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EM3 Electricity

1) Electricity involves the flow of electric charge known as current. Current is measured in Amperes and flows from negative to positive charges. 2) Voltage refers to the electrical energy needed to move a charge between two points and is measured in Volts. Ohm's Law states that current is directly proportional to voltage for a conductor. 3) Resistance opposes the flow of current and is measured in Ohms. Resistance depends on the material's resistivity and the length and cross-sectional area of the conductor.

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69 views6 pages

EM3 Electricity

1) Electricity involves the flow of electric charge known as current. Current is measured in Amperes and flows from negative to positive charges. 2) Voltage refers to the electrical energy needed to move a charge between two points and is measured in Volts. Ohm's Law states that current is directly proportional to voltage for a conductor. 3) Resistance opposes the flow of current and is measured in Ohms. Resistance depends on the material's resistivity and the length and cross-sectional area of the conductor.

Uploaded by

Nathan Tvascor
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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1

ELECTRICITY
Electric Current, I
Current is the rate of flow of electric charge. Conventional current flows from positive to
negative but the flow of electric charges is from negative to positive.

where I = current
Q = charge
t = time

The SI units of current are Amperes(A) or Coulomb per second (C/s).


Current is measured with an ammeter. The circuit symbol for an ammeter is . An
ammeter is always connected in series with other circuit components.

Potential Difference (pd) or Voltage,V


This refers to the electrical energy needed to drive a charge between two points in a circuit.

Where V = voltage
E = electrical energy
Q = charge

The SI units of voltage are Volts(V) or Joules per Coulomb (J/C).


NB: One volt is the energy needed to drive a coulomb of charge around a circuit.

Voltage is measured with a voltmeter. The circuit symbol for voltmeter is . A


voltmeter is always connected in parallel with other circuit components.

Electromotive force(emf)
2

This is the electrical energy required to drive a charge round a circuit by a power supply. A
voltmeter is connected across the power supply in order to measure the emf.

Resistance, R
Resistance is the opposition to flow of current. SI units of resistance are Ohms (Ω). An
ohmmeter can be used to measure resistance.

Resistivity
The resistance of a conductor is
 indirectly proportional to the cross sectional area(A) of the conductor .
 directly proportional to the length (l) of the conductor. R  l

Combining the two

Where R = Resistanceof the conductor


l = length of the conductor
 = resistivity of the conductor
A = cross-sectional area of the conductor.

Resistivity of any material is constant.


For example the resistivity of copper is 1.8 x 10-8 m and nichrome (an alloy) has a resistivity
of 110 x 10-8 m.

Ohm’s Law
The current (I) through a conductor is directly proportional to the voltage (V) across the
conductor, provided temperature and other conditions remain constant.
3

V = IR
Where V = voltage
I = current
R = resistance.

V/I Characteristic Graphs

Ohmic Conductor Filament bulb Thermistor

Electrical Energy

 Q = It ……………………………..(i)

…………………………..(ii)

Using eqn (i) in eqn (ii)

Rearranging the eqn

Where E = electrical energy


I = electrical current
V = voltage
t = time

Electrical Power, P

but 
4

Where P = electrical power


I = electrical current
V = voltage

Series Circuits
In a series circuit there is only one pathway for current.

Current in Series circuits


The current is the same at all points in a series circuit

A1 = A2 = A3 and therefore I1 = I2 = I3
Voltage in a Series Circuit.
In a series circuit there is a potential drop across the circuit components. Thus the sum of the
voltages across the circuit components should give the emf.

VT = V 1 + V 2 + …
Resistance in a series circuit.
5

The total resistance, RT for resistors R1, R2, R3,etc which are in series is given by

RT = R1 + R2 + R3 + …
Parallel Circuits
This is a circuit in which there is more than one pathway for current.

Current in parallel circuits


Current divides among the several pathways in a parallel circuit.

AT = A1 + A2
IT = I1 + I2 + …

Voltage in parallel circuits

The voltages across parallel circuit components are equal.

VT = V 1 = V 2

Resistance in parallel circuits


6

The total resistance, RT for resistors R1, R2, R3, etc which are parallel is given by

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