ELECTRICITY

ELECTRIC CURRENT
If the electric charge flows through a conductor (for example, through a metallic wire), we say that there
is an electric current in the conductor.
Definition:
Electric current is defined as the rate of flow of charge flowing through a cross-section of a
wire/conductor.
Formula:
If a net charge Q, flows across any cross-section of a conductor in time t, then the current I, through the
cross-section is

SI Unit
The SI unit of electric charge is coulomb (C) and time is second (s). Thus the SI unit of electric current is
coulomb/second (C/s). This unit is given a special name called ampere (A), named after the French
scientist, Andre-Marie Ampere (17751836).
Definition of 1ampere
One ampere is that amount of current when an electric charge of one coulomb flows through a crosssection of wire in one second. That is, 1A = 1 C/1 s.
Small units:
Small quantities of current are expressed in
(i)
milliampere (1 mA = 103 A)
(ii)
microampere (1 A = 106 A).
Device used to measure current
An instrument called ammeter measures electric current in a circuit.
Symbol:
Connection in circuit: It is always connected in series in a circuit through which the current is to be
measured

Direction of electric current

Conventionally, in an electric circuit the direction of electric current is taken as opposite to the
direction of the flow of electrons, which are negative charges.
In an electric circuit electric current flows from the positive terminal of the cell to the negative terminal of
the cell through the bulb and ammeter.

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Electric switch
A switch makes a conducting link between the cell and the bulb. If the switch of the circuit is turned off,
the current stops flowing and the bulb does not glow.

Electric circuit
A continuous and closed path of an electric current is called an electric circuit.

Charge of an electron: 1.6 x 1019 C

Number of electrons in 1C of charge: 6.25 x 1018 electrons

ASSIGNMENT 1
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

What does an electric circuit mean?

Define the unit of current.
Calculate the number of electrons constituting one coulomb of charge.
A current of 0.5 A is drawn by a filament of an electric bulb for 10 minutes. Find the amount of
charge that flows through the circuit.
Name the instrument used to measure electric current in a circuit. How is this instrument
connected in a circuit? Draw a simple circuit diagram to explain your answer.
Which particles constitute electric current in a metallic conductor?
Name two units for expressing the small values of current. Also write their symbols. How are
these units related to ampere?
Write the use of following components in an electric circuit
(a) Cell/battery
(b) Ammeter
(c) Connecting wires
(d) Switch/plug key

ELECTRIC POTENTIAL
The electrons move only if there is a difference of electric pressure called the potential difference
along the conductor. This difference of potential may be produced by a battery, consisting of one or more
electric cells. The chemical action within a cell generates the potential difference across the terminals of
the cell, even when no current is drawn from it. When the cell is connected to a conducting circuit
element, the potential difference sets the charges in motion in the conductor and produces an electric
current. In order to maintain the current in a given electric circuit, the cell has to expend its chemical
energy stored in it.
Definition:
We define the electric potential difference between two points in an electric circuit carrying some
current as the work done to move a unit charge from one point to the other.
Formula:

SI unit:
The SI unit of electric potential difference is volt (V), named after Alessandro Volta (17451827), an
Italian physicist.

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Definition of one volt

One volt is the potential difference between two points in a current carrying conductor when 1 joule of
work is done to move a charge of 1 coulomb from one point to the other.
Therefore,

Device used to measure potential difference:

The potential difference is measured by means of an instrument called the voltmeter.
Symbol:
Connection: The voltmeter is always connected in parallel across the points between which the potential
difference is to be measured.

ASSIGNMENT 2
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Name a device that helps to maintain potential difference across a conductor.

