Chapter 19 Lecture

Chapter 19:
Current,
Resistance, and
Directed-Current
Circuits

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 Goals for Chapter 19

• To understand the concept of current.

• To study resistance and Ohm's law.
• To observe examples of electromotive force and circuits
to learn the applications of Ohm's law.
• To calculate the energy and power in electric circuits.
• To study the similarity and differences in the combination
of resistors in parallel and those connected in series.
• To apply Kirchhoff's rules to combinations of resistors.
• To observe and understand devices which measure
electricity in circuits.
• To combine resistors and capacitors then calculate
examples of the results.

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 Current Defined

• A current (also called electric current) is any motion of

charge from one region of a conductor to another.
• To maintain a steady flow of charge in a conductor, we
have to maintain a steady force on the mobile charges
• When there is a steady current in a closed loop (a
“complete circuit”), the total charge in every segment
of the conductor is constant.
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 Current Defined

Current is defined to be the amount of charge

that moves through a given cross section of
conductor per unit time. Thus, if a net charge ∆𝑸
flows through a cross section during a time ∆𝒕

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 Current Defined

Current is a scalar quantity. The SI unit of current is the

ampere; one ampere is defined to be 1 coulomb per second
(1 A = 1 C/s )
This unit is named in honor of the French scientist André
Marie Ampère (1775–1836).
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 How Many Electrons Are Moving

When an electric field is applied

to the metal, the forces that it
exerts on the electrons lead to a
small net motion, or drift, in the
direction of the force, in addition
to the random motion

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 Signs of charge carriers
• In general, a conductor may
contain several different kinds
of moving charged particles.
• An example is current flow in
an ionic solution.
• In the sodium chloride solution
shown, current can be carried
by both positive sodium ions and negative chlorine
ions
• The total current I is found by adding up the
currents due to each kind of charged particle.
 Example 19.1 Lightning strikes

During lightning strikes from a cloud to the

ground, currents as high as 25,000 A can occur
and last for about 40 μs. How much charge is
transferred from the cloud to the earth during
such a strike?

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 Resistance as Defined by Ohm's Law

• The current I is proportional to the average drift

speed of the moving charges.
• If this speed is in turn proportional to the electric-field
magnitude (and thus to the potential difference
between the ends of the conductor), then, for a given
segment of conductor, the current I is approximately
proportional to the potential difference V between the
ends.
• In this case, the ratio V/I is approximately constant.

• This ratio is called the resistance of the

conductor
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 Resistance as Defined by Ohm's Law

The observation that for many conducting materials, current

is proportional to potential difference (voltage) is called
Ohm’s law:

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 Resistance and Ohm’s law

• For a conductor in the form of a uniform cylinder

(such as a wire with uniform cross section), the
resistance R is found to be proportional to the
length L of the conductor and inversely proportional
to its cross-sectional area A.
 Temperature Dependence of Resistance

• The resistance of every conductor

varies somewhat with temperature.
• The resistivity of a metallic conductor
nearly always increases with increasing
temperature

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 Temperature coefficients of resistivity
Material α [(°C)−1]
The factor 𝛼 is called the Aluminum 0.00039
temperature coefficient of Carbon (graphite) −0.0005
resistivity.
Copper 0.00393
An increase in temperature Iron 0.0050
of 1 C°increases the
Lead 0.0043
resistance by 0.3% to 0.5%.
Silver 0.0038
Tungsten 0.0045

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Resistors are color-coded for easy
identification
• This resistor has a resistance of 57 kΩ with a
tolerance of ±10%.
Ohmic resistors

• For a resistor that obeys Ohm’s

law, a graph of current as a
function of potential difference
(voltage) is a straight line
• In devices that do not obey
Ohm’s law, the relationship of
voltage to current may not be a
direct proportion, and it may be
different for the two directions of
current.
Example 19.2

