ELECTRICAL CIRCUITS

PHYSICS
YEAR 11
 Symbols
For
Electrical
Components
Series Parallel
TYPES
OF
CIRCUITS
Series Circuit vs Parallel Circuit

REMEMBER TO
INVERSE THIS

also called effective resistance

 fixed resistors

RESISTORS
- Function: to control amount of current

- The higher the resistance, the lower the current

variable resistors
- Made from metal wire (usually alloys) or carbon
(graphite for high-resistance resistors)

- Variable resistors are used to alter current in a circuit

(the resistance can be controlled)

rheostat
LIGHT-DEPENDENT RESISTORS
- A type of variable resistor

- Depends on the amount of light that falls on it

- Made from material that does not conduct electricity

well

- In the dark : resistance is high

- In bright light : resistance is low

- Function : to detect the level of light

- Application : street lights, the auto-brightness setting

on your phone
See how LDR works here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OtppaXX8yl0
THERMISTORS
- A type of variable resistor

- Depends on the surrounding temperature

- 2 types:
- NTC (Negative Temperature Coefficient)
- Temperature ↑, Resistance ↓ ,and vice versa
- PTC (Positive Temperature Coefficient)
- Temperature ↑, Resistance ↑ ,and vice versa

- Applications: air-conditioner’s sensor, heaters

More on thermistors here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2SWOVWMdU8

RELAYS
- A type of switch that works using an electromagnet

- Made up of 2 circuits:
- The magnetising coil / electromagnet
- The switch

- When current flows through the magnetising coil, it is

magnetised, and it pulls on the switch in the 2nd circuit,
allowing current to flow through the 2nd circuit

- The 2nd circuit usually involves a large voltage, which

would be dangerous for a person to control the switch
DIODES
- Function: to allow current to flow in 1 direction
- Therefore, it can convert a.c. to d.c
- 2 types of current flow in a diode:
- Forward bias  bulb will light up
- Reverse bias  bulb will not light up Current increases abruptly as voltage
increases. The voltage at this point is
called forward voltage, VF
When voltage is reversed, current is almost zero due to
high resistance. When reverse biased, diode can
withstand the voltage up to a certain limit before
breaking down. The voltage at this point is called
breakdown voltage, VBR. The diode was damaged
DIODES
- Diodes that can emit light is called light-emitting diodes
(LED)
- LED converts electrical energy to light energy,
delivering efficient light with little energy waste
- LED can produce light up to 90% more efficiency,
compared to fluorescent light bulbs
POTENTIAL DIVIDER CIRCUITS
• Usually, a power supply or a battery provides a fixed potential difference (p.d)
• To obtain a smaller p.d or to obtain a variable p.d, this fixed p.d of the circuit
must be split up using a circuit called a potential divider circuit

𝑹𝟐
𝑽 𝒊𝒏 = × 𝑽 𝒐𝒖𝒕
𝑹𝟏 + 𝑹 𝟐
RELAY + LDR + DIODE
RELAY + THERMISTOR + DIODE
 ELECTRICAL SAFETY
Electrical Cables
• Electrical appliances that require high power, have thicker protective
insulation casing
• To avoid user from getting electric shock
• Wires in each cable are insulated from each other to avoid short
circuit
• If an excessive current flows in the wires, they will overheat and the
protective insulation casing will melt and may release poisonous gas
or even started fire
• Do not touch electrical cables or electrical appliances with wet
hands as water may provide a conductive path for current to flow
from the wire to earth through you
 ELECTRICAL SAFETY
Multi-plug Adapters
• Since the usage of electrical appliances in home is increasing,
the safest option is to have more wall sockets fitted
• The alternative is to use multi-plug adapters that allow us to
plug more than 1 device into the same wall socket
• The safer way is to use multi-way bar extension, which
comes as a bank of sockets
• Do not exceed the current rating
• e.g. if an extension rated 10 A, no more than 3 devices,
each with 3 A of current, should be plugged into the
extension
• Never join multi-plug adapters together
 ELECTRICAL SAFETY
Fuses
• A device that breaks the circuit if the current exceed a certain value
• Contains a thin metal wire that will melt when current that flows
through it is more than what the thin wire can withstand
• Therefore, the electrical appliances are protected

• Example:

If a 2 kW heater works on a 230 V mains supply and the current

flowing through it in normal use is 8.7 A, what is the fuse rating that
is suitable for the heater?
[A] 3 A
[B] 13 A
[C] 30 A

Answer: [B]
 ELECTRICAL SAFETY
Earth Wire
• A 3-plug pin has 3 types of wires :
• Live wires (brown)
• Carry currents from wall socket into electrical
appliance
• Neutral wires (blue)
• Carry currents from electrical appliance to wall
socket
• Earth wire (green with yellow stripes)
• Carry exceeded currents to the earth (occur
when the electrical appliance is faulty and its
bare wire touches the metal casing)
• The currents are grounded or earthed

• A 2-pin plug does not have an earth wire

 ELECTRICAL SAFETY
Double Insulation

• Extra layer of supplementary insulation over the

basic insulation, or a single layer of reinforced
insulation
• Electrical appliances that are double insulated do
not need earth wire
 ELECTRICAL SAFETY
Trip Switch
• Can replace a fuse

• The switch trips and breaks the circuit when currents

flowing through the trip switch exceed a certain value

• When too much current flows, the trip switch jumps out
and you have to wait for a short while before you can reset
it