5.03 Electric current (4.3, 14.

1)
• Describe what is meant by an electric current
• Describe the difference between a series and a parallel circuit
• Describe what happens to current in parallel circuits
• Describe how to measure current in series and parallel circuits
• Describe the effect on the current of adding cells and lamps in series
and parallel circuits
An electric current is a flow of charge. For materials to be able
to conduct, they must be able to transfer a charge when a
potential difference is applied across them.
metal ions
In metals, some electrons (which
are negatively charged) are free to
move between the atoms. These
are called free electrons and are
why metals are good conductors
of electricity.

Covalent solids, such as plastic, do

not contain free electrons and so
are poor conductors of electricity. Electrons are free
These are called insulators. to move and carry
an electrical charge.

Why can metals conduct electricity?

Salts and some other solids are made of ions. These ions are
electrically charged and can carry charge through the
substance.
In the solid form, the ions are all strongly bonded (joined)
together and so are unable to move.
When an ionic solid melts, the strong bonds between the
ions weaken and the ions are able to move about and carry
the charge.
When an ionic solid dissolves in water, the ions are also
separated and are free to move about. This is why solutions
of salts are good conductors of electricity. Pure water which
does not contain any dissolved salt is a poor conductor as it
does not contain many ions to carry charge.

Why can salts conduct electricity?

 The electric current is measured using Ammeter.

 The Ammeter is connected in series in the circuit

 It has very low resistance to share minimum voltage.

When connecting up a meter, the

red (+) terminal should be on the
same side of the circuit as the +
terminal of the battery

Ammeter
 Current is measured in amperes (A), amps for short.
 Small currents are measured in milliamps (mA).
1mA = 0.001A
 Therefore, to measure a current, you need to choose a
meter with a suitable range on its scale.
 The shown ammeter cannot measure currents above 3A
 Also to measure, say, 0.1A accurately, it would be better
to use a meter with a lower range.

Ammeter
 Electrical current: is the amount of charge moving through the
conductor per second.
Charge Q
 Current = or I =
Time t

Where:
◦ Q is in coulombs (C)
◦ t is in seconds (s)
◦ I is in amperes (1A = 1C/s)

Electric current
Ex 1. A battery moves a charge of 60 C around a circuit
at a constant rate in a time of 20 s. Find the current in
the circuit?

∆Q 60 𝐶
I= = = 3.0 A
∆t 20 𝑠

Example 1
Ex 2. If the current through a lamp is 5A, find the charge
that passes in 5 minutes?

60 s
Q = I x t = 5 A x 5 min x = 1500 C
1 min

Example 2
 A circuit is said to be connected in series when the
electric charges have only one path to flow through.
 If we use ammeters to measure the current at
different points, as shown below.
 The readings on the ammeters will be the same. Since
electric charges are conserved, and there is only one
path for electrons to flow.
 Thus, the electric current is the same at all points in a
series circuit or:
IT = I1 = I2 = I3 = …

Current in
series circuit
 You can turn the lamp on and off
with a switch, since an open switch
is a break in the circuit.
 If one bulb is removed or damaged,
the circuit is broken and no current
will flow through it, so the remaining
bulb will not light up.
 Series circuits are useful if you want
a warning, if one of the components
in the circuit has failed, the circuit
immediately stops!
 In addition, series circuits use less
wiring than parallel circuits.

Bulbs in series circuits

 A circuit is said to be connected in parallel when the
electric charges have multiple paths to flow through.
 In such circuits, the current will split when it gets to a
junction of two or more branches.
 If lamps/resistors are identical the current will be
divided equally between branches.

 So, if the total current is 2.0A in the circuit below, then

A2 and A3 will read 1.0A, while A1 and A4 will read 2.0A
Thus, the sum of currents in each branch of
the parallel circuit is equal to the current in
the supply, i.e. total current, or:

IT = I1 + I2 + I3 …

Current in parallel circuits

 If one bulb is removed or damaged, the electric current
can still flow through the other path and the other bulb
still lights up, as shown below
 Parallel circuits are useful if you want components to
continue to work, even if one component has failed.
This is why our homes are wired up with parallel
circuits. Moreover, any switch can be opened or closed,
independently.

Bulbs in
parallel circuits
Ex 3 a. Draw the circuit on the right using circuit
symbols.
b. The current reading on one of the ammeters is
shown. What is the reading on the other one?

c. Which bulb(s) will go out if the switch contacts

are moved apart? Give a reason for your answer.

a. Shown on the figure below.

b. 0.5 A, same current at all points in a series
circuit
c. Both bulbs, because they are in series and
when the switch is opened it will be a break
the circuit and stop electron flow.

Example 3
Ex 4. If the lamps are identical in the figure shown, and
ammeter A1 reads 0.50 A, what do other ammeters read?

A2 = 0.50 / 2 = 0.25 A
A3 = 0.50 / 2 = 0.25 A
A4 = 0.50 / 2 = 0.25 A
A5 = 0.50 / 2 = 0.25 A

Example 4
Ex 5. The circuit shows a battery and four lamps. All the
lamps are lit. One lamp fails and all the lamps go out.
Which lamp failed?

Answer is A, since it is in the collected branch.

Example 5
Q1. Describe the difference between current and charge.

Q2. What is the current in a circuit if the charge passing

each point is 240C in 2 minutes?

Q3. What charge is delivered if a current of 250 mA flows

for 40 seconds?

Q4. How long does it take for a charge of 30 C to pass in

a circuit when a current of 0.8 A flows?

Q5. Explain why you only need one switch in a series

circuit.

Practice questions
Q6. Copy and complete these sentences.
a. An ammeter measures the …………… flowing per ……………
b. A …………… current means that more …………… is flowing per
second.
c. If a bulb breaks in a series circuit the current will be ……………

Q7. Circuits X and Y are series circuits that each contain one
lamp.
• One of the circuits has more cells than the other.
• In circuit X twice as much charge flows through a lamp per
second as in circuit Y.
a. In which circuit is the current bigger? Explain your answer.
b. Write down the circuit that has more cells. Explain your answer.
c. There are two cells in circuit X. How many are there in circuit Y?

Practice questions
Q8. Mia measures the current in different electrical circuits.
a. Write down the name of the piece of equipment used to
measure current.
b. Mia connects an electrical circuit with one cell and two lamps.
The reading on A1 is 0.125 A. Find the reading of A2 and A3

c. Mia connects three more circuits using the same size cells
and lamps. The reading on A4 is 0.25 A. Find the reading of
A5 and A6
Q9. Sam connects an electrical circuit as shown below. The
2Ω, 3Ω and 4Ω components are resistors.
Sam found that the currents in the five ammeters are:
2.0 A 3.0 A 6.5 A 1.5 A 6.5 A
Help Sam in finding which current is to its ammeter.
One example is done for you.
A1 = ………………
A2 = ………………
A3 = ……2.0 A……
A4 = ………………
A5 = ………………