Chapter 21 Lecture

Pearson Physics

Electric Current
and Electric Circuits

Prepared by
Chris Chiaverina

© 2014 Pearson Education, Inc.

 Chapter Contents

• Electric Current, Resistance, and Semiconductors

• Electric Circuits
• Power and Energy in Electric Circuits

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 Electric Current, Resistance, and
Semiconductors
• All electric circuits have one thing in
common—they depend on the flow of electric
charge.
• When electric charge flows from one place to
another, we say it forms an electric current. The
more charge that flows, and the faster it flows,
the greater the electric current.
• In general, electric charge is carried through a
circuit by electrons.

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 Electric Current, Resistance, and
Semiconductors
• Suppose an amount of charge ΔQ flows past a
given point in a wire in the time Δt. The electric
current, I, in the wire is simply defined as the
amount of charge divided by the amount of time.
• The following equation is used to determine the
current flowing in a wire.

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 Electric Current, Resistance, and
Semiconductors
• The unit of current is the ampere (A), or amp for
short. It is named for the French physicist
André-Marie Ampère (1775–1836).
• A current of 1 amp is defined as the flow of
1 coulomb of charge in 1 second:
1 A = 1 C/s
• A 1-amp current is fairly strong. Many electronic
devices, like cell phones and digital music players,
operate on currents that are a fraction of an amp.

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 Electric Current, Resistance, and
Semiconductors
• The following Conceptual Example illustrates
how the current depends on both the amount of
charge flowing and the amount of time.

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 Electric Current, Resistance, and
Semiconductors
• The following example shows that the number of
electrons flowing in a typical circuit is extremely
large. The situation is similar to the large
number of water molecules flowing through a
garden hose.

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 Electric Current, Resistance, and
Semiconductors

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 Electric Current, Resistance, and
Semiconductors
• When charge flows through a closed path and
returns to its starting point, we say that the closed
path is an electric circuit.
• In a type of circuit known as a direct-current
circuit, or DC circuit, the current always flows in
the same direction. Circuits that run on batteries
are typically DC circuits.
• Circuits with currents that periodically reverse their
direction are referred to as alternating-current
circuits, or AC circuits. The electricity provided by
a wall plug in your house is AC.

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 Electric Current, Resistance, and
Semiconductors
• Although electrons move fairly freely in metal
wires, something has to push on them to get
them going and keep them going. It's like water
in a garden hose; the water flows only when a
force pushes on it. Similarly, electrons flow in a
circuit only when an electrical force pushes on
them.
• Figure (a) below shows
that there is no water
flow if both ends of the
garden hose are held
at the same level.
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 Electric Current, Resistance, and
Semiconductors
• Figure (b) shows that water flows from the end where the
gravitational potential energy is high to the end where it is
low. The difference in gravitational potential energy
between the two ends of the hose results in a force on the
water—which in turn produces a flow. A battery performs
a similar function in an electric circuit.

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 Electric Current, Resistance, and
Semiconductors
• A battery uses chemical reactions to produce a
difference in electric potential between its two
ends, which are referred to as the terminals. The
symbol for a battery is .
• A battery's positive terminal has a high electrical
potential and is denoted with a plus (+) sign; the
negative terminal has a low electric potential and
is denoted with a minus sign (−).

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 Electric Current, Resistance, and
Semiconductors
• When a battery is connected to a circuit, electrons
move in a closed path from one terminal of the
battery through the circuit and back to the other
terminal of the battery. The electrons leave from
the negative terminal of the battery and return to
the positive terminal.
• The situation is similar to the flow of blood in your
body. Your heart acts like a battery, causing blood
to flow through a closed circuit of arteries and
veins in your body.

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 Electric Current, Resistance, and
Semiconductors
• The figure below shows a simple electrical system
consisting of a battery, a switch, and a lightbulb
connected together in a flashlight.

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 Electric Current, Resistance, and
Semiconductors
• The circuit diagram in figure (b) below shows that
the switch is open—creating an open circuit.
When a circuit is open, no charge can flow. When
the switch is closed, electrons flow through the
circuit and the light glows.

