Electrical Quantities (2)

Current

• When free electrons drift in one direction, there will be current.

• Free electrons will only move when there is a power source like
battery.
 Size of Current
• The size of the current is dependent
on the number of electrons moving
and how fast they are moving.
• Electric current is measured in
amperes or amps (A) and the
symbol is I.
Current is the same at
• An ammeter is used to measure
any point of the series
circuit current in an electrical circuit and
must be connected in series to the
position where the current is to be
measured.
Coulomb and Current

•  
Questions

1. A charge of 120 C flows for 4 minutes. What is the current?

2. A charge of 60 C produces a current of 0.5 A. How long does it
take?
 • Electrons flow from negative to
positive.
• The current flow from positive to
negative.

Current and
Electron Flow
Electromotive Force
• Each battery has its own push of
electrical charge depending on
the battery.
• The push is electromotive force (e.
m.f.) measured in volts where it
indicate how much energy it can
supply to drive the charge around
a complete circuit.
Potential Difference

• Imagine in a series circuit that the flow of electrons is travelling constantly.

• The each electrons is carrying the energy supplied from the battery.
• When they reach a component, for example a lamp, part of the energy is being
transferred to the lamp.
• The energy transferred/loss is known as potential difference measured in volts.
• Potential difference is known as energy transferred per unit charge.
Measuring
Electricity
Resistance

• All components in an electrical circuit have resistance to the

current.
• When more components are added to the series circuit, the
current will be reduced (like roadblocks).
• Following this equation:
V=IR
• Where, V = potential difference (V)
• I = current (A)
• R = resistance (Ω)
Measuring Resistance

• The resistance can be calculated using ohm’s law:

R = V/I
• Both potential difference and current needs to be determined in
the circuit to check the resistance.
• Question: A lamp has a potential difference of 3.0 V across it and a
current of 0.5 A in it. What is the resistance?
Changing
Resistance
• When a current increases
through a resistor, the
potential difference will
increase proportionally.
• But when current
increases through a
filament lamp, the
potential difference
increase but Ohm’s law is
not obeyed.
Different in Non-Ohmic Resistance

• When the current increases, the temperature rises and the particles
in the conductor vibrates more.
• The electrons will hit the particles more causing more resistance.
• Hence, increasing the current does not significantly increase the
potential difference.
 Resistance
• The resistance of a conductor is
directly proportional to length.
• Longer wire means more
collision of electrons will
happen with the metal ions.
• The resistance is inversely
proportional to the cross-
sectional area.
• The thicker wire will allow more
electrons to carry the charge
through same distance of wire.
Electrical Power

• All electrical equipment has a power rating

and the unit is in watt (W).
• Electric kettles have ratings of about 2 kW.
• Power is the product of voltage and current:
P=VxI
• P = Power (W)
• V = Voltage (V)
• I = Current (A)
• The unit of power can also be in J/s
Electrical Energy

• Now, if you know that the electric kettle has a power rating of 2 kW,
how much electricity is used for switching it on for 5 minutes?
• Electrical energy usage can be calculated when you multiply
Power with Time
E=Pxt
• E = Energy (J)
• P = Power (W)
• t = time (s)
• That is why electrical energy sometimes are calculated as kWh
Questions
1. A lamp has a potential difference of 3.0 V across it and a current
of 0.5 in it. What is its resistance?
2. The area of cross-section of a resistor A is x. Resistor B is made of
the same material, but its area of cross-section is 3x. The resistance
of A is R. What is the resistance of B?
3. A 25 W lamp is designed to be used with a voltage of 230 V.
Calculate the current in it.
4. A bulb runs on a voltage of 110 V and has a current of 0.1 A in it. It
transfers 2400 J of energy in a given time. What is the time?
5. A lamp transfers 24 J of energy and draws a current of 2 A for 1 s.
What voltage is it operating at?