Lesson 5.

Current

General Physics 2
1/2
Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics
The glow in the
filament of an
incandescent lightbulb
is caused by the
electric current
passing through it.
2
This electrical energy
is transformed into
thermal energy. This
causes the wire to
reach very high
temperatures, making
it glow.
3
Every day, we observe the application of electric
current in several electrical devices.

4
 Electric current exists in conductors such as
wires, semiconductors, and even in human
cells.

In this lesson, we will learn about the motion of

charges and other factors affecting it.

5
How do charges move in a
conductor?

6
 Learning Competencies
At the end of the lesson, you should be able to do the following:

● Distinguish between conventional current and

electron flow (STEM_GP12EMIIId-32).

● Apply the relationship charge = current x time

to new situations or to solve related problems
(STEM_GP12EMIIIe-33).

7
 Learning Competencies
At the end of the lesson, you should be able to do the following:

● Relate the drift velocity of a collection of

charged particles to the electrical current and
current density (STEM_GP12EMIIIe-34).

8
 Learning Competencies
At the end of the lesson, you should be able to do the following:

● Solve problems involving current, resistivity,

resistance, and Ohm’s law in contexts such as,
but not limited to batteries and bulbs,
household wiring, selection of fuses, and
accumulation of surface charge in the junction
between wires made of different materials
(STEM_GP12EMIIIe-44).

9
 Learning Objectives
At the end of the lesson, you should be able to do the following:

● Describe electric current and how charges move in

a conductor.

● Describe the relationship between charge, current,

and time.

10
 Learning Objectives
At the end of the lesson, you should be able to do the following:

● Relate the drift velocity of charged particles to the

electrical current and current density.

● Solve problems involving current.

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Electricity

What examples in real life do you use electricity?

12
 Electric Current

● Any movement of charges from one region to another

is called current.

● Specifically, the electric current is defined as the net

charge flowing through an area per unit time.

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 Electric Current

Consider charges moving in a direction perpendicular to a

cross-sectional area of a wire.

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 Electric Current

In this case, the direction of current is the same as the

flow of positive charges.

15
 Electric Current

In this case, the direction of current is opposite as the flow

of positive charges.

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 Electric Current

In both cases, the average current is mathematically

defined as:

In a general sense, all currents are simply the averages of

the charge passing through an area over time.
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 Electric Current

On the other hand, instantaneous current is the limit of

the average current as the time interval approaches zero.

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 Electric Current

● Electric current has an SI unit of coulomb per second

(C/s) or the ampere (A).

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 Electric Current

● Electric current has an SI unit of coulomb per second

(C/s) or the ampere (A).

● It was named after André-Marie Ampère, a French

physicist and mathematician, who laid the foundations
of electrodynamics, now known as electromagnetism.
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 Electric Current

● Charges flowing through a surface can be positive,

negative, or both.

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 Electric Current

● Charges flowing through a surface can be positive,

negative, or both.

● In metals, moving charges or charge carriers are always

negative.

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 Electric Current

● Charges flowing through a surface can be positive,

negative, or both.

● In metals, moving charges or charge carriers are always

negative.

● In plasma, these charges may include both positively-

and negatively-charged ions.

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 Electric Current

● The conventional current is defined based on the

direction of the flow of positive charges.

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 Electric Current

● The conventional current is defined based on the

direction of the flow of positive charges.

● The opposite of the conventional current is electron

flow.

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What is the difference between
conventional current and
electron flow?

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 Current, Drift Velocity, and Current Density

● Recall that the electric field is zero in a conductor.

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 Current, Drift Velocity, and Current Density

● Recall that the electric field is zero in a conductor.

● However, some of these charges are still moving within

the conductor, such as in the case of ordinary metals.

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 Current, Drift Velocity, and Current Density

● Recall that the electric field is zero in a conductor.

● However, some of these charges are still moving within

the conductor, such as in the case of ordinary metals.

● But since the motion of these electrons is random,

there is no net flow of charge in any specific direction;
hence there is no current.
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How is the drift velocity of
charged particles related to
current and current density?

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 Current, Drift Velocity, and Current Density

Suppose you have a charged particle within a conductor,

without an internal electric field.

How do you think this charge behave?

31
 Current, Drift Velocity, and Current Density

Suppose you have a charged particle within a conductor,

subjected to an internal electric field.

How do you think this charge behave? 32

 Current, Drift Velocity, and Current Density

A charged particle
also moves randomly
and experiences
frequent collisions
with the stationary
ions within the
conductor.