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 Electric Current, Resistance, and
Semiconductors
• The figure below shows a mechanical equivalent
of the flashlight circuit. The person lifting the
water corresponds to the battery, the paddle
wheel corresponds to the lightbulb, and the
water is like the electric charge.

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 Electric Current, Resistance, and
Semiconductors
• The difference in electric potential between the
terminals of the battery is the electromotive force,
or emf. Symbolically, the electromotive force is
represented by the symbol ε (the Greek letter
epsilon). The unit of emf is the same as that of
electrical potential, namely, the volt.
• The electromotive force is not really a force.
Instead, the emf determines the amount of work a
battery does to move a certain amount of charge
around a circuit.

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 Electric Current, Resistance, and
Semiconductors
• To be specific, the magnitude of the work done
by a battery with the emf ε as charge ΔQ moves
from one terminal to the other is

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 Electric Current, Resistance, and
Semiconductors
• The following example illustrates how the charge
that passes through a circuit and the work done by
the battery moving that charge can be determined.

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 Electric Current, Resistance, and
Semiconductors
• When drawing an electric circuit, it's helpful to include an
arrow to indicate the flow of current. By convention, the
direction of the current in an electric circuit is the direction
in which a positive test charge would move.
• In typical circuits, the charges that flow are actually
negatively charged electrons. As a result, the flow of
electrons and the current arrow point in opposite directions,
as indicated in the figure below.

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 Electric Current, Resistance, and
Semiconductors
• As surprising as it may seem, electrons move rather
slowly through a wire. Their path is roundabout because
they are involved in numerous collisions with the atoms
in the wire, as indicated in the figure below.

• A electron's average speed, or drift speed, as it is called,

is about 10−4 m/s—that's only about a hundredth of a
centimeter per second!
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 Electric Current, Resistance, and
Semiconductors
• At this speed, it would take an electron about
3 hours to go from a car's battery to the headlights.
However, we know that the lights come on almost
immediately. Why the discrepancy?
• While the electrons move with a rather slow
average speed, the influence they have on one
another, due to the electrostatic force, moves
through the wire at nearly the speed of light.

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 Electric Current, Resistance, and
Semiconductors
• Electrons flow through metal wires with relative
ease. In the ideal case, the electrons move with
complete freedom. Real wires, however, always
affect the electrons to some extent.
• Collisions between electrons and atoms in a
wire cause a resistance to the electron's motion.
This effect is similar to friction resisting the
motion of a box sliding across a floor.

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 Electric Current, Resistance, and
Semiconductors
• To move electrons against the resistance of a
wire, it is necessary to apply a potential
difference between the wire's ends.
• Ohm's law relates the applied potential
difference to the current produced and the wire's
resistance. To be specific, the three quantities
are related as follows:

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 Electric Current, Resistance, and
Semiconductors
• Ohm's law is named for the German physicist
Georg Simon Ohm (1789–1854).
• Rearranging Ohm's law to solve for the resistance,
we find
R = V/I
• From this expression, it is clear that resistance has
units of volts per amp. A resistance of 1 volt per
amp defines a new unit—the ohm. The Greek letter
omega (Ω) is used to designate the ohm. Thus,
1 Ω = 1 V/A
• A device for measuring resistance is called an
ohmmeter.
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 Electric Current, Resistance, and
Semiconductors
• A resistor is a small device used in electric
circuits to provide a particular resistance to
current. The resistance of a resistor is given in
ohms, as shown in the following Quick Example.

• In an electric circuit, a resistor is signified by a

zigzag line, 222.. , as a reminder of the zigzag
path of the electrons in the resistor.
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 Electric Current, Resistance, and
Semiconductors
• The following chart summarizes the elements of
electric circuits, their symbols, and their physical
characteristics.

