Mains Electricity

Chapter 6

If on the body of an electric kettle “230V 1.5 kW” is written, it means the
kettle has to be connected to 230V mains supply. Once connected and
switched on, the electric kettle converts 1.5k J of electrical energy into heat
energy per second.

P = VI
Therefore 1500 = 230I
Hence I = 1500/230 = 6.52A
A fuse of 7A can be used.

A 100W bulb converts 100 J of electrical energy into heat and light energy per
second. The 60 W bulb converts 60 J of electrical energy into 60 J of heat and
light energy per second. Therefore the 100 W bulb glows more brightly as it
converts more energy per unit time.

After the switch in a circuit breaker has opened, you do not need to buy
another circuit breaker. The same circuit breaker can be reset and used
again.

The switch of an appliance is placed in the live wire so that when it is open,
no electrical energy can enter into the appliance.

If a hair dryer has double insulation, the outer casing of the hair dryer is made
up of an electric insulator like plastic.
Mains Electricity
Chapter 6

If on the body of an electric kettle “230V 1.5 kW” is written, it means the
kettle has to be connected to 230V mains supply. Once connected and
switched on, the electric kettle converts 1.5k J of electrical energy into heat
energy per second.

P = VI
Therefore 1500 = 230I
Hence I = 1500/230 = 6.52A
A fuse of 7A can be used.

A 100W bulb converts 100 J of electrical energy into heat and light energy per
second. The 60 W bulb converts 60 J of electrical energy into 60 J of heat and
light energy per second. Therefore the 100 W bulb glows more brightly as it
converts more energy per unit time.

After the switch in a circuit breaker has opened, you do not need to buy
another circuit breaker. The same circuit breaker can be reset and used
again.

The switch of an appliance is placed in the live wire so that when it is open,
no electrical energy can enter into the appliance.

If a hair dryer has double insulation, the outer casing of the hair dryer is made
up of an electrical insulator like plastic.
Ch7 Current and Voltage in Circuits

Electrons are the charge carriers in metals. Metals have very large number of free
electrons but plastic has almost no free electrons. Therefore charges (i.e. electrons) are
able to flow through metals but not plastic.

When a 3A of current flows through a heater,

i) a charge of 3 x 1 = 3 C flows through it in 1s;
ii) a charge of 3 x 10 x 60 = 1800 C flows through it in 10 mins;
iii) a charge of 3 x 1 x 60 x 60 =10800 C flows through it in 1 hour;
A complete circuit has a complete path or loop through which charges can flow. An
incomplete circuit has gaps across which charges cannot flow.
A series circuit has one single path or loop for the current to follow. In a parallel
circuit current has more than one path or loop to follow.

A voltmeter is connected across a bulb in order to measure the voltage across the bulb
as shown in the above diagram.

The above diagram shows a voltmeter measuring the voltage of a cell.

Ch8 Electrical Resistance

The current flowing through a wire increases in direct proportion to the

voltage across its ends if the temperature of the wire does not change . That is if the voltage is
increased by a certain factor, the current is also increased by the same factor.

If temperature increases, the number of free electrons increases causing

the resistance of the thermistor to decrease. If the temperature decreases, the number of free
electrons decreases causing the resistance to increase.

An increasingly bright light falling on a light dependent resistor causes

an increasing number of free electrons to form. Hence the resistance of the resistor decreases
accordingly.

A thermistor can be used to measure temperature. The resistance of a thermistor depends on

temperature so that a relationship between temperature and resistance can be established.
Then by measuring the resistance of the thermistor we can find the corresponding
temperature.

The resistance of a light dependent resistor depends on light falling on it. When there is low
light, the resistance of the resistor becomes high. This increase in resistance can be used to
automatically trigger switching on of lights.