Physics tutorial

Terms and Formulas for Electricity

1. Electrostatics

➢ Electric Force
1 𝑄𝑞
𝐹=
4πε0 𝑟 2
➢ Electric Field
1 𝑄
𝐸=
4πε0 𝑟 2
𝐹
𝐸=
𝑞
𝑉
𝐸=
𝑑
Where,
𝜀0 = 8.85 × 10−12 𝐶 2 𝑁 −1 𝑚−2

➢ Electric Potential Energy

△ 𝐸. 𝑃. 𝐸 = 𝑉𝑞

2. Electric Circuit and Domestic Circuit

A. Useful Terms and common apparatus

Terms/apparatus Usage/description
Ammeter Measure current, with very small resistance (R of ideal
ammeter = 0)
Voltmeter Measure voltage, with very large resistance (R of ideal
voltmeter = ∞)
Kilowatt hour meter Measure energy consumed
Electromotive force Voltage supplied by a battery (excluding internal
(e.m.f.) resistance)
Voltage Potential difference across a device
Short circuit/shorted A circuit is connected to a wire (with R = 0) instead of a
device
 Open circuit An incomplete circuit, which does not allow the flow of
current
Direct current circuit (d.c. Circuit with the direction of current is constant
circuit)
Alternating current circuit Circuit with the direction of current is changing over time
(a.c. circuit)
Live wire (brown) Supply of voltage
Neutral wire (Blue) Provide a return pathway for current
(i.e. complete the circuit)
Earth wire (green/yellow) Prevent electric shock by discharging the high voltage
metal casing in case of short circuit
Overload A phenomenon will excess current, may lead to fire
Fuse/Circuit breaker Break the circuit once overloading
Rated value A notation showing the power of a device at a given
voltage
(i.e. “220V, 3000W”)
Ring circuit A circuit with a shape like a ring
- All devices are connected in parallel
Advantage:
- Divide current, so to lower the chance of overloading
- Any faults in particular device will not affect other
devices
- Voltage will not be divided

B. Formulas

➢ Voltage/Potential difference
𝐸
𝑉=
𝑄
➢ Current in a circuit
𝑄
𝐼=
𝑡
➢ Ohm’s law
𝑉 = 𝐼𝑅
➢ Equivalent resistance

• n resistor with resistance 𝑅1 , 𝑅2 , . . . , 𝑅𝑛 are connected in series

𝑅𝑒𝑞 = 𝑅1 + 𝑅2 +. . . +𝑅𝑛
• n resistor with resistance 𝑅1 , 𝑅2 , . . . , 𝑅𝑛 are connected in parallel
1 1 1 1
= + +. . . +
𝑅𝑒𝑞 𝑅1 𝑅2 𝑅𝑛

• In series, Voltage is divided while Current is NOT divided

• In parallel, Current is divided while Voltage is NOT divided

➢ Voltage of a device in a circuit (in series)

𝑅1 𝑅1
𝑉1 = 𝑉= 𝑉
𝑅1 + 𝑅2 +. . . +𝑅𝑛 𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑒𝑡 𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑖𝑠tan𝑐𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑖𝑟𝑐𝑢𝑖𝑡

➢ Voltage supplied by a battery (with internal resistance R)

𝑉 = 𝜀 − 𝐼𝑅
Where,
𝜀 is the e.m.f. of the battery

➢ Relationship between resistance, cross section area and length of wire

𝜌𝑙
𝑅=
𝐴
Where,
𝜌 is called resistivity, which is a constant for a given material, but it will vary for
different materials

➢ Power of a device
𝑉2
𝑃 = 𝑉𝐼 = = 𝐼2𝑅
𝑅
➢ Average value of voltage and current (a.c. circuit)
𝑉𝑝𝑒𝑎𝑘 𝐼𝑝𝑒𝑎𝑘
𝑉𝑎𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑒 = 𝐼𝑎𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑒 =
√2 √2
➢ Average value of power (a.c. circuit)
𝑃𝑝𝑒𝑎𝑘
𝑃𝑎𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑒 =
2
➢ Efficiency
Power output
Efficiency = × 100%
Power input