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 Electric Current, Resistance, and
Semiconductors
• A wire's resistance is affected by several factors.
• The resistance of a wire depends on the material from
which it is made. For example, if a wire is made of
copper, its resistance is less than if it is made from iron.
The resistance of a given material is described by its
resistivity, ρ.
• A wire's resistance also depends on it length, L, and its
cross-sectional area, A. To understand these factors,
let's consider water flowing through a hose. If the hose is
very long, its resistance to the water is correspondingly
large. On the other hand, a wide hose, with a greater
cross-sectional area, offers less resistance to the water.

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 Electric Current, Resistance, and
Semiconductors
• Combining these observations regarding the
factors that affect a wire's resistance, we can
write the following relationship:

• The units of resistivity are ohm-meters (Ω·m),

and its magnitude varies greatly with the type of
material. Insulators have large resistivities;
conductors have low resistivities.
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 Electric Current, Resistance, and
Semiconductors
• As a wire is heated, its resistivity tends to increase. This
effect occurs because atoms that are jiggling more
rapidly are more likely to collide with electrons and slow
their progress through the wire.
• The following table summarizes the four factors that
affect the resistance of a wire.

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 Electric Current, Resistance, and
Semiconductors
• Though Ohm's law is an excellent approximation
for metal wires and the resistors used in electric
circuits, it does not apply to all materials. Materials
known as semiconductors are an important
exception to Ohm's law.
• Elements such as germanium and silicon are
insulators in their pure form. However, when
impurities are added—which is referred to as
doping—these substances can conduct electricity.
Doping produces two types of semiconductors.

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 Electric Current, Resistance, and
Semiconductors
• If a small amount of arsenic is added to
silicon—say, one arsenic atom per million silicon
atoms—the silicon becomes a conductor. The
arsenic-doped silicon conducts electricity because
electrons break free from the arsenic atoms and
move freely through the material.
• Silicon doped in this way is referred to as an
n-type semiconductor because current is carried by
negative (n) electrons.

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 Electric Current, Resistance, and
Semiconductors
• Silicon also becomes a semiconductor when it is
doped with gallium instead of arsenic. In this case,
however, the gallium atoms take electrons from the
silicon atoms, forming positively charged "holes"
that can carry current. Because positive (p) holes
carry the current, this type of material is referred to
as a p-type semiconductor.
• Unlike a typical resistor, a semiconductor has a
lower resistance when its temperature increases.
This is because an increase in temperature makes
it easier for electrons to move, and this produces
more current. The result is a decrease in
resistance.
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 Electric Current, Resistance, and
Semiconductors
• Semiconductors can be used to make a variety of
electronic devices. The simplest semiconducting device,
the diode, consists of a p-type semiconductor joined to an
n-type semiconductor. A diode is shown in the figure
below.

• The basic property of a diode is that it allows current to

flow in one direction, but not the other.
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 Electric Current, Resistance, and
Semiconductors
• For example, when the positive terminal of a
battery is attached to the p-type semiconductor in
an ideal diode, as in the figure below, the current
flows with zero resistance. In this case, we say
that the diode is forward biased.

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 Electric Current, Resistance, and
Semiconductors
• On the other hand, if the positive terminal of a
battery is connected to the n-type semiconductor
of an ideal diode, as in the figure below, no
current flows at all. In this case, we say that the
diode is reverse biased.

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 Electric Current, Resistance, and
Semiconductors
• Because of the one-way nature of diodes, they
find uses in electric circuits.
• One application is the conversion of AC current
(which alternates in direction) to DC current
(which flows in one direction only).
• Another application makes use of the fact that
light is emitted when electrons and holes come
together in a diode. This is the basic process
behind the operation of an LED, light-emitting
diode.

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 Electric Current, Resistance, and
Semiconductors
• Another useful semiconductor device is produced
by making a "sandwich" of three layers of
semiconductors. The most common type of
transistor has an n-type semiconductor on either
side of the sandwich and a thin p-type
semiconductor in the middle, as is shown in the
figure below. This is known as an npn transistor.

