ELECTRIC CURRENT & ITS EFFECT

(d) a key or a switch – This may be connected

anywhere along the circuit to stop or allow the
flow of current.

(A) Battery :
The positive terminal of one cell is connected to
the negative terminal of the next cell. Such a
combination of two or more cells is called a
battery. Many devices such as torches, transistors,
toys, TV remote controls, use batteries.

Connecting two cells together to make a battery

(B) Bulb :
In the bulb there is a thin wire, called the filament,
An electric cell is a device which converts
which glows when an electric current passes
chemical energy into electric energy.
through it. When the bulb gets fused, its filament
The cell has two different metal plates – one is the
is broken.
positive terminal and the other is the negative
terminal. These plates are kept inside a chemical
called electrolyte. The cell is a source of electric
current. Electric current is the flow of electrons or
charge.

An electric circuit is the closed path along which (C) Electric switch :
electric current flows from the positive terminal to An electric switch is a device that opens or closes
the negative terminal of the cell. an electric circuit.
 A circuit generally has: When the switch (key) K is closed, the circuit is
complete; current flows through the circuit and
(a) a source of electric current - a cell or battery.
the bulb glows.
(b) connecting wires for carrying current. When the switch (key) K is open, the circuit is not
(c) a device which uses the electricity - a bulb complete; current does not flow through the
etc. circuit and the bulb does not glow.
 CONDUCTORS : The materials which allow
electric current to pass through them.
Ex. All metals like Copper, Iron, Silver and
Human body.
INSULATORS : The materials which do not
allow electric current to pass through them.
Ex. Plastic, Wood, Rubber and Glass.

(A)HEATING EFFECT OF CURRENT :

Some common electric components can be The wire which are not very good conductors gets
represented by symbols. hot when an electric current passes through it.
This is the heating effect of the electric current.
S. Electric component Symbol Ex.

(i) Electric Heater :

1. 1. Electric cell

2. Electric bulb

3. Switch in ‘ON’ position

(ii) Electric Iron :

4. Switch in ‘OFF’ position

The amount of heat produced in a wire depends

5. Battery on its material, length and thickness. Thus, for
different requirements, the wires of different
materials and different lengths and thickness are
used.
6. Wire (iii) Electric bulb :
The filament of an electric bulb gets heated to
such a high temperature that it starts glowing.
 (i) Magnetic effect of current depends on
(B)CHEMICAL EFFECT OF CURRENT number of turns.
(ELECTROPLATING) (ii) Magnetic effect of current depends the value
of current.
The method of plating one type of over another by
(iii) Magnetic effect of current depends on the
means of electricity is called electroplating.
nature of core inside the coil.
Ex. To electroplate a stainless steel razor blade
with copper.
Materials required : Glass beaker, copper
sulphate solution, two pieces of connecting wire
(50 cm long), a cell, stainless steel razor blade.  Electric Fuse :
Method : Remove the insulation from the ends of Wires made from some special materials melt
both wires. Tie one end of a wire to the stainless quickly and break when large electric currents are
steel razor blade and tape the other bare end to the passed through them. These wires are used for
negative terminal of the cell. Tape one end of the making electric fuses,(figure). In all buildings
other wire to the positive terminal of the cell and fuses are inserted in all electrical circuits. There is
dip its other end into the copper scrub the razor a maximum limit on the current which can safely
blade clean and dip it in the solution. flow through a circuit. If by accident the current
exceeds this safe limit, the wires may become
After electricity passes through the circuit for overheated and may cause fire. If a proper fuse is
some time you will find a reddish-brown deposit there in the circuit, it will blow off and break the
on the blade. This is the coating of copper. circuit. A fuse is thus a safety device which
prevents damages to electrical circuits and
possible fires.

(C) MAGNETIC EFFECT OF CURRENT :  MCB :

The needle of a compass is a tiny magnet, which These days Miniature circuit breakers (MCBs) are
points in north-south direction. When we bring a increasingly being used in place of fuses. These
magnet close to it, the needle gets deflected. are switches which automatically turn off when
Similarly we can also seen that compass needle current in a circuit exceeds the safe limit. You
gets deflected when the current flows in a nearby turn them on and the circuit is once again
wire. Hans Christian Oersted was the first complete.
person who noticed the deflection of compass
needle every time the current was passed through
the wire. So, when electric current passes through
a wire, it behaves like a magnet. This is the
magnetic effect of the electric current. In fact, an
electric current can be used to make magnets.
 Factors which effect the strength of magnetic
effect by current :
 Electromagnet :