A 1.50-m cylindrical rod of diameter 0.500 cm is

connected to a power supply that maintains a
constant potential difference of 15.0 V across its
ends, while an ammeter measures the current
through it. You observe that at room temperature
(𝟐𝟎. 𝟎°𝑪) the ammeter reads 18.5 A, while at
𝟗𝟐. 𝟎°𝑪 it reads 17.2 A. You can ignore any
thermal expansion of the rod. Find
(a) the resistivity at 20.0°C
(b) the temperature coefficient of resistivity at
20C for the material of the rod.
Example 19.2 (Solution)

(a) the resistivity at 20.0C

(a) the resistivity at 20.0°C

(b) the temperature coefficient of resistivity at

20C for the material of the rod.
Electromotive force and circuits
• Just as a water fountain requires a pump, an
electric circuit requires a source of electromotive
force to sustain a steady current.
 Electromotive force and circuits
• The influence that makes current flow from lower to higher
potential is called electromotive force (abbreviated emf
and pronounced “ee-em-eff”), and a circuit device that
provides emf is called a source of emf.
• Note that “electromotive force” is a poor term because emf
is not a force but an energy-per-unit-charge quantity, like
potential.
• The SI unit of emf is the same as that for potential, the volt
(1 V = 1 J/C).
• A typical flashlight battery has an emf of 1.5 V; this means
that the battery does 1.5 J of work on every coulomb of
charge that passes through it.
• We’ll use the symbol (a script capital E) for emf.
Electromotive force and circuits
Internal resistance
• Real sources of emf actually
contain some internal
resistance r.
• The terminal voltage of the
12-V battery shown at the
right is less than 12 V when
it is connected to the light
bulb.
 Table 25.4 — Symbols for circuit diagrams

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Potential changes
• The figure shows how
the potential varies as
we go around a complete
circuit.
• The potential rises when
the current goes through
a battery, and drops
when it goes through a
resistor.
• Going all the way around
the loop brings the
potential back to where it
started.
 Energy and power in electric circuits

• The box represents a circuit

element with potential
difference Vab = Va − Vb
between its terminals and
current I passing through it in
the direction from a toward b.
• If the potential at a is lower than at b, then there is
a net transfer of energy out of the circuit element.
• The time rate of energy transfer is power, denoted
by P, so we write:
 Power
• The upper rectangle
represents a source with emf
and internal resistance r,
connected by ideal wires to
an external circuit
represented by the lower
box.
• Point a is at higher potential
than point b, so Va > Vb and
Vab is positive.
P = VabI
Example 19.4 Terminal Voltage of a Battery

A battery has an emf of 12.0 V and an internal

resistance of 0.050 0 . Its terminals are
connected to a load resistance of 3.00 .
(A) Find the current in the circuit and the terminal
voltage of the battery
• Find the current in the circuit:
Example 19.4 Terminal Voltage of a Battery

• Find the terminal voltage:

• Calculate the voltage across the load

resistance R:
Example 19.4 Terminal Voltage of a Battery

(B) Calculate the power delivered to the load

resistor, the power delivered to the internal
resistance of the battery, and the power delivered
by the battery
• Find the power delivered to the load resistor:
Example 19.4 Terminal Voltage of a Battery

• Find the power delivered to the internal

resistance:

• Find the power delivered by the battery by

adding these quantities:
Example 19.5
When switch S is open, the voltmeter V reads
3.08 V. When the switch is closed, the voltmeter
reading drops to 2.97 V, and the ammeter A reads
1.65 A. Find the emf, the internal resistance of the
battery, and the circuit resistance R. Assume that
the two meters are ideal, so they don’t affect the
circuit.
Example 19.5 (Solution)

• Set Up: When the switch is open there is no current

and the terminal voltage of the battery equals its emf,
ε. When the switch is closed, current I flows and the
terminal voltage V of the battery is Vab = ε – Ir. The
current I is the same at all points of the circuit.
• IDENTIFY: The voltmeter reads the potential
difference Vab between the terminals of the battery.
• Open circuit: I = 0.
Example 19.5 (Solution)

