01

Chapter

Electric current
01 & Ohm’s law
 Why do all these devices need
electricity to operate, even though
they perform different functions?

1-Electric charge 𝑸 (𝐜)

There are two types of charges:

(1) positive charge, such as a proton.
(2) negative charge, such as an electron.
No charge has been found to be equal to a fraction of the electron's charge,
meaning that charge is quantized (i.e., charge is equal to an integer multiplied by
the charge of an electron).
Where:
𝑸 (𝑸) is quantity of chargs in Coulomb
𝑵 is an integer (𝟎, 𝟏, 𝟐 , 𝟑 … )
𝑵 𝒆 𝒆 is the electron charge

2-Electric current intensity (𝑰)

Electric current intensity

It is the quantity of electric charge that passes through a cross-section of a conductor

in one second.
Measuring unit : Coulomb / second or Ampere

𝑸
𝑰 𝒕
Quick Quiz 1: Consider positive and negative charges moving horizontally
through the four regions shown in Figure. Rank the current in these four
regions from highest to lowest.

3- Potential deference 𝑽

Potential deference

It is the work done to transfer a quantity of electric charge of I coulomb between the
two points.
Measuring unit : Joule / Coulomb or Volt

𝑾
𝑽 𝑸

4- Resistance 𝑹 (𝛀)

Electric resistance
It is the opposition to the flow of electric current
Measuring unit : Ohm
In order to control the intensity of electric current, resistors were invented.
It is logical for resistors to be:
directly proportional to their length 𝑳
inversely proportional to their cross-sectional area 𝑨.
and directly proportional to a material property called resistivity 𝝆𝒆

𝑳
𝑹 = 𝝆𝒆
𝑨

Resistors are made from materials that have higher resistivity 𝝆𝒆 (specific
resistance ) than copper.

The factors affecting the resistivity 𝝆𝒆 (𝝮. 𝐦)

1) The type of the material of the conductor.

2) The temperature of the conductor.

The electric conductivity (𝝈)

It is the reciprocal of the resistivity of the conductor material.

𝟏
𝝈 =
𝝆𝒆

Quick Quiz 2: The figure here shows three cylindrical copper conductors
along with their face areas and lengths.
Rank them according to the current through them, greatest first, when the
same potential difference 𝑽 is placed across their lengths.
 Ohm's law

Ohm's law

At constant temperature, the electric current intensity that passes in a conductor is

directly proportional to the potential difference between its terminals.

𝑽
𝑰 𝑹

Electric power 𝑷 (𝒘)

𝑾 𝑷 𝑽𝟐
𝑷 𝒕 𝑽 𝑰 𝑷 𝑹

Electromotive force e.m.f (𝑽)

Electromotive force
It is the total work done to transfer unit charge throughout the circuit outside
and inside the source.
Quick Quiz 3: A potential difference 𝑽 is connected across a device with
resistance 𝑹, causing current 𝒊 through the device. Rank the following
variations according to the change in the rate at which electrical energy is
converted to thermal energy due to the resistance, greatest change first:
a) 𝑽 is doubled with 𝑹 unchanged.
b) 𝒊 is doubled with 𝑹 unchanged.
c) 𝑹 is doubled with 𝑽 unchanged.
d) 𝑹 is doubled with 𝒊 unchanged.

Quick Quiz 4: If your body resistance is 𝟏𝟎𝟎, 𝟎𝟎𝟎 𝛀, how current will you
experience if you touch the terminals of a 𝟏𝟐−𝑽 battery?

Quick Quiz 5: If your skin is very moist, so that your resistance is only
𝟏𝟎𝟎𝟎 𝛀, and you again touch the battery terminals, how much will you
experience?