Wind the wire tightly around the nail in the form

of a coil. Connect the free ends of the wire to the
terminals of a cell through a switch as shown in
Fig. pulls the iron strip. In the process, the hammer at
the end of the strip strikes the gong of the bell to
produce a sound. However, when the
electromagnet pulls the iron strip, it also breaks
the circuit & the current through the coil stops
flowing. The coil is no longer an electromagnet &
it no longer attracts the iron strip. The iron strip
comes back to its original position and touches the
The coil behaves like a magnet when electric
contact screw again. This completes the circuit.
current flows through it. When the electric current
The current flows in the coil and the hammer
is switched off, the coil generally loses its
strikes the gong again.
magnetism. Such coils are called electromagnets.
This process is repeated in quick succession. The
The electromagnets can be made very strong and
hammer strikes the gong every time the circuit is
can lift very heavy loads. The electromagnets are
completed. This is how the bell rings.
also used to separate magnetic material from the
junk. Doctors use tiny electromagnets to take out
small pieces of magnetic material that have
accidentally fallen in the eye. Many toys also Electrical cells are the sources of electric current.
have electromagnets inside them. Electrical cells are of two types primary and
 Electric bell : secondary. Voltaic, Daniel and dry cells are
It consists of a coil of wire wound on an iron examples of primary cells, while Edison cell,
piece. The coil acts as an electromagnet. An iron lead-acid accumulator are example of secondary
strip with a hammer at one end is kept close to the cells.
electromagnet. There is a contact screw near the (A) Primary Cells :
iron strip. The cells which cannot be charged again and
When the iron strip is in contact with the screw, again are known as primary cells.
the current flows through the coil which becomes  Dry Cell : The outer case of the cell is made of
an electromagnet. It, then, zinc. The cylindrical sides are covered with thick
cardboard or paper, while the bottom which is the
negative terminal is bare. Inside the zinc
container, is a most paste of ammonium chloride.
A carbon rod is placed at the centre of the zinc
container with a brass knob protruding out at the
 top. This is the positive terminal of the cell. It is The top is sealed to avoid evaporation of
surrounded by a closely packed mixture of moisture, but leaving a small hole for the escape
graphite and manganese dioxide in a muslin bag. of ammonia gas.
 Lead accumulator (Reusable and rechargeable
cells) :
The secondary cell is one which consists of a
vessel made of a hard rubber, glass or celluloid,
containing dilute sulphuuric acid. It are immersed
two lead grids, one containing lead dioxide
(positive terminal) and the other made up of lead
(negative terminal). Six such storage cells
connected in series makes up your motor car
The strength of a fresh dry cell is 1.5 V. Cells of
this kind which become useless once the battery. Each cell has a strength of about 2V.

chemicals inside them are used up are known as together they make up 12 V. After the cell is used
primary cells. up. it can be recharged and reused.

(B) Secondary cell :

Some cells can be reused by recharging them
from an external electrical source. Such cells are
called secondary cells, storage cells or
accumulators.
 EXERCISE # 1
Q.14 What is electrical resistance? On what does
the resistance of a piece of material depend?
How does resistance affect current?
Q.1 What do you need to apply across a bulb to
cause a current to flow through it? Q.15 What is a fuse? How does it work?
Q.2 Why does a bulb get warmer than the wires Q.16 Explain with the help of a diagram the
that connect it to a battery? construction and working of an electric bell.
Q.3 A magnetic needle gets deflected when
brought near a current-carrying conductor.
What does this show?
Q.17 The greater the ............... across a device, the
Q.4 What happens when you place an iron nail in greater is the current through it.
a current-carrying coil?
Q.18 The connections between components are
Q.5 Why do we use a soft iron core in an
represented by ............... in a circuit diagram.
electromagnet?
Q.6 Name four devices that use the heating effect Q.19 A long wire has ............... resistance than a
of electric current. short wire.

Q.7 Mention four applications of electromagnets. Q.20 An ............... is a condition in which a wire
carries a current that is more than what is
safe.

Q.21 A closely wound length of wire is called

Q.8 What is a circuit diagram? Draw the circuit
a ...............
diagram of a torch which works on three
cells.
Q.9 Identify the following symbols. Also mark
the positive and negative terminals in the
symbol for the cell.

Q.10 How is the heat produced by an electric

current related to resistance and the
magnitude of the current?
Q.11. Why is a long and thin tungsten filament used
in a bulb?
Q.12 Mention two problems associated with the
heating effect of electric current.
Q.13 What is an electromagnet? Mention two
properties of an electromagnet.
 EXERCISE # 2
(B) magnetic effect of current
(C) heating effect of current
Q.1 A moving charge produces - (D) all of the above
(A) neither electric field nor magnetic field
Q.8 Which is the false statement ?
(B) electrostatic field only
(A) Fuse wire has low resistance and melting
(C) magnetic field only
point
(D) both magnetic and electrostatic field
(B) Heater wire has high specific resistance
Q.2 Strength of an electromagnet increases by - and melting point
(A) increasing the number of turns of the coil (C) In these day M.C.B. is used in place of
(B) increasing the current flowing through fuse wire
the coil (D) Current does not flow in close circuit.
(C) using soft iron core for the coil
Q.9 An electric bell when ringing-
(D) all of the above
(A) carries no electric current
Q.3 An electric current produces - (B) carries continuous current
(A) Magnetic effect (C) carries intermittent current
(B) Chemical effect (D) has a permanent magnet to make it work
(C) Heating effect
Q.10 Which is the best conductor ?
(D) All of the above
(A) carbon (B) Copper
Q.4 The process by which chemical change takes (C) Iron (D) Aluminium
place in a substance when electric current is
Q.11 The magnitude of a current flowing through a
passed through it is called -
device depends
(A) electrolysis
(A) only on the voltage across it
(B) electroplating
(B) only on its resistance
(C) electrodes
(C) on its resistance and the voltage across it
(D) thermionic conduction
(D) none of these
Q.5 An electrolyte is -
Q.12 Nichrome is used for making
(A) a light electric cell
(A) the filaments of bulbs
(B) a liquid that conducts electricity
(B) fuse wires
(C) a metal
(C) heater elements
(D) non of the above
(D) coils for electromagnets
Q.6 Cathode is -
Q.13 To make a battery of 9 volts. how many 1.5 V
(A) positively charged electrode
cells are needed?
(B) negatively charged electrode
(A) 6 (B) 5
(C) a positively charged ion formed in the
(C) 4 (D) 3
electrolyte
(D) a negatively charged ion formed in the
electrolyte.

Q.7 Electric bell works on the principle of -

(A) chemical effect of current
ANSWER KEY

EXERCISE-2