• switch closed:

• EVALUATE: When current flows through the

battery there is a voltage drop across its internal
resistance and its terminal voltage V is less than
its emf.
Example 19.5
The average bulk resistivity of the human body (apart from
surface resistance of the skin) is about 5.0 Ωm. The
conducting path between the hands can be represented
approximately as a cylinder 1.6 m long and 0.10 m in
diameter. The skin resistance can be made negligible by
soaking the hands in salt water.
(a) What is the resistance between the hands if the skin
resistance is negligible?
(b) What potential difference between the hands is needed
for a lethal shock current of 100 mA? (Note that your
result shows that small potential differences produce
dangerous currents when the skin is damp.)
(c) With the current in part (b), what power is dissipated in
the body?
Example 19.5 (Solution)

The resistance between the hands when the skin is wet

is about a factor of ten less than when the skin is dry
 Resistors in Series and Parallel

• When two or more resistors

are connected end-to-end,
they are said to be in a
series combination

•The currents are the same in all the

resistors because the amount of charge
that passes through one resistor must
also pass through the other resistors in
the same time interval.

•I is the current leaving the battery

•I1 is the current in resistor R1,
•I2 is the current in resistor R2
 Resistors in Series and Parallel

• The potential difference applied

across the series combination of
resistors divides between the
resistors
• the voltage drop from a to b
equals I1R1
• the voltage drop from b to c
equals I2R2
• the voltage drop from a to c is
 Resistors in Series and Parallel

• The potential difference across the

battery is also applied to the
equivalent resistance Req:

• The equivalent resistance has

the same effect on the circuit as
the series combination because
it results in the same current I in
the battery.
 Resistors in Series and Parallel

• The equivalent resistance of three or more

resistors connected in series is

• the equivalent resistance of a series

combination of resistors is the numerical sum of
the individual resistances
• it is always greater than any individual
resistance
 Resistors in Series and Parallel

• Consider two resistors in a parallel

combination
• both resistors are connected
directly across the terminals of
the battery
• the potential differences across
the resistors are the same:

• V is the terminal voltage of the

battery
 Resistors in Series and Parallel

• When charges reach point a, they

split into two parts, with some
going toward R1 and the rest going
toward R2
• A junction is any such point in
a circuit where a current can
split

• I1 is the current in R1 and I2 is

the current in R2
 Resistors in Series and Parallel

• The current in the equivalent

resistance Req is:

• the equivalent resistance has

the same effect on the circuit
as the two resistors in parallel;
• the equivalent resistance
draws the same current I from
the battery
 Resistors in Series and Parallel

• The equivalent resistance of resistors in parallel is

given by:

• The inverse of the equivalent resistance of two

or more resistors in a parallel combination is
equal to the sum of the inverses of the individual
resistances
• The equivalent resistance is always less than
the smallest resistance in the group
 Connections in Series and/or Parallel

• Like capacitors in the previous chapter, resistors can be

connected end-to-end (in series) or simultaneously (in
parallel).

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Example 19.7 Three Resistors in Parallel

Three resistors are connected in parallel as

shown. A potential difference of 18.0 V is
maintained between points a and b.
(A) Calculate the equivalent resistance of the
circuit
• Find Req:
Example 19.7 Three Resistors in Parallel

(B) Find the current in each resistor

• The potential difference across each resistor
is 18.0 V. Apply the relationship V = IR to
find the currents:
Example 19.7 Three Resistors in Parallel

(C) Calculate the power delivered to each resistor

and the total power delivered to the combination of
resistors
• Apply the relationship P = I2R to each resistor
using the currents calculated in part (B):
 Example 19.8 Find the Equivalent
Resistance
Four resistors are connected as shown
(A) Find the equivalent resistance
between points a and c
• Find the equivalent resistance
between a and b of the 8.0- and
4.0- resistors, which are in series
(left-hand red-brown circles):
Example 19.8 Find the Equivalent
Resistance
• Find the equivalent resistance between b and c
of the 6.0- and 3.0- resistors, which are in
parallel (right-hand red-brown circles):

