Lesson 8

Electric Current, Voltage,

and Resistance
Electricity
Do You Understand ?

IS A FORM OF ENERGY
ASSOCIATED WITH THE
FLOW OF ELECTRONS.
Electric Current
Voltage
Resistance
Electric Current
Learn about It! (I)
• When objects with different voltages are
connected and there is a potential difference
between them, this makes charges flow from one
end to another.
• In simplest terms, it is the flow of charge.

• Unit: Ampere (A)

Electric Current
Learn about It! (I)
• 1 ampere = 1 Coulomb
• The coulomb measures charge and the ampere
measures the flow of charge
• 1 coulomb = 6.25 billion of electrons
• Electrons are negatively charged they
flow from the negative terminal to the
positive terminal.
 Voltage (V)It!
Learn about

• Voltage pushes the electric charges to

move from one point to another.
• Unit: Volt (V)
Voltage (V)It!
Learn about

A 9V battery can do:

9 joules of work or energy per
coulomb
Cell is a device used to produce amount of voltage
needed by a material. A group of cells is called a
battery.
The Philippine voltage rating is 220 V. This is the
voltage of our sockets at home.
Resistance (R)It!
Learn about

• Resistance prevent the flow of charge.

• It is a quantity that restricts current. It is
measured in ohms (Ω)
• The greater the resistance, the harder the
current will flow.
• This could result in more waste energy.
Resistance
Learn about It!

• Thickness of wires
• Length of wire
• Conductivity
Conductor
• materials in which charge can flow easily.
Insulator
• materials that prevent the flow of charges.
UnitLearn
of resistance
about It!

• Ohms Ω
• George Simon Ohms
Ohms
LearnLaw
about It!

• Summarizes the relation among the current,

voltage, and resistance.
• The current is directly proportional to the
voltage, and inversely proportional to the
resistance.
Ohms
LearnLaw
about It!

• VOLTAGE
• CURRENT

• RESISTANCE
• CURRENT
 Learn about It!

Ohm’s Law
• Mathematically, Ohm’s law is stated as:

where:
V is voltage in Volts (V)
I is current in amperes (A)
R is resistance in ohms (Ω)
 Ohm’s Law Magic Triangle
Cover the quantity that you will be looking for and
the remaining two variables will be used for solving
what is missing.
 Try it!

A circuit has a resistance of 90 Ω. What

is the voltage across the circuit if the
current is 1.2 A?
 Try it! Solution

A circuit has a resistance of 90 Ω. What is the

voltage across the circuit if the current is 1.2 A?
Step 1 Identify what is required to find in the problem.
You are asked to calculate for the voltage (V).

Step 2 Identify the given in the problem.

The resistance of the circuit, as well as the current
 Try it! Solution

A circuit has a resistance of 90 Ω. What is the

voltage across the circuit if the current is 1.2 A?
Step 3 Write the working equation.

Step 4 Substitute the given values.

Step 5 Find the answer

 Try it!

A light bulb has a resistance of 60 Ω. How much

current does it draw when a voltage of 24 V is
applied across it?
 Try it!

A conductor has a voltage reading of 80 V across

it. If the current in the conductor is 180 A,
calculate its resistance.
 Try it!

A particular resistor has a value of 135

Ω. What is the voltage across the circuit
if the current is 3 A?
 Try it!

A battery has a voltage rating of 40 V. if

the current through the circuit is 180 A,
calculate the total resistance of the
circuit.
Key Points

Voltage is defined as electric potential energy per unit

1 charge. It is measured in volts.

The movement of charged due to difference in voltages is

2 described as current. It is measured in amperes.

Resistance refers to the quantity that restricts current. It is

3 measured in ohms.
Lesson 8.3

Parts of a Circuit
 Learn about It!

Electrical circuit

• A circuit is any path in which current is allowed to

flow.
• Four basic requirements in creating a circuit:
1. energy source
2. connecting wires
3. load
4. switch
 Learn about It!

Electric Components
1. Energy Source
• this provides the necessary potential difference such
that current may flow.

2. Connecting wires
• these wires provide the path wherein the current will
flow.
 Learn about It!

Electric Components

3. Load
• is any device connected to a circuit, and is
powered by the circuit.
• It consumes the energy provided by the
source.
 Learn about It!

Electric Components

4. Switch
• necessary to either cut off or allow the
flow of current within the circuit.
 Open Circuit
Learn about It!

• The electrons cannot flow from

the positive terminal of the
battery to the negative terminal.
• Happens when the switch is off.
• The switch disconnects the wire.
Closed Circuit
Learn about It!

