The word electricity instantly brings to our

minds the numerous gadgets like the

computers, light bulbs and electric motors that
make our lives comfortable and convenient.

Current
Electricity
 contents

 Conventional Current and Electron

Flow

 Electromotive Force (E.M.F.)

 Potential Difference

 Resistance

 Chapter Review
current
 conventional current and
electron flow
electric current
 is the rate of flow of charge

Q
I= Q = It
t or

 has a SI unit of ampere (A)

positive negative electron

terminal + - terminal flow

conventional cell
current
lamp
 conventional current and
electron flow
measuring electric current
 measured using an ammeter in
series with the circuit
 electric current must flow into the
ammeter by the positive (‘+’ or red)
terminal and leave by the negative
(‘-’ or black) terminal

(red) + - (black)
electric + -
current
flows in
electric
current
I
flows out

R + -
A
 conventional current and
electron flow

measuring electric current

 since the circuit consists of only one loop, the same
current flows through the circuit; does not matter
where the ammeter is placed on the circuit

+ -
A1 A6
cell
A2 A5
resistor
A3 A4
 conventional current and
electron flow
measuring electric current
 conventional current and
electron flow

measuring electric current

The digital multimeter (DMM) is starting to replace the
ammeter.
 has a wide range of
between a few hundred A
to several A
 can be used for direct
current (D.C.) and
alternating current (A.C.)
 able to read voltage and
resistance too
 conventional current and
electron flow
Think about this!

(1) What is the current flowing in a circuit if the charge

passing each point is 360 C in 2 minutes?

(2) If the current through a heater is 4 A, what

charge passes in 3 minutes?
 electromotive force (e.m.f)
electromotive force (e.m.f.)

 electric current is produced when there is a flow of

charges

 a source of energy (provided by a cell, group of cells or

generator) is needed to enable charges to be pumped or
forced around a circuit
+ -
 electromotive force provides the
pumping action for electric cell
I
current to flow from the positive
terminal to the negative
terminal of the battery
lamp
 electromotive force (e.m.f)

electromotive force (e.m.f.)

The e.m.f. of a cell (or any other electrical source) is equal

to the work done by a source in driving a unit charge around
a complete circuit.
 has a unit of joules per coulomb
cell
(JC-1) or volts (V)
+ -

W
= I very small
Q current
+ -
V
voltmeter
 electromotive force (e.m.f)

cells in series
Consider several sources (cells) arranged in series.

1.5V 1.5V 1.5V

 the connection gives an increased e.m.f. because each

charge gains potential energy from every cell as the
charges pass through the cells
 total e.m.f. is calculated by adding up the individual e.m.f.
 electromotive force (e.m.f)

cells in parallel

Consider several sources (cells) arranged in parallel.

1.5V

 the connection has equal

1.5V
e.m.f. because each charge A B
gains potential energy from
one cell as the charges pass
through the cells 1.5V

combined e.m.f. 1.5 V

 electromotive force (e.m.f)

Think about this!

The e.m.f. of a dry cell is 2.5 V. What is the

energy dissipated by the cell driving 6 C of charge
around a circuit?
 potential difference

Potential difference across a component in a circuit is defined

as the work done to a unit charge through the component.

cell provides
W electrical energy
V=
Q + -

 has a SI unit of volt (V)

 measured using a voltmeter bulb turns electrical
connected across the bulb energy into heat and light
 electric current must flow into
the voltmeter by the positive
(‘+’ or red) terminal and leave
by the negative (‘-’ or black)
terminal V
voltmeter
 potential difference

measuring potential difference

cell
+ -

resistor

+ -
V
voltmeter

To measure the potential difference across a resistor,

the voltmeter is connected in parallel with it
 potential difference
potential difference around a simple circuit
 sum of all the e.m.f.’s of the cells must be equal to the
sum of potential differences across all the components in
the circuit
+ -
1 2

V V V
V1 V2 V3

1 + 2 = V1 + V2 + V3
=
W
e.m.f
e.m.f. & p.d
Q

The electromotive force (e.m.f) of a cell

is defined as the energy transfer (work
done) from non-electrical forms to
electrical form, when one coulomb of
positive charge passes through the
cell. bulb turns electrical
energy into heat and light

V= W p.d.
Q

The potential difference (p.d.) between V

two points in a conductor is the energy voltmeter
converted from electrical to other
forms when 1 coulomb of charge flows
through it.
 resistance

In a circuit, the
size of the current
depends on the
resistance in the
circuit.
Any component of
a circuit resisting
the flow of
electricity is called
a resistor

different types of resistors

 resistance

If a cell is connected to a resistance, the current gets

smaller as the resistance increases.
 resistance

The resistance, R, of a
resistor is the ratio of
the potential difference, R
I
V, across the resistor to
the current, I, flowing
through it.
V

 has a SI unit of ohm ()

V V
R=
I

I R
 resistance
Think about this!