• Find the equivalent resistance from a to c:

Example 19.8 Find the Equivalent
Resistance
(B) What is the current in each resistor if a
potential difference of 42 V is maintained between
a and c?
• Use R = V/I and the result from part (A) to
find the current in the 8.0- and 4.0-
resistors:
Example 19.8 Find the Equivalent
Resistance
• Set the voltages across the resistors in
parallel equal to find a relationship between
the currents:

• Use I1 + I2 = 3.0 A to find I1:

• Find I2:
 Kirchhoff's Rules

• Many actual networks cannot be described with

simple series-parallel combinations. What then?
One method is described by Gustav Kirchhoff in
the 1800s.

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 Kirchhoff’s Rules
1. Junction Rule
• At any junction, the sum of the
currents must equal zero:

• A statement of conservation of charge

• All charges that enter a given point in a circuit
must leave that point
• Currents directed into the junction are +I
• Currents directed out of a junction are I
• For the junction shown
Kirchhoff’s Rules

2. Loop Rule
• The sum of the potential differences across all the
elements around any closed circuit loop must be
zero:

• A statement of conservation of energy

• The potential energy decreases whenever the charge
moves through a potential drop IR across a resistor
or whenever it moves in the reverse direction through
a source of emf
• The potential energy increases whenever the charge
passes through a battery from the negative terminal to
the positive terminal
Sign conventions for the loop rule
• Use these sign
conventions when you
apply Kirchhoff’s loop
rule.

• In each part of the

figure, “Travel” is the
direction that we
imagine going around
the loop, which is not
necessarily the direction
of the current.
 Recharging Situations
• The circuit shown contains two batteries, each with an emf
and an internal resistance, and two resistors.
• Using Kirchhoff’s rules, you can find the current in the
circuit, the potential difference Vab, and the power output of
the emf of each battery.

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 Example 19.9

In the circuit shown, find (a) the current in

resistor R; (b) the resistance R; (c) the
unknown emf E. (d) If the circuit is broken at
point x, what is the current in resistor R?

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 Example 19.9 (Solution)

• Apply Kirchhoff’s junction rule at point a to find

the current through R. Apply Kirchhoff’s loop rule
to loops (1) and (2) as shown to calculate R and
ε . Travel around each loop in the direction
shown.

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 Example 19.9 (Solution)

• (a) Apply Kirchhoff’s junction rule to point a:

ΣI = 0 => I + 4.00 A − 6.00 A = 0
I = 2.00 A (in the direction shown in the
diagram).
(b) Apply Kirchhoff’s loop rule to loop (1):
−(6.00 A)(3.00 Ω) − (2.00 A)R + 28.0 V = 0
−18.0 V − (2.00 Ω)R + 28.0 V = 0.

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 Example 19.9 (Solution)

• Apply Kirchhoff’s loop rule to loop (2):

−(6.00 A)(3.00 Ω) − (4.00 A)(6.00 Ω) +ε = 0.
ε =18.0 V + 24.0 V = 42.0 V.

EVALUATE: We can check that the loop rule is

satisfied for loop (3), as a check of our work:

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 Devices to Make Measurements

• Voltmeters, ammeters, resistance gauges, digital multimeters

are all at our disposal. Some are more traditional like the
generic galvanometer at left; some are newer and digital, like
the multimeter on the right.

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 Charging of a Resistors and Capacitors Circuit

• Combinations of resistors and capacitors form what are called

RC devices. A camera flash storing charge is a good example.

The charge on the

capacitor in a charging R-
C circuit increases
exponentially, with a time
constant 𝜏 = RC.

i = I0e-t/ RC and q = Qfinal (1- e-t/ RC )

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 Discharging of a Resistors and Capacitors Circuit

-t/ RC -t/ RC
i = I0e and q = Q0e

The charge on the capacitor and the current I in a

discharging R-C circuit decreases exponentially
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