CURRENT ELECTRICITY

Current is the flow of charge

In current electricity the charge moves around a
complete path – from a point back to the
same point.
The complete path is known as the circuit
In order for a current to flow you need
- A source of power or energy
- A complete circuit
Power can be provided by
- A cell
- A battery (several cells joined together)
- A generator
- A plug socket from a central power source
The circuit can be made open (not complete) or
closed (complete) by having a switch.
When drawing circuits we use circuit symbols.
+ -
cell

+ _ + - + -
battery
Switch (open)

lamp
• Resistor

• A Ammeter

• V Voltmeter
•
A circuit is like a central heating
system in a house:
There is a pump that
low pressure Boiler High pressure pushes water round
and the system. The water
pump everywhere starts to
move AT THE SAME
TIME.

radiator There are pipes that

CARRY the water.

flow of In the pipes the water

water is FLOWING.

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An electrical circuit is very similar to a central
heating system.
The bulb in the circuit is like a radiator. An electrical
device uses electrical energy supplied by the circuit.
Instead of a flow
of water, electricity
flows in an
electrical circuit.
The wires are like
pipes; they carry
the electricity
(called current)
round the circuit.

The electrical current is pushed by the battery, which has the

same function as the pump and boiler.
The strength of push provided by the battery is called its voltage.
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The ‘push’ or ability to provide energy of an
electrical power source is known as the
voltage.
It is measured in volts (V)
It is measured using a voltmeter
Current always flows from positive to negative.
Current Flow
When we talk about current flowing we say that
current flows out of the positive terminal of the cell
and back into the negative terminal.
What do we call this flow? Conventional Current
In 1897 J J Thompson discovered electrons and
people realised that it was moving electrons
that caused most currents.
Electrons move from negative to positive.
Electron Flow
However, the electrons flow from the negative side of
the battery to the positive side. These are the particles
which are actually moving through the conductor.
Conventional current and Electron flow
What
Whenwill
charge
do
electrons
two
a positive
negative
do were
electrons
anddiscovered,
charges
a negative
have?
do physicists worked out
ifwhat
charge
placed
was
donear
really
to each
tohappening.
each
other?
other? Negative
They will repel
attracteach
eachother.
other.
Negatively charged electrons are repelled out of the
negative terminal of the cell. They then travel round the
circuit and are attracted back to the positive terminal.

Conventional Conventional
current electrons current

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The magnitude of a current is measured using
an ammeter
The unit for current is the ampere
This is usually called the amp (A)
Some substances allow electricity to pass
through them
They are known as ELECTRICAL CONDUCTORS
Some substances do not allow electricity to pass
through them
They are known as ELECTRICAL INSULATORS
Activity To find out which substances are
insulators and which are conductors.
Method; Set up the circuit below and place the
different substances between X and Y.
Observe whether a current is flowing or not by
seeing if the lamp lights.
X Y
Substance Lamp lights
Copper
Iron
Aluminium
Wood
Plastic
Metals are good conductors of electricity.
Electron flow

Electricity in wires is a flow of electrons along the wire.

What do we call this flow of electrons? Electrical current

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Plastics, wood, glass etc are insulators.
Electrical wires in your house are made of
copper to carry the electric current and plastic
which surrounds the copper and stops the
current moving between wires or into other
objects or people
A resistor is a component put in a circuit to
make the current smaller
A variable resistor allows you to control the
current.
The resistance of a resistor is measured in ohms
The symbol for an ohm is Ω
A buzzer makes a sound when a current goes
through it.
When all the components follow each other the
circuit is known is a series circuit
When cells are added in series the voltages add
up.
Make sure that you always put them in the same
direction – positive must be next to negative
The bigger the voltage the bigger the current.
+ -
1.5.V

+ _ + - + -
4.5 V
When all the components in a circuit are in
series the same current flows through all of
them.
Measuring current I

In a series circuit the current is the same

…and
The
What Set
whereverup
then
current
do the
you
you
is circuit
measure
record
notice
the the
same shown
aboutforit.
current
the
eachusing an
readings?
ammeter.
ammeter inbelow……
the places shown below.
When measuring current ammeters are always
placed in series.

A A

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Because it is harder for the current to go
through two resistors than one the resistance
of two resistors is greater than one.
The current will be less.
The lights will be dimmer than if there was one
light.
When components are placed side by side we
say that the components are in a parallel
circuit.
Parallel circuits

A B

A parallel circuit is one which contains a point (a

junction) where the current can SPLIT (point A) or
JOIN (point B). This means that there is MORE than
one path around the circuit.

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Each lamp is attached to the positive and
negative side of the cell.
They both have the same voltage across them
and so have the same current as if they were
alone in the circuit.
Set up the two circuits shown:

A.
BRIGHTER

B.
DIMMER

What
In do
happens
which The
Series
we
Parallel
In circuit
call
other
circuit ifare
Circuit
circuit
you
Circuit
circuit
Athe
bulb
the
unscrew
B?
A?
stays
goes
bulbsthe
bulbs out.
lit.
are
a
onebulb
the
bulb
inbrightest.
circuit
in Circuit
brightest? B? A?
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