INSTITUTE OF INTEGRATED ELECTRICAL

ENGINEERS OF THE PHILIPPINES, INC.

PALAWAN CHAPTER

How to Pass the RME Board Exam

Webinar Series

PART 2:
BASICS OF
ELECTRICITY
Outline

1. Definition of Terms
2. Atom Structure
3. Sources and Uses of Electricity
4. Classification of Electrical Materials
5. Charge, Voltage, Current and Resistance
6. Ohm’s Law, Power, Energy
Definition of Terms

ELECTRICITY
- The movement of free
electrons that will
constitute electric current
Definition of Terms

ELECTRICITY
- energy used to run household appliances and
industrial machinery; can produce light, sound
heat and numerous other uses.
Definition of Terms

CURRENT
- flow of electricity through a circuit; either AC or
DC. Expressed in the unit of Ampere (A).

VOLTAGE
- the electrical potential expressed in volts and
also called as electromotive force (emf).

RESISTANCE
- restricts the flow of current. The more
resistance, the less current flows. The unit is
Ohm (Ω).
Definition of Terms

DIRECT CURRENT (DC)

- electric current flowing in one direction. This
type of current is commonly found in industries.

ALTERNATING CURRENT (AC)

- electric current reversing its direction of flow at
regular intervals. This type of current is
commonly found at homes.
Definition of Terms

ELECTRICAL POWER
- the rate of energy transfer and the unit is Watt
(W).

CIRCUIT
- flow of electricity through 2 or more wires from
the supply source to 1 or more outlets and back
to the source.
Definition of Terms

CONDUCTOR
- any substance capable of conveying an electric
current. In the home, copper wire is usually used.

INSULATOR
- material that will not permit the passage of
electricity.
 How is
electricity
transmitted?
Generation-Transmission-
Distribution System
Atom Structure
Atomic Theory

It states that all

matter is made of
electricity.
Matter
- is anything which has weight,
occupies space and is made up of
molecules.

Molecules
- is made up of atoms that are bound
tightly together by strong chemical
bonds.
Atoms
- is the smallest part of the element.

Element
- are the basic building blocks of all
matter.
- ex. silver, copper, gold, tin,
hydrogen, oxygen, etc.
 Parts of an Atom

Proton
- Positive charge

Electron
- Negative charge

Orbit Neutron
- Electrically neutral
Sources and Uses of
Electricity
Sources of Electricity

1. BY FRICTION
Sources of Electricity

2. BY CHEMICAL CONVERSION
Sources of Electricity

3. BY HEAT
Sources of Electricity

4. BY LIGHT
Sources of Electricity

5. BY INDUCTION
Sources of Electricity

6. BY PRESSURE
Uses of Electricity
Light

LAMP BULB
Sound

SPEAKER
BUZZER

CAR HORNS

RADIO
Rotary Motion

STARTER

MOTOR
Linear Motion

ELECTROMAGNET

SOLENOID
Heat

ELECTRIC STOVE

WATER HEATER
 FACTORY
MACHINERY

HOUSEHOLD
APPLIANCES

Power
 Classification of
Electrical Materials
According to the
Number of Valence
Electrons
1. Conductors

• Materials having less than four (4) valence

electrons.
• This allows the flow of current in one or more
directions

Example:
silver, copper, gold,
aluminum, iron, steel,
brass, bronze, mercury,
graphite, concrete
2. Semi-conductors

• Materials having four (4) valence electrons

• Can conduct electricity under some conditions
but not others, making it a good medium for the
control of electrical current.

Example:
germanium, silicon
3. Insulators

• Materials having more than four (4) valence

electrons
• It does not permit the flow of current
• Conductor covering

Example:
glass, rubber, oil, asphalt,
fiberglass, porcelain,
ceramic, quartz, (dry)
cotton, (dry) paper, (dry)
wood, plastic, air, diamond
 Name of Valence
No. of e- No. of p+ No. of n
element Electrons

copper 29 29 34 1

aluminum 13 13 14 3

germanium 32 32 41 4

phosphorus 15 15 16 5
 Charge, Voltage,
Current, Resistance
Electric Charge
• A body is said to be charged, if it has either an
excess or deficit of electrons from its normal
values due to sharing.

Coulomb
• a unit of electric charge
which is equivalent to
6.25 x 1018 electrons or
protons
• Named after the French
physicist, Charles A.
Coulomb

1 electron or proton = 1.6 x 10-19 C

Potential Difference
Potential – the capability of doing work
Volt – unit of potential difference; named after the
Italian physicist, Alessandro C. Volta

W
E=
Q

where:
E = potential difference or
voltage (V)
W = work done (Joule)
Q = charge (Coulomb)
Example

Determine the magnitude of the voltage

required to accelerate an electron to a
kinetic energy of 8 x 10-15 Joules.