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 Current, Drift Velocity, and Current Density

In each collision, a
charged particle’s
motion also changes.

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 Current, Drift Velocity, and Current Density

There is also a very

slow net motion or
drift of the moving
charges in the
direction of the
steady electric force.
This net motion is
called the drift
velocity, vd, of the
particles. 35
 Current, Drift Velocity, and Current Density

The change in mobile charge dQ

through time can then be
expressed as:

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 Current, Drift Velocity, and Current Density

Substituting this equation to the

formula for instantaneous
current, we have:

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 Current, Drift Velocity, and Current Density

The current density, J, is the

current per unit cross-sectional
area, expressed as:

It has a unit of amperes per

square meter (A/m2).
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 Current, Drift Velocity, and Current Density

Current I and the current

density J does not depend on
the sign of the charge. Hence,
we can say that:

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 Current, Drift Velocity, and Current Density

A vector current density can

also be expressed in terms of
the drift velocity vector as:

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 Current, Drift Velocity, and Current Density

There are no absolute value signs in the equation

because the sign of q affects the direction of the drift
velocity.
● If q is positive, vd moves in the same direction as E.

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 Current, Drift Velocity, and Current Density

There are no absolute value signs in the equation

because the sign of q affects the direction of the drift
velocity.
● If q is positive, vd moves in the same direction as E.
● If q is negative, vd then is in the opposite direction
of E.

42
 Current, Drift Velocity, and Current Density

There are no absolute value signs in the equation

because the sign of q affects the direction of the drift
velocity.
● If q is positive, vd moves in the same direction as E.
● If q is negative, vd then is in the opposite direction
of E.
● In both cases, the direction of J is similar to the
direction of E.

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 Current, Drift Velocity, and Current Density

Superposition Principle
In cases where there are different kinds of moving
charges, concentrations, and magnitudes of drift
velocities involved, the total current can be determined
by adding the current for each charged particle.

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What is the relationship
between drift velocity, current,
and current density?

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 Let’s Practice!

Find the current in the bulb if a 1.85-C charge passes

through the filament of the light bulb in 3.00 s.
Assume that the current is constant throughout the
filament.

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 Let’s Practice!

Find the current in the bulb if a 1.85-C charge passes

through the filament of the light bulb in 3.00 s.
Assume that the current is constant throughout the
filament.

The electric current in the light bulb is 0.62 A.

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Try It!

Find the current in a wire if 5.50 ✕ 1021

electrons pass through a conductor in
3.00 min. (Hint: The charge of an
electron is 1.60 ✕ 10-19 C.)

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 Let’s Practice!

A copper wire has a diameter of 1.20 mm and carries

a steady current of 1.85 A to a 250-W lamp. The free
electron density in the wire is 8.50 ✕ 1028 per cubic
meter. What is the (a) current density and the (b)
magnitude of the drift velocity in the wire?

49
 Let’s Practice!

A copper wire has a diameter of 1.20 mm and carries

a steady current of 1.85 A to a 250-W lamp. The free
electron density in the wire is 8.50 ✕ 1028 per cubic
meter. What is the (a) current density and the (b)
magnitude of the drift velocity in the wire?

The density current is 1.64 ✕ 106 A/m2, while its drift

speed is 1.20 ✕ 10-4 m/s.

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Try It!

An aluminum wire carrying a 10.0-A

current has a cross-sectional area of
4.50 ✕ 10-6 m2. If the free electron
density in the wire is 9.20 ✕ 1030 per
cubic meter, find the current density
and the drift speed in the wire.

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 Let’s Practice!

A copper wire, commonly used in household wirings,

has a diameter of 2.06 mm and carries a current of
15.0 A. Assuming that each copper atom contributes
one free electron to the metal, what is the drift
speed of the electrons in the wire? The density of
copper is 8.92 g/cm3, and its atomic mass is 63.5 u.

52
 Let’s Practice!

A copper wire, commonly used in household wirings,

has a diameter of 2.06 mm and carries a current of
15.0 A. Assuming that each copper atom contributes
one free electron to the metal, what is the drift
speed of the electrons in the wire? The density of
copper is 8.92 g/cm3, and its atomic mass is 63.5 u.

The drift speed of the electrons in the copper wire is

3.32 ✕ 10-4 m/s.
53
Try It!

