Electricity notes

● Electric current is the flow of charge carriers and is measured

in units of amperes (A) or amps
● Charge can be either positive or negative
● When two oppositely charged conductors are connected
together (by a length of wire), charge will flow between the two
conductors, causing a current

Charge can flow between two conductors. The direction of

conventional current in a metal is from positive to negative

● In electrical wires, the current is a flow of electrons

● Electrons are negatively charged; they flow away from the
negative terminal of a cell towards the positive terminal
● Conventional current is defined as the flow of positive charge
from the positive terminal of a cell to the negative terminal
○ This is the opposite to the direction of electron flow, as
conventional current was described before electric
current was really understood
● Current is measured using an ammeter
● Ammeters should always be connected in series with the part
of the circuit you wish to measure the current through

Series circuit components connected one after another; current is

the same in each component

Parallel circuit components are connected side by side and the

current splits into alternative paths and then recombines.

Electric current in a circuit cannot be stored. This means that when

circuits join or divide, the total current going into a junction must
be equal to the total current leaving the junction
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The total p.d. across the components in a series circuit is equal to
the sum of the individual p.d.s across each component. V = V1 +
V2 + V3

The p.d. across devices in parallel in a circuit are equal.

The p.d. across an arrangement of parallel resistance is the same as

the p.d. across one branch.

● Charge, current and time are related by the following equation:

● Where the symbols:

○ Q stands for charge (measured in coulombs, C)
○ I stands for current (measured in amps, A)
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Direct Current (dc)

● Direct current is produced when using dry cells and batteries

(and sometimes generators, although these are usually ac)
○ The electrons flow in one direction only, from the negative
terminal to the positive terminal

Alternating Current (ac)

● Alternating current typically comes from mains electricity and

generators
● It is needed for use in transformers in the National Grid
(covered later in this topic)
○ The direction of electron flow changes direction regularly
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○ A typical frequency for the reversal of ac current in mains
electricity is 50 Hz

Properties of parallel circuits We can summarise the results for

parallel circuits as follows:

(i) the sum of the currents in the branches of a parallel circuit

equals the current entering or leaving the parallel section
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