−15
W 8 x10
E= = −19
= 50,000V
Q 1.6 x10
Electric Current
• The charge in motion when a potential difference
between two charges forces a third charge to
move.
• Unit is Ampere (A); named after French physicist,
André M. Ampere

Q
I=
t
where:
I = current (Ampere)
Q = charge (coulomb)
t = time (second)
Example

A car battery supplies a current of 50A to

the starter motor. How much charge passes
through the starter in ½ minute?

Q = It
 60 sec 
= 50 0.5 min x 
 1min 

Q = 1,500C
Resistance
• the opposition offered by a substance or body to
the passage through it of an electric current
which converts electric energy into heat.
• unit is Ohm (Ω); named after German physicist,
Georg S. Ohm

L V L 2
R= = 2
=
A A V
where:
R = resistance, ρ = resistivity,
A = cross-sectional area,
L = length, V = volume
Specific Resistance or Resistivity
- the amount of change of resistance in a material
per unit change in temperature.

Circular Mil (CM)

- area of a circle having a diameter (d) of one mil
d = 1 mil
A=d 2 1 inch = 1,000 mils
1MCM = 1,000 CM
Example 1

How many circular mils does a round

copper rod of 0.25 inch diameter has?

 1000mils 
d = 0.25in  = 250mils
 1in 

A = d = (250) = 62,500CM
2 2
Example 2

A copper rod of 10 meters long has a

diameter with 1 inch. If the resistivity of
copper is 10.371 ohms circular-mil per foot,
what is the resistance?
 3.281 ft 
L = 10m  = 32.81 ft
 1m 
d = 1in = 1,000mils
A = d 2 = (1000) = 1,000,000CM
2

L10.371(32.81) −4
R= = = 3.4 x10 ohm
A 1,000,000
Resistors
 COLOR DIGIT MULTIPLIER TOLERANCE
Black 0 1
Brown 1 101
Red 2 102
Orange 3 103
Yellow 4 104
Green 5 105
Blue 6 106
Violet 7 107
Gray 8 108
White 9 109
Bronze (no color) ±20%
Silver 10-2 ±10%
Gold 10-1 ±5%

Bad Boys Race Our Young Girls But Violet Generally Wins
Tolerance
- is the amount (in per cent) by which the actual
ohmic resistance can be different from the color
coded value.

Example
What is the ohmic resistance of a resistor with the
following color bands: brown, black, orange and
gold?
first digit: 1
second digit: 0
multiplier: 103
tolerance: ±5%
ohmic value = 10 x 103 or 10,000 Ω ±5%
Conductance

• Is a measure of the material’s ability to conduct

electric current. It is equal to the reciprocal of
resistance.
• Unit is siemens
1 A
G= =
R L
where: δ = conductivity (siemens/m)
L = length (m)
A = cross-sectional area (m2)
G = conductance (siemens)
R = resistance (Ω)
Example

The resistance of 120 m of wire is 12 Ω.

What is its conductance?

1 1
G= = = 0.0833siemens
R 12
Ohm’s Law
Ohm’s Law

• It states that at constant temperature, the

current flowing in an electric circuit is
directly proportional to the impressed emf
applied to the circuit and inversely
proportional to the equivalent resistance
of the said circuit.
Ohm’s Law

V
I R
where:
V, E = voltage (volt)
I = current (ampere)
R = resistance (ohm)
Example

A circuit has a resistance of 8 Ω. If a

voltmeter connected across its terminals
reads 10 V, how much current is flowing
through the circuit?

V 10
I= = = 1.25 A
R 8
Electrical Power and
Energy
Electrical Power

• the rate of energy transfer

• unit is watt; named after the British Engineer and
Inventor, James Watt.
Electrical Power

P
V I
where:
P = power (watt)
V, E = voltage (volt)
I = current (ampere)
Electrical Power

Given voltage and current:

𝑃 = 𝑉𝐼

Given voltage and resistance:

𝑉2
𝑃=
𝑅

Given current and resistance:

𝑃 = 𝐼2 𝑅
Example

A current of 3 A is used to produce the

microwave radiation in a microwave oven. If
the voltage across the oven is 230 V, how
much power does the oven use?

𝑃 = 𝑉𝐼 = 230 × 3 = 690 𝑊
Example

A 200V lamp has a hot resistance of 400Ω.

what is the power rating in watts of the
lamp?

2 2
V ( 200)
P= = = 100W
R 400
Electrical Energy

• The capacity to do work

W = Pt
where:
W = energy (Joule)
P = power (watt)
t = time (second)
Note: 1 hp = 746 W = 0.746 kW
Example

A 10 hp motor runs at a rated load for 5

hours. How many kWh is consumed?

0.746𝑘𝑊
𝑊 = 𝑃𝑡 = 10ℎ𝑝 5
ℎ𝑝
𝑊 = 37.3𝑘𝑊ℎ
End