1.

One of the main advantages of electricity is that it can be moved

with comparative ease from one place to another through electric
circuits
Describe the behaviour of electrostatic charges and the properties of
the fields associated with them

Electric charge is a property of electrons and protons by which they exert

electric forces on one another
Protons carry a positive charge, while electrons carry a negative charge. The positive
charge on a proton is equal in magnitude to the negative charge on an electron
Normally, an atom has an equal number of electrons and protons and are thus
neutral. However, it is possible for a body to lose or gain electrons
If a body has an excess of electrons, it is negatively charged. If it has a deficiency
of electrons it is positively charged
A charge on a body due to an excess or deficiency of electrons is called an
electrostatic charge
It is always electrons gained or lost by an atom, as the protons are strongly bound in
the nuclei

Define the unit of electric charge as the coulomb

The SI unit of electric charge is the coulomb (C).

It is the charge transported by a constant current of one ampere in one second

1 coulomb = the charge on

6.25 1018 electrons

The charge on 1 electron =

1.60 10

19

Define the electric field as a field of force with a field strength equal to
the force per unit charge at that point

An electric field is a field of force generated by electric charges with a field

strength equal to the force per unit charge at that point
The term field refers to a quantity that has a value for each point in space and time
The strength of an electric field at a point in space is defined as the force that a
positive 1 coulomb (+ 1C) test charge would experience if placed at that point. The SI
unit of electric field strength is the newton coulomb-1 (N C-1)

This is represented by the formula

E=

F
q

E = field strength (newtons per coulomb), q = charge (coulomb), F = force

(newtons)

From this it can be derived that

F=qE

This shows that the force that a charge experiences is proportional to its
magnitude
The direction of an electric field at a point is defined as the direction of the force that
acts on a positive 1 coulomb (+1C) test charge
For a positive point charge, the direction of the field is outward from the charge
For a negative point charge, the direction of the field is towards the charge

When there is more than one point charge producing an electric field, the resulting
field is the sum of the fields generated by each particle
In these resulting fields, there are points where the field lines completely cancel each
other and the electric field strength is zero called null points.

Define electric current as the rate at which charge flows

(coulombs/second or amperes) under the influence of an electric field

Electric current is the rate at which charge flows past a given point under
the influence of an electric field. The moving charges are called charge
carriers.
Current (I) is related to the charge (Q) that flows past a point within a certain time (t)
as follows:

I=

q
t

The SI unit of electric current is the ampere (A). A current of one amp is equal to the
flow of one coulomb of charge per second
Before it had been proven that the charge carriers were negatively charged electrons,
the direction of current was considered to be from the positive to the negative
terminal of the power supply. This is called conventional current direction. When
the current direction is marked in a circuit diagram, the convention current direction
is always used

Describe electric potential difference (voltage) between two points as

the change in potential energy per unit charge moving from one point
to another

An electric charge placed in an electric field has electric potential energy the
stored energy that a body has due its position within an electric field
A positive charge in an electric field will experience a force in the direction of the
field. If the charge is free to move, it will move in the direction of the field, converting
its electric potential energy to kinetic energy

To move the positive charge in the opposite direction against the field, work must be
done on it by an external force, increasing its electric potential energy
Electrical potential difference between two points is the change in potential
energy per unit charge moving between the two points or is a measure of
the work done by an electric field in moving one coulomb of charge between
the two points

V=

W
q

V = voltage/potential difference, W = change in potential energy or work done, q

= charge

Discuss how potential difference changes around a DC circuit

Potential difference across a resistor:

In a resistor, electric potential energy is converted into heat energy. The electrical
potential energy is said to be dissipated
The potential difference is the number of joules of potential energy dissipated by
each coulomb of charge that passes through the resistor
Potential difference across a power supply:
The potential difference across a power supply is the number of joules of electric
potential energy given to each coulomb of charge that passes through it
The power supply gives the electric charge that passes through it electric
potential energy by doing work on it

Identify that current can either be direct with the net flow of charge
carriers moving in one direction or alternating with the charge carriers
moving backwards and forwards periodically

A metal conducts an electric current by the movement of free electrons, which are
electrons in a metal that are detached from their atoms and are free to
move through the metal
The atoms that lose electrons become positively charged ions, and form a lattice
through which the free electrons can move freely
It is these free electrons that are the charge carriers
The free electrons are in constant random motion. Each electron collides with the
positive ions and changes direction. However there is no net movement of electrons
and hence no current
If there is an electric field in the metal, there will be a net movement in the opposite
direction of the field superimposed on the random movement of free electrons. This is
called electron drift.
Current can either be:
DC (direct current): the charge carriers move continuously in one direction
AC (alternating current): the terminals periodically change their polarities,
changing the direction of the electric field and as such the charge carriers move
backwards and forwards periodically

Identify the difference between conductors and insulators

A conductor is a material that allows the flow of electrical current in one or more
directions. They contain movable charged particles (charge carriers) to allow for the
flow of charge which is necessary for electric current

An insulator is a material which has a very high resistance to the flow of electric
current, as it consists of no charge carriers

Define resistance as the ratio of voltage to current for a particular

conductor

Resistance is a measure of the difficulty of moving a charge through an object.

