ELECTRICAL ENERGY

CONCEPT OF ELECTRON FLOW

The structure of an atom shows that an atom is made up of a central nucleus and electrons revolving
round the nucleus through orbits or shells.
Electrons are held to the nucleus by a strong force. If the electrons are tightly held to the nucleus such that
they will not be made free by energy; materials with such atoms are called insulator. E.g.
non-metals. But if the energy emitted makes the electrons free, such materials are called conductors e.g.
metals and carbon (graphite).
The motion of free electrons in a conductor is called electron flow or electric current which constitutes
electricity in an electric circuit.
The flow of electrons in one direction in a circuit is called direct current (DC). If the direction of
electron flow changes regularly, the current is called alternating current (AC).
DIRECTION OF ELECTRON FLOW
Electric current is the flow of negative electrons from the negative terminal of battery to the positive
terminal of the battery. But conventional electric current flows from the positive terminal to the negative
terminal.
CIRCUIT DIAGRAM
A circuit is a diagram representing the pathway of electric current when some electric materials are
connected together. The symbols or signs used for electrical materials are shown below;

ELECTRIC CIRCUITS
This is a loop of wire connected at each end to an energy source e.g. battery. For a circuit to work, it must
be a complete circuit of conducting materials. If it breaks, the electrons cannot complete the whole circuit
and flow stops. When electricity flows through a complete circuit, it produces an electric current.
Convectional Current and the Flow of Electrons

Series and Parallel Circuits

Series Circuits: The parts n series circuits are connected to form one continuous loop. In this case, the
current can flow through all the different components through one path.
Disadvantages of Series Circuit
(i) The current has only one path. If a lamp or component is disconnected or faulty, all the
components will stop working because of a gap in the circuit.
(ii) When there are more lamps in the series circuit, the lamps will be dimmed as the current flows
through each component in turn.
Parallel Circuits
In parallel circuit, each component is connected separately in its own loop from one end of the battery to
the other. This means that, the current can flow in a different path around the circuit. If a component is
faulty, the current can flow through another branch in the circuit.
Advantages of Parallel Circuit
(i) Each component of the circuit works equally well even when more bulbs are connected.
(ii) The total circuit current is the sum of the separate currents in the branches.
(iii) The amount of current in each branch depends on the components of the branches as each
component has a separate resistance to the flow of the current.
A simple Parallel Circuit

Measuring the Electric Current

1 Ammeters
Current is measured in amperes or amps (A). We measure current using an ammeter. An ammeter must
always be connected in series in the circuit. The variable resistance also called rheostat is used to vary
the amount of current in the circuit. When the resistance in the rheostat increased, the ammeter reading is
lower.
In a parallel circuit, several ammeters are needed, one ammeter for every branch. An ammeter must
always be connected in series in the branch to measure the current.
When several ammeters are placed in a parallel circuit, the total current can be measured by adding the
values of each ammeter. For example:

0.9A
0.3A
0.3A 1

0.3A
2

Ammeter in Parallel circuit Ammeter in series circuit

A1= A2 + A3 +A4 A1 = A2 = A3
2. Voltmeters
The energy that the battery gives to the circuit is measured in Volts (V). Voltmeter is used to measure the
voltage. Voltage is a measure of the differences in electrical energy between two parts of a circuit also
known as potential difference (p.d). The higher the voltage, the greater the amount of energy that the
battery transfers.
A voltmeter must be connected in parallel.

HOUSEHOLD WIRING
Household wiring is done in parallel circuits so that if there is a faulty appliance or component then the
rest of the house can still be supplied with electric current.
The electric current that is supplied to our homes can be dangerous as it can shock or even kill if touched.
LIVE, NEUTRAL AND EARTH WIRES
Live wire carries a high voltage into the appliances and is very dangerous.
The Neutral wire carries current back from the appliances to the power station. The voltage in the
neutral wire is lower than the voltage in the live wire.
An Earth wire is connected directly to the metal parts of the casing of an appliance.
If a fault develops and the live wire touches the metal case, then a large current flows to the earth wire.
The surge current will cause the fuse to melt. But if the appliance is not earthed, the current can flow
through a person touching the case causing injury (shock) or even death.
Nowadays, most appliances have plastic case which is an insulator and this do not need earth wire.
Wiring of a Fused Plug

Fuses and Circuit Breakers

Fuse: This is a safety device in an appliance made of a thin piece of wire that is inclined in a circuit. It is
made up of tin lead alloy which has a low melting point.
Fuses have ratings e.g. 3A – Fuse, 5A – Fuse and 30A – Fuse. The wire melts (becomes hot and melts)
when an electric current that is too high tries to flow through the fuse. This can happen when there is a
fault in the appliance. This will break the circuit by cutting off current flow.
The Circuit Breaker contains an electromagnet which makes the contact points separate when current
exceeds the rated value of the circuit breaker. The circuit breaker acts as a safety device just like a fuse. It
protects an electric circuit from damage caused by overload. One other advantage is that it can be reset be
pressing a button but fuse cannot be reset that way, the fuse – wire must be replaced.
Reading an Electric Meter
The electric meters in our homes measure the amount of electricity the households use. This is used to
produce the bills. The use of electric energy is shown on the meter as kilowatts – hour (Kwh). That is one
kilowatt – hour is the electric energy used by 1 Kw appliance in one hour.
Total amount of energy is:
*Energy = Power x Time
(Joules) (J) = (watt) (w) (second) (s)
Worked examples on calculating the cost of electricity
1. A 2000W electric heater is used for 10 hours. What is the cost at ₦6.00 per kWh?
Solution:
Energy used (kWh) = power (kW) x time (hours)
= 2 kW x 10 hours
= 20 kWh
Cost at ₦6.00 per kWh x 6.00 = ₦120.00
2. In 1 minute how much energy does a 100 W electric bulb transfers?
Energy = Power x time
POWER = 100WATT
TIME= 1 MINUTES = 60 SECONDS
WORK DONE = POWER X TIME
100 X 60 =6000 J
3. Gravriel watches Television 4 hours every day for 30 days. If the power rating of the TV is 75
watt, what is the cost of watching that T V at the end of the month if the unit cost of electricity
is 100 naira per kilowatt.
Power rating of TV= 75 watt
If 1000w= 1kw
75 watt= 0.075kw
For watching TV for 4hour every day 0.075 x 4= 0.3kwh units of energy is used
Daily.
For watching the TV for 4hours daily for 30 days, 0.3 x30= 9kwh units of energy is used.
If 1kwh -100 naira, the total cost of watching that TV 4 hours daily for 30 days will be:
N100 x9kwh = N900
Assignment
1. Two or more cells when connected in series make a______
A. battery B. circuit C. terminal D. resistor
2. Inside cell positive terminal is made of_______
A. zinc case B. graphite rod C. carbon D. manganese
3. A positive terminal and a negative terminal are present in a______
A. cell B. battery C. circuit D. bulb
4. The chemical reactions which take place inside a cell provides_______
A. heat B. energy C. product D. resistor
5. The instrument which is used to measure electric current is called_____
6. In a lighted bulb there is a flow of electrons in_______
A. filament B. socket C. glass D. holder
7. The path along which electric current flows is called_______
8. Ammeter should be connected in_______ to measure current flow in circuit
9. The current which flows through each component of a series circuit is______
A. same B. different C. greater D. lesser
10. There are approximately 90 million households that use TVs in the United States. Each TV uses
an average of 5watt of power and is turned on for 6.0 hours a day.
If electrical energy costs ₦0.11 per KWh, how much money is spent every day in keeping 90
million TVs turned on?