Worksheet 8 : Current, Resistance, Ohm’s law

Current (I) is the rate of flow of charge, measured in Amperes (A) or C/s.
𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑
𝐼𝐼 =
𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑

1) Modify this equation for finding average current (Iav) instead of the instantaneous current.

2) Calculate the average current through point P, if 432C of charge flows past P in 2.5 minutes
[Iav=2.88 A]

It can be useful to also consider the speed with which charged particles move through a wire.
Drift velocity (vd) is the very slow, relatively constant, net motion of charge carriers (which are
usually _______________) through a wire in the direction of the electric force.

3) Wait! Constant velocity? But there is an electric force so why don't electrons (or other charge
carriers) accelerate as they travel through a wire? To explore this further, use the marble
board.
• Hold it flat and place all the marbles in the open area.
• Tilt it and watch the marbles move as a group to the bottom. Focus on the group
rather than an individual marble.
a) Do they noticeably accelerate as they move through the nails (hint: NO)? Why not?

b) What is the force that makes the marbles move? What is this force analogous to when
considering electrons flowing through a wire?

c) What are the nails analogous to when considering electrons flowing through a wire? Don’t
just say “resistance,” look inside the wire: what is causing the electrons to have a more
chaotic motion than simply accelerating straight through the wire?
Worksheet 8 Part 1: Current and the flow of charge 2

4) Let’s derive a relationship for the relationship between drift velocity (vd) and current (I) in a
wire, where the wire has cross sectional area A [m2] and a concentration of charge carriers n
[#/m3] each carrying a charge of |q| [C].
To do this, we will look at only a tiny section of the wire and find how much charge passes
through it (dq) per time (dt).

Step 1: What is the volume of the tiny section of wire with length dx and area A.

dV =
Step 2: How many charge carriers (#) exist within the tiny volume of wire we are looking at?
Hint: remember that n is the # of charge carriers per volume.

#=
Step 3: Multiply this number of charge carriers by their individual charge in order to find an
equation for dq, the total charge within the volume.

dq =

Step 4: I = dq/dt, so divide the above by dt to find the relationship with current: I = …

I=
Step 5: Recognize that dx/dt is the speed of the charge carriers. In other words, the drift
velocity!

I = nA|q|vd

5) What is the drift velocity of electrons in a wire with a diameter of 1.00mm if there are
3.6x1025 electrons/m3 and the current is 0.200A? [vd = 4.42x10-2 m/s]
W8 Part 2: Resistivity and Resistance 3

Resistivity (ρ) is a measure of how strongly a material opposes the flow of current. It is
independent of the amount or shape of the material.
• Higher ρ means it is harder for current to flow in the material.
• units = Ohm-metres (Ωm)

The resistivity of a material depends on its TEMPERATURE.

∆ρ = ρo α ∆T α = temperature coefficient of resistivity [oC-1]
ρ = ρo + ∆ρ ρo = resistivity at initial temperature

1) Show how combining these above equations results in the following relationship for
resistivity as a function of temperature:

ρ(Τ) = ρo (1 + α ∆T)

2) Use this function & the table below to fill in the blanks with the term increases or decreases.
Hint, look at the sign of α for metals vs semiconductors. What would a negative α do to your ρ if ∆T was
positive (increase in temperature).
• In general, ρ of metals _____________ as temperature increases.
• In semiconductors, ρ _____________ as temperature increases.

ρ at 20o (standard temperature) α

Material
[Ωm] [oC-1]
Silver 1.59 x 10-8 6.1 x 10-3
Copper 1.724 x 10-8 4.29 x 10-3
Aluminum 2.65 x 10-8 3.8 x 10-3
Tungsten 5.65 x 10-8 4.5 x 10-3
Nickel 6.85 x 10-8 6.41 x 10-3
Iron 9.71 x 10-8 6.41 x 10-3
Platinum 10.5 x 10-8 3.93 x 10-3
Tin 11.0 x 10-8 4.2 x 10-3
Mercury 98.4 x 10-8 8.9 x 10-3
Silicon(1) 0.1-60 -70 x 10-3
Germanium(1) 1 - 500 x 10-3 -50 x 10-3
Table modified from http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/resistivity-conductivity-d_418.html
(1)
These are semiconductors: how they behave depends on the amount of impurities present.

3) What is the resistivity of copper at 30oC? [ρ=1.80x10-8 Ωm]

W8 Part 2: Resistivity and Resistance 4

The resistance R, measured in Ohms (Ω) of an object depends not only on the resistivity of the
material, but on how much of the material is present and the shape of the object.
• Is there a nice wide path for electrons to flow or are they slowed down because their path
is narrow?
• Is the path long and thus difficult to get through or short and thus easier?

4) Use the guiding questions above as well as the units involved to figure out the relationship
between the resistance (R) of a cylindrical object, its resistivity (ρ), its cross sectional area
(A), and its length (L). L

A R=

5) What is the resistance of a 45cm long piece of tungsten wire held at 15oC, if its diameter is
1.5mm? [R=0.0141 Ω]
W8 Part 3: Ohm’s Law 5

Ohm’s Law states that the current flowing through an object is proportional to the voltage
difference across that object, all else held constant (e.g., temperature & pressure). In these
situations, an object’s resistance, R, is constant.

|∆V| = IR
Ohmic resistors are materials which obey Ohm's law reasonably well (R is constant).
Non-ohmic resistors are materials which don't obey Ohm's law well (R varies with current).

