GENERAL PHYSICS 2
WEEK 1: ELECTRIC FORCE and FIELD
 Discovery if electricity is credited to Greeks.
They observed electric charges and forces
by using an amber. The Greeks found that
after is rubbed with small pieces of animal
fur. The amber can attract small pieces of
dust.
 ELECTRICITY – fundamental form of
energy; natural force of free-flowing
electrons.
 ELECTRIC CHARGE – Fundamental
property of matter. Like charges repel;
opposite charge attracts.
 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN – discovered
electricity using his kite experiment.
 COULOMB’S LAW – by Charles De
Coulomb, it states that the force of
attraction between two charges is
DIRECTLY PROPORTIONAL to the
product of the quantity and INVERSELY
PROPORTIONAL to the distance between
them.
kq 1 q 2
 FORMULA: F = 2 flow through.
r
Where:
 F = Force / Newton, N
 q = Charge/Coulomb, C
 k is coulomb’s constant (8.99x109 N ·
m2/C2);
 ELECTRIC FIELD – a vector quantity in
Volts/meter, V/m.
 DIRECTION OF ELECTRIC FELD –
POSITIVE CHARGE - AWAY; NEGATIVE
CHARGE – TOWARD
 ELECTRIC FLUX – electric field lines
passing through a surface.
ΦE = E⋅A or ΦE = E⋅A cosθ
 GAUSS’ LAW – it asserts that electric flux
through any closed surface is
proportional to the charge inside.
 Φ = q/ε0, where ε0 is the electric permittivity
of free space.
WEEK 2: ELECTRIC POTENTIAL ENERGY
 Electric potential energy is the work required
to transfer a unit positive electric charge from an
infinite distance to a given point against an
electric field.
PEE = kq1q2 / r
 The unit of electric potential energy is Joule, J.
 ELECTRIC POTENTIAL VOLTAGE –
measures the electric potential energy per unit
charge. Unit is Volt, V.
 Capacitors – a device that store electrical
energy in an electric field It has 2 types:
Spherical and Cylindrical capacitor.
 Capacitance – property of a capacitor, and it is
the ability of a component or circuit to collect
and store energy in the form of an electrical
charge. Unit is Farad (F)
 Dielectric – its function is to store charge and
increase capacitance.
WEEK 4: ELECTRIC CURRENT AND CIRCUIT
 Electric Current – the rate of flow of
negative charges or the continuous flow of
electrons in a circuit.
 Symbol of electric current is I, while its unit
is Ampere (A).
 Current is measured in units of charge divided
by time or coulomb per second (C/s) and given
the name Ampere (A) to honor Andrei-Marie
Ampere in his contribution in electromagnetism.
 Formula: I = Q / t
 BATTERIES – the main source of energy that
provides a voltage which allows the current to
 Alessandro Volta – invented and develop the
first battery
 Real Battery – modeled as an emf in series with
an internal resistance.
 Ideal Battery – always maintains a fixed
potential difference (a constant emf)
 RESISTOR – an electrical component that
limits or regulates the flow of electrical current
in an electronic circuit.
 RESISTANCE - a measure of the opposition to
current flow in an electrical circuit in Ohms (Ω)
 Georg Simon Ohm – a German physicist who
studied the relationship between voltage, current
and resistance.
 Ohm’s Law – states that the current through a
conductor is proportional to the voltage across
the conductor.
Units:
 Voltage = Volts, V
 Current = Ampere, A
 Resistance = Ohms, Ω
 Voltmeter measures voltage, ammeter
 measures current, ohmmeter measures
resistance and multi-tester can measure the
three.
 Kirchhoff’s Circuit Laws
a) 1st Law / Junction Rule – states that the
current flowing into a node (or a junction)
must be equal to the current flowing out of it
b) 2nd Law / Loop Rule – The total change in
the electric potential around any closed-
circuit path must be zero.
 CIRCUIT – a closed path that allows electricity
to flow from one point to another.