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 Electric Current, Resistance, and
Semiconductors
• Transistors can also be made with the opposite
sequence of semiconductors, resulting in a pnp
transistor.
• The basic function of a transistor is to act as an
electronic switch that controls the flow of current
in a circuit.
• Consider the schematic view of an npn transistor
shown in the figure on the next slide. The three
electrodes of the transistor are the collector, the
base, and the emitter. Of these three electrodes,
it is the base that switches on or off the flow of
current through the other two electrodes.
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 Electric Current, Resistance, and
Semiconductors

• You might find it helpful to think of the control of current

by the base electrode as similar to turning a valve in a
large-diameter water pipe. Though it doesn't take much
force to turn the valve, once the valve is opened, a large
volume of water flows through the pipe. Similarly, a small
base current "opens the valve" that allows a large
amount of current to flow from the collector to the
emitter.
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 Electric Current, Resistance, and
Semiconductors
• In a typical transistor, a current I in the base can control the
flow of current of up to 300I through the other two
electrodes. Therefore, any signal with a changing current
that comes into the base electrode is reflected accurately in
a corresponding change in current flowing from the
collector to the emitter—but amplified 300 times.
• The water valve analogy for a transistor is shown in the
figure below.

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 Electric Current, Resistance, and
Semiconductors
• One of the great advantages of transistors is that
a small base current can turn a transistor on, by
allowing current to flow through it, or off, by
preventing the flow of current.
• A device that can switch rapidly is just what's
needed in modern digital computers, whose
language is based on the binary digit (bit), which
takes on the value 1 or 0. Computers represent
these two states by a transistor that is either on
or off.

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 Electric Current, Resistance, and
Semiconductors
• Many transistors are required in a computer.
Most electronic devices today rely on silicon
wafers, called microchips, that contain
thousands of transistors, diodes, and resistors
connected in elaborate circuits.
• These integrated circuits (ICs) are built up layer
by layer on a silicon wafer by depositing specific
patterns of silicon, gallium, and arsenic, and so
on, to produce the desired arrangement of
n-type and p-type semiconductors.

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 Electric Circuits

• Electric circuits often contain a number of

resistors connected in various ways.
• One way resistors can be connected is end to
end. Resistors connected in this way are said to
form a series circuit. The figure below shows
three resistors R1, R2, and R3, connected in
series.

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 Electric Circuits

• The three resistors acting together have the same

effect—that is, they draw the same current—as a single
resistor, which is referred to as the equivalent resistor, Req.
• This equivalence is illustrated in the figure below.

• The equivalent resistor has the same current, I, flowing

through it as each resistor in the original circuit.
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 Electric Circuits

• When resistors are connected in series, the

equivalent resistance is simply the sum of the
individual resistances.
• In our case, with three resistors, we have
Req = R1 + R2 + R3
• In general, the equivalent resistance of resistors
in series is the sum of all the resistances that are
connected together:

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 Electric Circuits

• The equivalent resistance is greater than the

greatest resistance of any individual resistor.
• In general, the more resistors connected in series,
the greater the equivalent resistance.
• For example, the equivalent resistance of a circuit
with two identical resistors, R, connected in series
is Req = R + R = 2R. Thus, connecting two
identical resistors in series produces an equivalent
resistance that is twice the individual resistances.

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 Electric Circuits

• The following example illustrates the functioning

of a series circuit.

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 Electric Circuits

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 Electric Circuits

• Resistors that are connected across the same

potential difference are said to form a parallel
circuit.
• An example of three resistors connected in parallel
is shown the figure below.

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 Electric Circuits

• In a case like this, the electrons have three parallel paths

through which they can flow—like parallel lanes on the
highway.
• The three resistors acting together draw the same current
as a single equivalent resistor, Req, as indicated in the
figure below.