An aluminum wire carrying a 20.0-A

current has a diameter of 81 mm
(12-gauge aluminum wire). Suppose that
there is one free electron per aluminum
atom, find the magnitude of the drift
speed of the electrons in the wire. The
density of aluminum is 2.7 g/cm3, and its
atomic mass is 26.98 u.
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 Check Your Understanding

Identify the word(s) being described in each

statement.

1. It is the net charge flowing through an area per unit

time.
2. It is the term used in referring to the direction of the
flow of positive charges.
3. It refers to the very slow net motion or drift of the
moving charges towards the steady electric force.
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 Check Your Understanding

Solve the following problems.

1. Find the current in a copper wire connected to a

battery, if a charge of 2.50 C passes through a section of
the wire in 3.5 s.
2. How many electrons flow past through a certain
cross-sectional area of a wire in 5.4 min, if a current of
15.0 mA was measured in the conductor?
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 Check Your Understanding

Solve the following problems.

3. Find the current density in a copper wire used for lamp

cords with a diameter of 1.75 mm and carries a steady
current of 12.5 A to a desk lamp.

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 Let’s Sum It Up!

● Electric current is defined as the net charge

flowing through an area per unit time. It has an SI
unit of coulomb per second (C/s) or the ampere
(A).

● The direction of electric current is the direction of

the flow of positive charges. This is called the
conventional current.
58
 Let’s Sum It Up!

● Drift velocity is the very slow net motion or drift

of moving charges in the direction of the steady
electric force.

● The current density is the current per unit

cross-sectional area. It has a unit of amperes per
square meter (A/m2).

59
 Key Formulas

Concept Formula Description

Use this formula to

Electric Current
solve for the average
where electric current if the
● Iav is the average current amount of charge and
in coulomb per second the time interval are
(C/s or A); given.
● ΔQ is the amount of
charge in coulombs (C),
and
● Δt is the time interval in
seconds (s).
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 Key Formulas

Concept Formula Description

Use this formula to

Electric Current
solve for the
where instantaneous
● I is the instantaneous electric current if the
current in coulomb per net charge and the
second (C/s or A); time are given.
● dQ is net charge that flows
through an area in
coulombs (C), and
● dt is the time in seconds
(s).
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 Key Formulas

Concept Formula Description

Use this formula to

Drift solve for the current
Velocity density if the current
and where
and cross-sectional
● J is the current density in amperes per square
Current meter (A/m2); area are given, or if
Density ● I is the current in coulomb per second (C/s or A); the concentration of
● A is the cross-sectional area of the
particles, the charge of
conductor/wire in square meter (m2);
● n is the concentration of particles in per cubic each particle, and the
meter (/m3); drift speed are given.
● q is the charge of one particle in coulombs (C),
and
● vd is the magnitude of the drift velocity or drift
speed in meters per second (m/s).
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 Key Formulas

Concept Formula Description

Use this formula to

Drift
solve for the
Velocity
where current if the
and
● I is the current in coulomb per second (C/s or concentration of
Current A);
particles, the
Density ● n is the concentration of particles in per cubic
meter (/m3); magnitude of the
● |q| is the magnitude of charge of one particle charge of each
in coulombs (C);
● vd is the magnitude of the drift velocity or
particle, the drift
drift speed in meters per second (m/s), and speed, and the
A is the cross-sectional area of the
●
cross-sectional area
conductor/wire in square meter (m2).
are given.
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Challenge Yourself

What happens to the drift speed if

the current flows from a smaller
diameter wire to a larger diameter,
twice as the smaller one? Assume
that both wires are of the same
material, and the amount of current
flowing through it is constant.
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Bibliography

Faughn, Jerry S. and Raymond A. Serway. Serway’s College Physics (7th ed). Singapore: Brooks/Cole,
2006.

Giancoli, Douglas C. Physics Principles with Applications (7th ed). USA: Pearson Education, 2014.

Halliday, David, Robert Resnick and Kenneth Krane. Fundamentals of Physics (5th ed). USA: Wiley, 2002.

Knight, Randall D. Physics for Scientists and Engineers: A Strategic Approach (4th ed). USA: Pearson
Education, 2017.

65
Bibliography

Serway, Raymond A. and John W. Jewett, Jr. Physics for Scientists and Engineers with Modern Physics
(9th ed). USA: Brooks/Cole, 2014.

Walker, James S. Physics (5th ed). USA: Pearson Education, 2017.

Young, Hugh D., Roger A. Freedman, and A. Lewis Ford. Sears and Zemansky’s University Physics with
Modern Physics (13th ed). USA: Pearson Education, 2012.

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