaf ______________.

Current
Electric current is the flow of ______________. Historically, current was defined as flowing from
______________ to ______________. This is called conventional current. The equation for current is
______________, where I is current (measured in Amperes, A), Q is charge (measured in Coulombs, C),
and t is the time (measured in seconds, s). It is the amount of charge flowing past a point per second.

For example, if 4.8 coulombs of charge flow past a point in 8.0 seconds, the current is
Q 4.8
I= = =0.60 A
t 8.0

In most conductors, including all ____________, it is actually electrons that are moving. This electron
flow is in the opposite direction to conventional current. Conventional current is the way a
______________ charge would move. electrons have negative charge. As a general rule, electron flow is
ignored and conventional current is used. Current is measured with an ______________.

Potential Difference (Voltage)

Potential difference (p.d.) is the difference in ______________ potential energy per unit of charge
between two points. It has the symbol V and is measured in Volts (V). The bigger the potential
difference, the greater the energy change, and the stronger the electric field. Voltage is measured with a
______________.

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 1 volt = 1 joule / coulomb voltage=

Energy per charge can also be thought as the work done per charge as it moves between two points in
the circuit, so the formula can be written:

V =

Electromotive Force (e.m.f.)

Electromotive force is the defined as the energy supplied by a source in driving a unit of charge around a
circuit. It is measured in volts. When current is drawn from a source, some voltage can be lost due to the
internal resistance of the power supply. This reduces the potential difference at the terminals of the
supply.

Resistance
Resistance is a measure of how hard it is to push current through a component.

Potential Difference V
Resistance= R=
Current I

The unit for resistance is the _____________ (Ω).

The resistance of a wire depends on the material it is made from, the cross-sectional area, and the length.
If the area is greater, it will be ______________ to push current through and the resistance will be
______________. If the length is longer, it will be ______________ to push current through and the
resistance will be ______________.

Ohm’s Law
Ohm’s law states that the voltage across a component is the product of the current and resistance.

V=IR

A component that obeys Ohm’s law is called an ______________ resistor. Resistors used in electronic
circuits are ohmic. A component that does not obey Ohm’s law is called a ______________ resistor. For

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example, an incandescent lamp gets hotter as the current increases. This increases the resistance of the
filament. The voltage is not proportional to the current.
Practical
Vary the voltage across a fixed-value resistor and measure the current. Do the same for a lamp. Graph
the results.

Voltage / V Current / A

Fixed-value resistor:

Voltage / V Current / A

Lamp:

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Paste in graphs:

Energy and Power

Power is the rate of energy change. It is measured in Watts (W). Electrical power is calculated using:

P=IV

The total energy is the power multiplied by the time. Energy is measured in Joules (J).

E=Pt=IVt