I R

(1) The voltage across a 3 Ω resistance

wire is 6 V. How large is the current? V

(2) What is the resistance of a filament

bulb when a voltage of 3 V across it
causes a current of 0.5 A?
V
(3) Find the voltage across a wire of
resistance 6 Ω carrying a current of 2 A. R
I
 resistance
high and low resistance
All metals have some resistance.

Materials Uses

copper, gold, silver, connecting wires,

Low resistance
aluminium conductors or connectors
tungsten used in light bulbs
nichrome (an alloy of heaters, such as coils of
High resistance nickel and chromium) electric kettles
resistors for radio and
carbon
television sets

 low resistance metals are made thick

 high resistance metals oppose flow of current; a lot of
electrical energy is converted to heat energy
 resistance
rheostats
 are variable resistors used for controlling the size of the
current in a circuit
 are used as brightness controls for lights, volume controls
on radio and television sets
 resistance
rheostats

sliding
brass rod contact current
C

coil of resistance wire

 resistance

determining the resistance of a resistor

+ -

rheostat
unknown resistance
A
R + -

V
+ -
voltmeter
 resistance
factors affecting resistance
Carbon and
Metallic wires Alloys
semiconductors

higher temperature  higher temperature  affected slightly by

larger resistance lower resistance change in temperature

e.g. silicon and e.g. manganin and

e.g. copper
germanium constantan

short thin

long thick

longer wire  larger resistance thicker wire  smaller resistance

(R  l) (R  1/A)
 resistance

factors affecting resistance

 relationship of the proportionality between resistance R
and the length l and cross-sectional area A of a wire

Area A

length l

l
R=
A
 resistance

Think about this!

In an electrical fire, 15 m of copper wire of

resistivity 1.7 x 10-8 Ω m is used as a heating
element. Calculate the resistance of the
copper wire given that its cross-sectional
area is 2.0 x 10-7 m2.
 resistance
factors affecting resistance
  is a constant known as the resistivity of the material of
wire (does not depend on the size or shape of the object)

Material Resistivity / m

silver 1.6 x 10-8

copper 1.7 x 10-8
aluminium 2.8 x 10-8
tungsten 5.5 x 10-8
iron 9.8 x 10-8
manganin 44 x 10-8
constantan 49 x 10-8
mercury 96 x 10-8
nichrome 100 x 10-8
graphite 200 x 10-8
diamond about 1012
polythene about 1016
 Electricity

flows as is driven by is driven by

Current, I Potential difference, V Electromotive

is
force, 

Current = charge / time relate to is

in Resistance = V/I • sum of e.m.f.’s

for cells in series
• conventional current depends on depends on • less than sum of
direction e.m.f.’s for cells
• electric flow in parallel

Effective resistance
Arrangement of
• length resistors:
• cross-sectional area • in series
• temperature • in parallel
 resistance
resistors in series
 since resistors are in series, current I passing through
each resistor is the same
effective
resistance

R1 R2 R3 is I R
I
equivalent
to
V1 V2 V3

V V

Rseries = R1 + R2 + R3
 resistance
resistors in parallel
 since resistors are in parallel, potential difference across
each resistor is the same
I1 R1

effective
R2 resistance
I2
is I R
I
equivalent
I3 R3
to

V
V

1 1 1
Rparallel = + +
R1 R2 R3
 resistance

Ohm’s Law

The current I, passing through a conductor is directly

proportional to the potential difference V, between its
ends, provided that the physical conditions and
temperature remain constant. i.e. I  V

voltage V
= constant R=
current I
 resistance
Ohm’s Law

current/A voltage/V

voltage/V current/A

characteristic graph of I against V and V against I

for a metallic conductor at constant temperature
 resistance
Ohm’s Law
 for any ohmic conductor, resistance can be obtained by
calculating the gradient of the V against I graph

voltage/V

current/A
 Electricity

flows as is driven by is driven by

Current, I Potential difference, V Electromotive

is
force, 

Current = charge / time relate to is

in Resistance = V/I • sum of e.m.f.’s

for cells in series
• conventional current depends on depends on • less than sum of
direction e.m.f.’s for cells
• electric flow in parallel

Effective resistance
Arrangement of
• length resistors:
• cross-sectional area • in series
• temperature • in parallel