Electricity

1
Atomic Structure

• An atom has a positively charged nucleus and negatively

charged electrons revolving around it.
• Valence electrons in metals are free to move within the
conductor and constitute an electric current.

Electricity
• The definition of electricity is the flow of charge. Usually
our charges will be carried by free-flowing electrons.
Negatively-charged electrons are loosely held to atoms of
conductive materials. ... A closed circuit of conductive
material provides a path for electrons to continuously
flow.

Electric Potential and Potential Difference

• The electric potential at a point is defined as work done in bringing a unit positive charge from
infinity to that point.
• The potential difference between two points is defined as the difference in electric potentials at
the two given points.

Type of Material
• Conductor
• Non- Conductor
• Semiconductor
• Super Conductor

What is Current?
Electric Current
• Electric current is defined as the rate of flow of negative charges of the conductor. In other
words, the continuous flow of electrons in an electric circuit is called an electric current.
The conducting material consists a large number of free electrons which move from one
atom to the other at random.
• SI Unit - Ampere

Type of Current
• I = Q/T
• Alternate Current
• Direct Current

• In direct current (DC), the electric charge (current) only flows in one direction. Electric
charge in alternating current (AC), on the other hand, changes direction periodically. The
voltage in AC circuits also periodically reverses because the current changes direction.

Ohm’s Law
• Ohm's law is a law that states that the voltage across a
resistor is directly proportional to the current flowing
through the resistance. Ohm's law is named for German
physicist Georg Ohm (1789-1854).
A simple formula, Ohm's law, is used to show the
relationship of current, voltage, and resistance.
Practice Question

• Approximately how much current flows through a 3.3 MΩ resistor across a 30 V source?

(A) 9 μA
(B) 90 μA
(C) 900 μA
(D) 9000 μA
Resistance
• Resistance is a measure of the opposition to current flow
in an electrical circuit. Resistance is measured in ohms,
symbolized by the Greek letter omega (Ω).

• directly proportional to the length of the conductor.

• directly proportional to nature of the conductor.
• directly proportional to the temperature of the conductor.
• inversely proportional to the cross-sectional area of the
conductor.

Series and Parallel Combination

Combination of resistors
• Two resistors are said to be combined in series if they carry the same current.
• Two resistors are said to be combined in parallel if the same potential difference is applied to
them.
• In series, Req=R1+R2
• In parallel, 1/Req= 1/R1+ 1/R2
Practice Question
• To get 2 Ω resistance using only 6 Ω resistors, the number of them required is

(a) 2
(b) 3
(c) 4
(d) 6
Electric Power
• The rate of doing work or rate of consumption of electrical energy is called Electric Power.
• The commercial unit of electrical energy is a kilowatt-hour (kWh).
• 1kWh = 3,600,000J = 3.6×106J

Heating Effect of Current

• Joule’s Law:
• Heat (H) ∝ square of the current (I).
• H ∝ Resistance of the given circuit.
• H ∝ Time (t) for which current flows through the conductor.
Questions
• How much resistance is required to limit the current from a 12 V battery to 3.6 mA?
(A) 3.3 kΩ
(B) 33 kΩ
(C) 2.2 kΩ
(D) 22 kΩ

A wire of length /, made of material resistivity ρ is cut into two equal parts. The resistivity of the two
parts are equal to,
(a) ρ
(b) ρ2
(c) 2 ρ
(d) 4 ρ

Two devices are connected between two points say A and B in parallel. The physical quantity that
will remain the same between the two points is
(a) current
(b) voltage
(c) resistance
(d) None of these

The earth wire of a cable is connected to

(a) the outer metallic body of the appliance
(b) the fuse of the appliance
(c) the filament of the appliance
(d) short circuitry of the appliance

Tungsten is used for the manufacture of the filament of an electric bulb, because
(a) it is a good conductor
(b) it is economical
(c) it is malleable
(d) it has a very high melting point

The device which converts AC to DC is

(a) oscillator
(b) simplifier
(c) rectifier
(d) None of these

Which of the following is a good conductor of heat but a bad conductor of electricity?

(a) Celluloid
(b) Rubber
(c) Asbestos
(d) Mica
Question Answer
1 A
2 A
3 B
4 A
5 D
6 C
7 D