 Series Circuit – a closed circuit in which the
current follows one path.
a) Its current always remain the same.
b) Voltage divides in parallel (V = IR)
(VT = V1+V2+V3….)
c) Resistance (RT = R1+R2+R3…)
 Parallel Circuit – has two or more paths for
current to flow through.
a) Current divides in parallel
(I = V/R1, V/R2, V/R3)
Total Current (IT = I1+I2+I3….)
b) Voltage remains the same
c) Total Resistance
1 1 1 1
= + + …. .
R T R1 R2 R3
WEEK 5: MAGNETIC FIELD and FORCE
 Magnetic Field – a vector field in the
neighborhood of a magnet, electric current or
changing electric field. Measured in Tesla (T).
 Formula and Units
 Magnetic Force – attraction or repulsion that
arises between electrically charged particles
because of their motion.
𝐹 = 𝑞𝑣𝐵𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜃
Where:
 F = magnetic force in Newton (N)
 q = Charge, Coulomb (C)
 B = Magnetic field in Tesla (T)
 Θ = the angle
 Right Hand Rule – based on the underlying
physics that relates magnetic fields and the
forces that they exert on moving charges.
a) Thumb represents the direction of current
b) Index finger represents the direction of
Magnetic field
c) Middle finger shows the magnetic force
 Curl Right Hand Rule – Finding the direction
of the magnetic force on a moving charge.
Earth’s Magnetic Field
 The largest magnet on Earth is the Earth
itself.
 William Gilbert – proposed that a compass
needle orients along a north - south direction in
response to the Earth’s magnetic field.
 Compass – a device that indicates direction
 The Earth’s North Geographic Pole is its South
Magnetic Pole, while the south geographic pole
is its North Magnetic Pole.
WEEK 7: MAGNETIC INDUCTION
 Electromagnetism – branch of Physics that
deals with the electromagnetic force.
 Hans Christian Oersted (1820) – a Danish
physicist concluded that an electric current
could produce magnetic field using electric
current in a circuit and a compass.
 Magnetic Flux – number of magnetic field
lines passing through a given closed surface.
 FORMULA: Φ = B A cos(θ)
Where:
 Φ = magnetic flux in Weber (Wb)
 B = magnetic field in Tesla (T)
 A = area in square meter (m2)
 θ = the angle.
 Michael Faraday (1831) – hypothesized that a
changing magnetic field is necessary to induce
a current in a nearby circuit. To test his
hypothesis, he made a coil by wrapping a paper
cylinder with wire connected to a galvanometer.
 Faraday confirmed that a moving magnetic
field is necessary for electromagnetic
induction to occur.
Where:
 E = Induced voltage/
emf in Volts (V)
 N = number of loops
 Φ = change in magnetic flux in
Weber (Wb)
 t = change in time in seconds (s)
 Lenz’s Law – by Friedrich Emil Lenz, a
statement that an induced electric current
flow in a direction such that the current
opposes the change that induced it.
 Inductance – a current generated in a
conductor by a changing magnetic field.
Given a symbol L and measured in unit
 called Henry (H) named after Joseph
Henry.
 Voltage and emf – these 2 quantities are
using the same unit which is Volt (V). Their
only difference is that emf is voltage that
produced externally to a conductor,
while an actual voltage is across an
internal component in a circuit.
 Back emf is also called as counter emf.

WEEK 8: AC CIRCUITS AND MACHINES

 Alternating Current (AC) – an electric current
that periodically reverses its direction.
- Commonly used in house and offices.
- Generating and transporting AC is
relatively easy
- Can be converted to and from high voltages
with ease by using transformers.
 Direct Current – defined as a unidirectional
flow of electric charge.
- Commonly produced by solar cells and
batteries.
- Widely used in low current and low voltage
applications.
 Impedance – the effective resistance of an
electric circuit or component to alternating
current.
 Resonance - when one object vibrating at the
same natural frequency as a second object
forces that second object into vibrational
motion.
 LC Circuits is a closed loop with two
elements: Capacitor and Inductor
 Inductors – store energy in form of magnetic
field.
 AC Circuits with CAPACITORS
- Capacitors “conduct” current in proportion
to the rate of voltage change.
- They will pass more current for faster
changing voltages and less current for
slower-changing voltages.
- Reactance in ohms for any capacitor is
inversely proportional to the frequency of
the alternating current.