• The electrons can flow from

the positive terminal of the
battery to the negative
terminal.
• Happens when the switch is
on.
• The switch connects the
wire.
Electric
Learn Circuit
about It!Diagrams and Symbols

• When defining a circuit, it is often more useful to

describe it using circuit diagrams.
• Electrical symbol is used to show the electrical
components.
• The electrical component symbols are
independent of what they actually look like in real
life.
Electric
LearnCircuit
about It!Diagrams and Symbols
 Learn about It!

Example of an Electric Circuit Diagram

Electric
Learn Circuit
about It!Diagram using Symbols
Two types
Learn of circuit
about It!

I. SERIES CIRCUIT
Electricity passes only in one direction.
Two types
Learn of circuit
about It!

II. PARALLEL CIRCUIT

Electricity passes in more than one direction.
 Advantages
Let’s Review!
SERIES 1. Same amount of current
is received by all parts of
the circuit
2. All devices are controlled
by just one switch
PARALLEL 1. Devices can be
connected or disconnected
without affecting the other
components of the circuit
2. Each load or device
receives the same amount
of voltage
Disadvantages
1. Batteries do not last long
2. There is only one path for the
flow of electric current, if one
device malfunctions, the others
will not function as well
1. More wires are needed to
construct a parallel connection.
2. Voltage cant be increased
since the resistance decreases in
a parallel circuit
ELECTRICAL SAFETY DEVICES
 1. Overloading
Learn about It!

• Most of the circuit lines in our homes are

connected in parallel.
On parallel circuits, we found out that if more
devices are connected, the overall resistance
of
• Hence, increasing the overall current in
the circuit.
Overloading
Learn about It!

• If the current flowing through a circuit

exceeds the current capacity of the wire,
then the circuit is said to be overloaded.

• Overloaded circuits are very dangerous. On

some occasions, the insulation on the wires
melts due to overloading.
Short Circuit
Learn about It!

• An electrical circuit that allows a current to travel

along an unintended path with no or very low
resistance.

• If the circuit is short, a high current will flow

through the connection which can produce a
high level of temperature.
Short Circuit
Learn about It!

• An example of a short circuit

Overloading and short circuits are part of the
primary causes for household fires in the
Philippines.
Prevention ofIt!
Learn about overloading and short circuits
Prevention ofIt!
Learn about overloading and short circuits

1. Fuse
• In the event that
overloading occurs, the
fuse melts and the
current ceases to flow.
Hence, breaking the
circuit.
 Prevention ofIt!
Learn about overloading and short circuits

2. Circuit breaker

• The mechanism for the

circuit breaker is also similar.
Once the current exceeds the
rating of the circuit breaker,
it immediately breaks the
flow of current.
Prevention ofIt!
Learn about overloading and short circuits

Circuit Breaker and Fuse

• Circuit breaker and fuse are connected series as shown
below.

Three devices connected in parallel with the source.

The fuse is connected in series.
Prevention of It!
Learn about overloading and short circuits

Circuit breaker and Fuse

Examples of fuse and circuit breaker.

Prevention of It!
Learn about overloading and short circuits

3. Grounding
• is simply connecting the case of a
metal appliance to Earth.
• Due to grounding, the current will
pass flow to Earth, and not to
your body.
 Prevention of It!
Learn about overloading and short circuits

4. Double Insulation
• Some appliances do not have ground wires.
• In such appliances, electric shock is prevented
through the means of double insulation.
• In a double-insulated appliance, the internal part
is covered with plastic.
• Thus, a live wire cannot touch the external casing.
Effects
Learnof current
about It! to the human body
Current (A) Effect/s
0.001 Can be felt
0.005 Very Painful
0.010 Causes spasms or sudden
involuntary muscular
contraction
0.015 Loss of muscle control
0.070 Fatal, particularly if current
passes through the heart
Key Points

Overloading refers to the condition wherein the current

flowing in a circuit exceeds the current capacity of the
1 wire. To address the dangers of overloading, circuits are
built with fuses and circuit breakers.

Short circuit occurs when the path of the current in the

2 circuit is shortened causing resistance to decrease that
will result to a surge of current.

Electric shock is prevented through the means of

3 grounding or double insulation.
Key Points

The simple electric circuit is always composed of a load,

1 source, wires and switch.

An electric circuit is defined and described by circuit

2 diagrams.

In illustrating circuit diagrams, circuit symbols are used for

3 load, source, wires and switches.