Ohms Law:
The current through a conductor between two points is directly proportional to the
potential difference across the two points :

VI

This is expressed by:

V =IR

Ohms Law applies only to resistors with a constant resistance for all current
(ohmic resistor)
The SI unit of resistance is the ohm ( )

Describe qualitatively how each of the following affects the movement

of electricity
Length of wire:
The longer the wire, the greater the chance of a collision of a free election with
the ions in the lattice and hence the higher the resistance
Cross-sectional area:
The smaller the cross-sectional area, the greater the chance of a collision of a free
election with an ion in the lattice and therefore a higher resistance
The resistance of a wire is inversely proportional to the area of the cross section
Type of material:
Resistance is affected by how tightly the electrons are bound, which is different
for each material
The chance of collision of a free electron and an ion in the lattice depends on the
material
Temperature:
When the temperature is increased, the ions in the lattice vibrate with greater
amplitude. This increases the chance of collision between a free electron and an
ion in the lattice
Therefore, increasing temperature increases resistance

Compare parallel and series circuits

Series circuits:
The current that flows through series components is always equal because the
current must flow through each part sequentially
ITOTAL = I1 = I2 = I3 =
The potential energy loss across each resistor in a series circuit is split
between them. Resistors with a greater resistance will have greater voltage drops.
The potential energy lost by each coulomb of charge in the resistors is equal to
the voltage of the power supply
VTOTAL = V1 + V2 + V3
The total resistance of resistors connected in series is equal to the sum of the
resistance of each one
RTOTAL = R1 + R2 + R3
Parallel circuits:

The current through the power supply divides across each component based on
the resistance of each component. Greater current will flow through the
components with lower resistance
ITOTAL = I1 + I2 + I3 +
The voltage drop across each branch is equal to the voltage drop across the
power supply
VTOTAL = V1 = V2 = V3 =
The total resistance of resistors connected in parallel is equivalent to a single
resistor where:

1
1 1 1
= + + +
R E R1 R2 R 3

Identify uses of ammeters and voltmeters

An ammeter is an instrument used to measure the electric current in an electric

circuit
A voltmeter is used to measure the potential difference across components of a
circuit

Explain why ammeters and voltmeters are connected differently in a

circuit

An ammeter is connected in series, since components in series have the same

current flowing through them. It has a very low resistance, meaning it will not
significant change the voltages in the circuit
A voltmeter is connected in parallel to the component. This is because circuit
components connected in parallel with each other always have the same voltage
across them. Voltmeters have a very high resistance, meaning they dont alter the
current that much

Explain that power is the rate at which energy is transformed from one
form to another

Power is the rate at which energy is transformed from one form to another. It is given
by the formula:

P=

W
t

P = power, W = energy transformed, t = time

The SI unit of power is the watt (W). One watt is the same as one joule second-1

Identify the relationship between power, potential difference and

current

The electrical power (P) available to any circuit component is equal to the product of
the current (I) that passes through the component and the voltage across it (V):

P=IV

Identify that the total amount of energy used depends on the length of
time the current is flowing

The total amount of energy used depends on the length of time the current is flowing
If the current passes for time, t, the energy, W, dissipated is:

W =Pt =VIt

Explain why the kilowatt-hour is used to measure electrical energy

consumption rather than the joule

A kilowatt-hour (kW-h) is a unit of energy equal to the amount of energy used by a

1 kW device in 1 hour and is equivalent to 3.6 x 10 6 J
To calculate energy in kW-h:

E=Pt = powerkilowatts timehours

When calculating energy costs for the household, the joule is too small and
impractical of a unit

Describe the behaviour of the magnetic poles of bar magnets when they
are close together

All magnets have two regions called poles

As far as we know, magnetic poles always come in north-south pairs and single poles
do not exist
The north-seeking pole of a magnet is that end of the magnet which faces the Earth's
magnetic North Pole when the magnet is free to rotate
If two magnets are brought close together they exert forces on one another:
Like magnetic poles repel one another and unlike poles attract one another

Define the direction of a magnetic field at a point as the direction of

force on a very small north magnetic pole when placed at that point

A magnetic field is a force field surrounding a magnet that exerts forces of

attraction or repulsion on other magnets placed in the field
Magnetic fields are represented by field lines which run from north to south
The direction of a magnetic field at any point is the direction of the force on a very
small magnetic north pole placed at that point
A compass is simply a freely suspended magnet. When it is placed in a magnetic
field, the forces on the north and south poles cause the compass to rotate until the
north pole of the compass is tangential to the field lines

Describe
magnetic field around pairs of magnetic poles

the

Magnetic field are represented by magnetic field lines:

Magnetic field lines start at north poles and end at south poles
The direction of the magnetic field lines shows the direction of the magnetic field
The spacing of the magnetic field lines shows the strength of the magnetic field.
The closer the lines the stronger the field

Describe the production of a magnetic field by an electric current in a

straight current-carrying conductor and describe how the right hand
grip rule can determine the direction of current and field lines

Hans Christian Oersted in 1821 showed that when current passes through a wire,
a magnetic field appears around the wire
The magnetic field produced by a current in a wire can be represented as concentric
circles around the wire
The direction of the magnetic field is given by the right-hand grip rule.
Grip the wire with the right hand, with the thumb pointing in the direction of the
conventional current and the fingers will curl around the wire in the direction of
the magnetic field
The direction of conventional current is in the opposite direction to the
direction of electron flow in the conductor

In diagrams, an is used for current flowing into the page.

An is used for current flowing out of the page

Compare the nature and generation of magnetic fields by solenoids and

a bar magnet

A solenoid is a wire wound into a tightly packed helix which produces a

uniform magnetic field when an electric current passes through it
A solenoid with an iron core is an electromagnet. If an iron core is placed in a
solenoid, the iron becomes magnetised and intensifies the solenoids magnetic field
When a magnetic field is produced by a solenoid, the magnetic field is similar to the
magnetic field surrounding a bar magnet. However, the lines do not stop at the ends
of the solenoid but pass through the inside as parallel lines. The lines of the magnetic
field form closed loops

Determining the magnetic field around a solenoid:

The right hand grip rule can still be used
The thumb points towards the north-pole of the magnet and the fingers
curl in the direction of the conventional current