Image from: http://sph3u1-0.blogspot.ca/2013/06/jun-4-class-circuits-and-kirchhoffs-laws.html

1) Which of the above components is ohmic for the entire graph shown? ________

2) If we plot voltage on the y-axis, and current on the x-axis, what does the slope of the graph
give us? Hint: Use Ohm’s law to decide. _______________________

3) In which of the above components a-d does the resistance increase with current? ________

From herein, we will assume all resistors used in our class are ohmic unless otherwise stated.

4) Calculate the resistance of a resistor if there is a 18V drop across it while the current through
it is 1.5mA. [1.2x104 Ω]

5) Now the circuit changes, and the same resistor has a 25V drop across it. What is the new
current through the resistor? [2.08 mA]
W8 Part 3: Ohm’s Law 6

Multiple resistors are in series if the current flows sequentially through each component without
changing, that is, without encountering any junctions (places where wires join together).
Multiple resistors are in parallel if the current splits, flows through each component separately,
then rejoins without flowing through any other component. And easy way to check this is to ask:
Is there a complete loop that only contains these two components (no batteries either)? If yes,
they are probably in parallel.

6) In the circuit to the right:

a) Which two resistors are in series?
b) Which two resistors are in parallel?

The equivalent resistance Req of a circuit (or a part of a circuit) is the resistance you would need
to replace all the resistors with ONE resistor in order to maintain the same total current in that
circuit (or part of a circuit).
The equivalent resistance of multiple resistors in series is:

𝑅𝑅𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒 = 𝑅𝑅1 + 𝑅𝑅1 + 𝑅𝑅3+⋯

The equivalent resistance of multiple resistors in parallel is:

1 1 1 1
= + + +⋯
𝑅𝑅𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒 𝑅𝑅1 𝑅𝑅2 𝑅𝑅3
W8 Part 3: Ohm’s Law 7

7) a) Redraw the circuit from question 6 replacing the two resistors in series with an equivalent
resistor, and the two resistors in parallel with an equivalent resistor. You will now have a
diagram with two batteries and 4 resistors.

b) This new circuit now has two resistors in series. Redraw it, replacing these two with an
equivalent resistor

c) Now your circuit should look pretty much like this and you can’t
continue this process any further. Note that your 5.5 Ω resistor may be on
other side of the 9V battery. Why aren’t the 10 Ω and the 8.7 Ω resistors
considered to be in parallel?

d) Why aren’t the 5.5 Ω and the 8.7Ω resistors in series?

e) It is NOT possible to find the equivalent resistance of this entire circuit. However, if we
removed ONE component, it would be possible. Which component would you have to
take out?
W8 Part 3: Ohm’s Law 8

8) Calculate the equivalent resistance of this entire circuit.

a) Show your work by redrawing circuit at least twice with equivalent resistors.
[R1234 = 198 Ω]

b) Find the total current in this circuit, showing all work. [I = 0.12 A]
W8 Part 4: Potential Difference, EMF 9

Potential Difference is the:

• change in potential as you move from A to B: ∆VAB = -VAB = VBA = VB - VA.
• change in potential energy per unit charge, as you move from A to B.

Things that USE energy have a _____________ potential difference when measured in the
direction of current: often called a voltage drop.

Things that SUPPLY energy have a _____________ potential difference, when measured in the
direction of current.

Electromotive force: EMF (ε)

• IS NOT A FORCE!
• Is the potential difference across a power supply (e.g. battery) when no current is drawn.
• In a perfect, or ideal battery, the EMF is the _____________ per charge supplied to the circuit
no matter how much current is flowing.
• In a real, or non-ideal battery, the battery itself uses some of its EMF and so not all of it gets
supplied to the rest of the circuit. We call the amount actually supplied to the circuit the
“_________________” We will discuss this later. [for a hint to fill in blank see question 2 below]

1) If a battery is connected AGAINST the flow of current, it will USE energy, not supply it.
Sketch a two battery circuit in which one the batteries is using rather than supplying
energy (i.e. current goes into + and out of –). The drawings below may help.

Battery supplying energy to circuit Battery using energy

I I

+ –
+ –

Your sketch:

2) What is the difference between the EMF of a battery and its terminal voltage?
W8 Part 5: Pop Quiz 10

Pop Quiz: True or False?

1) Select true or false to the best of your understanding

___a. When a battery no longer works, it is out of charge and must be given new charges before
it can be used again.

___b. A battery can be a source of charge in a circuit. The charge which flows through the circuit
originates in the battery.

___c. Charge becomes used up as it flows through a circuit. The amount of charge which exits a
light bulb is less than the amount which enters the light bulb.

___d. Current travels through circuits at very high speeds. This explains why the light bulb turns
on immediately after the wall switch is flipped.

___e. The local electrical utility company supplies millions and millions of electrons to our
homes every day.

2) Once finished every other module, ask your teacher for the answers to this quiz. Now go
back and for each false statement, rewrite it below in a way that would make physical sense.
Worksheet 8 Additional problems solved on YouTube 11

Current and Resistance

In the laboratory, solid copper rods are used to carry large currents. Current flows from a
sectionwith a diameter of 4.00 cm to a section with a diameter of 1.00 cm.
You measure that the potential difference across a 2.00 m segment of the bigger section of
the rod is 13.4 mV.
a) What is the potential difference across a 1.00 m segment of the smaller section of
therod?
b) Compare the speed of the electrons in the smaller and in the bigger section of the rod.
The resistivity of copper is
ρcopper = 1.69×10-9Ωm.
The number of charge carriers per unit of
volume for copper is
ncopper=8.49×1028 (e-)/m.3

You Tube: http://youtu.be/4I-QvEmOPUc