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 Electric Circuits

• When resistors are connected in parallel, the

reciprocal of the equivalent resistance is equal
to the sum of the reciprocals of the individual
resistances. Thus, for our circuit of three
resistors, we have
1/Req = 1/R1 + 1/R2 + 1/R3

• In general, the inverse equivalent resistance is

equal to the sum of all of the individual inverse
resistances:

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 Electric Circuits

• As an example of parallel resistors, consider a

circuit with two identical resistors, R, connected in
parallel. The equivalent resistance in this case is
1/Req = 1/R + 1/R
1/Req = 2/R

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 Electric Circuits

• Solving for the equivalent resistance gives

Req = ½R. Thus, connecting two identical resistors
in parallel produces an equivalent resistance that
is half of the individual resistances.
• A similar calculation shows that three resistors,
R, connected in parallel produces an equivalent
that is one-third of the original resistances,
or Req = ⅓R.
• These results show a clear trend, namely, the
more resistors connected in parallel, the smaller
the equivalent resistance.

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 Electric Circuits

• In general, the equivalent resistance of a parallel

circuit is less than or equal to the smallest
individual resistance. What happens if one of the
individual resistances is zero?
• In this case, the equivalent resistance is also
zero, because Req is less than or equal to the
smallest individual resistance, and a resistance
can't be negative.

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 Electric Circuits

• This situation, referred to as a short circuit, is

illustrated in the figure below. In a short circuit,
all the current flows through the path of zero
resistance.

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 Electric Circuits

• The following example illustrates the functioning

of a parallel circuit.

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Electric Circuits
 Electric Circuits

• The rules that apply for series and parallel resistors can be
applied to a variety of interesting circuits that aren't purely
series or parallel.
• The circuit in the figure below contains a total of four
resistors, each with resistance R, connected in a way that
combines series and parallel features. Because the circuit
is not strictly series or parallel, we can't directly calculate
the equivalent resistance.

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 Electric Circuits

• What we can do, however, is break the circuit into smaller

subcircuits, each of which is purely series or purely parallel.
For example, we first note that the two vertically oriented
resistors on the right are in parallel with one another; hence
they can be replaced with their equivalent resistance R/2.
• The next step is to replace these two resistors with R/2.
This yields the circuit shown below.

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 Electric Circuits

• Notice that this equivalent circuit consists of three

resistors in series, R, ½R, and R. The equivalent
resistance of these resistors is equal to their sum,
Req = R1 + R2 + R3 = 2.5R.
• Therefore, the equivalent resistance of the original
circuit is 2.5R, as indicated in the figure below.

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 Electric Circuits

• By considering the resistors in pairs or groups that

are connected in parallel or in series, you can
reduce the entire circuit to one equivalent circuit.
This method is applied in the following example.

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Electric Circuits
 Electric Circuits

• The current flowing through a circuit, or the potential

difference between two points in a circuit, can be measured
directly with a meter.
• The device used to measure current is an ammeter. An
ammeter is designed to measure the flow of current through
a particular portion of a circuit.
• For example, you might want to know the current flowing
between points A and B in the circuit shown in the figure
below.

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 Electric Circuits

• To measure this current, the ammeter must be

added to the circuit in such a way that all the
current flowing from A to B also flows through the
meter. This is done by connecting the meter in
series with the other circuit elements between A
and B, as is shown in the figure below.

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 Electric Circuits

• If the ammeter has a finite resistance—which is

the case for any real meter—then its presence in
a circuit alters the current it is intended to
measure. Thus, an ideal ammeter would have
zero resistance. Real ammeters, however, give
accurate readings as long as their resistance is
much less than the other resistances in the
circuit.

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 Electric Circuits

• A voltmeter is a device used to measure the

potential difference between any two points in a
circuit. To measure the voltage between two
points, for example, points C and D in the figure
below, the voltmeter is placed in parallel at the
appropriate points.

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 Electric Circuits

• Because a small current must flow through the

voltmeter in order for it to work, the meter reduces
the current flowing through the circuit. As a result,
the measured voltage is altered from its ideal
value. Thus, an ideal voltmeter would have infinite
resistance.
• Real voltmeters give accurate readings as long as
their resistance is much greater than other
resistances in the circuit.

