Secondary

Education

Measuring current and

Current and
voltage to get resistance

Resistance
Current Resistance To measure
current in a
An electric current Every part of an electric circuit series circuit,
(I) is a flow of has resistance. A component’s an ammeter
Increasing resistance
electrons in a circuit. ‘resistance’ is a measure of must be
It is measured in how well electric charge flows Longer wires have connected To measure voltage in
amperes or amps (A). through it. Higher resistance higher resistance. in series a particular bit of the
means it is harder for the anywhere in circuit, a voltmeter must
1 amp of current charge to flow through. the circuit. be connected across the
has flowed when 1
coulomb of charge has You can control the component, in parallel.
passed in 1 second. resistance by controlling the
A coulomb of charge amount of current or voltage A resistance of
Increasing resistance
Voltage V 1 ohm (Ω) needs
is a lot of electrons – reaching different parts of Resistance = R= 1 volt to drive a
6.241 x 1018 electrons. the circuit. Thinner wires have Current I
higher resistance. current of 1 amp
through it.

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