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 Electric Circuits

• Sometimes the functions of an ammeter, a voltmeter,

and an ohmmeter (a meter to measure resistance) are
combined in a single device called a multimeter. An
example of a multimeter is shown in the figure below.

• Adjusting the settings on a multimeter's dial allows a

variety of circuit properties to be measured.
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 Power and Energy in Electric Circuits

• The power delivered by an electric circuit increases

with both the current and the voltage. Increase
either, and the power increases.
• When a ball falls in a gravitational field, there is a
change in gravitational potential energy. Similarly,
when an amount of charge, ΔQ, moves across a
potential difference, V, there is a change in
electrical potential energy, ΔPE, given by
ΔPE = (ΔQ)V

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 Power and Energy in Electric Circuits

• Recalling that power is the rate at which energy

changes, P = ΔE/Δt, we can express the electric
power as follows:
P = ΔE/Δt = (ΔQ)V/Δt
• Knowing that the electric current is given by
I = (ΔQ)/Δt allows us to write an expression for the
electric power in terms of the current and voltage.

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 Power and Energy in Electric Circuits

• Thus, the electric power used by a device is equal

to the current times the voltage. For example, a
current of 1 amp flowing across a potential
difference of 1 V produces a power of 1 W.
• The following example provides another example
of how the electric power is calculated.

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 Power and Energy in Electric Circuits

• The equation P = IV applies to any electrical

system. In the special case of a resistor, the electric
power is dissipated in the form of heat and light, as
shown in the figure, where the electric power
dissipated in an electric space heater.

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 Power and Energy in Electric Circuits

• Applying Ohm's law, V = IR, which deals with resistors,

we can express the power dissipated in a resistor as
follows:
P = IV = I(IR) = I2R
• Similarly, solving Ohm's law for the current, I = V/R, and
substituting that result gives an alternative expression for
the power dissipated in a resistor:
P = IV = (V/R)V = V2/R
• All three equations for power are valid. The first, P = IV,
applies to all electrical systems. The other two
(P = I2R and P = V2/R) are specific to resistors, which is
why the resistance, R, appears in those equations.

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 Power and Energy in Electric Circuits

• The following example shows how currents and

resistances are related.

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 Power and Energy in Electric Circuits

• The power dissipated by a resistor is the result of

collisions between electrons moving through the circuit
and the atoms making up the resistor.
• The potential difference produced by the battery causes
conduction electrons to accelerate until they bounce off
an atom, causing the atoms to jiggle more rapidly.
• The increased kinetic energy of the atoms is reflected as
an increased temperature of the resistor. After each
collision, the potential difference accelerates the
electrons again, and the process repeats. The result is
the continuous transfer of energy from the conducting
electrons to the atoms.

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 Power and Energy in Electric Circuits

• The filament of an incandescent lightbulb is

basically a resistor inside a sealed, evacuated
tube. The filament gets so hot that it glows, just
like the heating coil on a stove or the coils in a
space heater.
• The power dissipated in the filament determines
the brightness of the lightbulb. The higher the
power, the brighter the bulb. This basic concept is
applied in the example on the next slide.

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 Power and Energy in Electric Circuits

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 Power and Energy in Electric Circuits

• The local electric company bills consumers for the

electricity they use each month. To do this, they
use a convenient unit for measuring electric
energy called the kilowatt-hour.
• Recall that a kilowatt is 1000 W, or equivalently,
1000 J/s. Similarly, an hour is 3600 s. Combining
these results, we see that a kilowatt-hour is equal
to 3.6 million joules of energy:
1 kWh = (1000 J/s)(3600 s) = 3.6 x 106 J

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 Power and Energy in Electric Circuits

• The figure below shows the type of meter used

to measure the electrical energy consumption of
a household, as well as the typical bill.

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 Power and Energy in Electric Circuits

• The following example illustrates how the cost of

electrical energy is calculated.

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Power and Energy in Electric Circuits