What is meant by saying that potential difference between two points is 1V?
Write the relation which states the relation between potential difference and work done.
How much energy is given to each coulomb of charge passing through a 6V battery?
How much work is done in moving a charge of 2 C across two points having a potential difference
of 12 V?
6. Name the device that measures the potential difference across two points in an electric circuit.
How it is connected in an electric circuit?
OHMS LAW
The potential difference, V, across the ends of a given metallic wire in an electric circuit is directly
proportional to the current flowing through it, provided its temperature remains the same.
Formula:

Where, R is a constant for the given metallic wire at a given temperature and is called its resistance.
Graph:
The VI graph is a straight line that passes through the origin of
the graph, as shown in Figure. Thus, V/I is a constant ratio.

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Resistance
It is the property of a conductor to resist the flow of charges through it.

SI unit
Its SI unit is ohm, represented by the Greek letter .
Definition of 1
If the potential difference across the two ends of a conductor is 1 V and the current through it is 1 A, then
the resistance R, of the conductor is 1 . That is,

Relation between current and resistance

According to Ohms Law,

the current through a resistor is inversely proportional to its resistance. If the resistance is doubled the
current gets halved.
Application of varying resistance:
In many practical cases it is necessary to increase or decrease the current in an electric circuit like in case
of an electric fan regulator and in electric iron for changing the amount of heat produced. The component
used to regulate current without changing the voltage source is called variable resistance. In an electric
circuit, a device called rheostat is often used to change the resistance in the circuit.
Resistance of different material is different
The motion of electrons in an electric circuit constitutes an electric current. The electrons, however, are
not completely free to move within a conductor. They are restrained by the attraction of the atoms among
which they move. Thus, motion of electrons through a conductor is retarded by its resistance.
A component of a given size that offers a low resistance is a good conductor.
A conductor having some appreciable resistance is called a resistor.
A component of identical size that offers a higher resistance is a poor conductor.
An insulator of the same size offers even higher resistance.
Factors on which the resistance of a conductor depends
Resistance of the conductor is
(i)
Directly proportional to its length,
(ii)
Inversely proportional to its area of cross-section, and
(iii) On the nature of its material.
That is,

Combining (1) and (2)

Or

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Where (rho) is a constant of proportionality and is called the electrical resistivity of the material of the
conductor.

Definition of resistivity: Resistivity of a given material is its resistance when its length is 1m and
area of cross-section 1 m2.
Resistivity of a given material is independent of the dimension of given material and it depends only on
nature of material and temperature.
SI unit
The SI unit of resistivity is m. It is a characteristic property of the material.
Remarks:
(1) The metals and alloys have very low resistivity in the range of 108 m to 106 m. They are
good conductors of electricity.
(2) Insulators like rubber and glass have resistivity of the order of 1012 to 1017 m.
(3) Both the resistance and resistivity of a material vary with temperature.
(4) Resistivity of an alloy is generally higher than that of its constituent metals.
(5) Alloys are used in electrical heating devices, like electric iron, toasters etc because they do not
oxidise (burn) readily at high temperatures.
(6) Tungsten is used almost exclusively for filaments of electric bulbs, because it does not melt at
higher temperature, have high resistivity and can be easily drawn in to thin wires.
(7) Copper and aluminium are generally used for electrical transmission lines because of their low
resistivity they behave as a good conductor of electricity.

ASSIGNMENT 3
1. Name and state the law which relates the current in a conductor to the potential difference
across a conductor and the current flowing through it.
2. Define the SI unit of resistance.
3. (a) How much current will an electric bulb draw from a 220 V source, if the resistance of the
bulb filament is 1200 ? (b) How much current will an electric heater coil draw from a 220 V
source, if the resistance of the heater coil is 100 ?
4. The potential difference between the terminals of an electric heater is 60 V when it draws a
current of 4 A from the source. What current will the heater draw if the potential difference is
increased to 120 V?
5. A wire of given material having length l and area of cross-section A has a resistance of 4 .
What would be the resistance of another wire of the same material having length l/2 and area
of cross-section 2A?
6. On what factors does the resistance of a conductor depend?
7. Will current flow more easily through a thick wire or a thin wire of the same material, when
connected to the same source? Why?
8. Let the resistance of an electrical component remains constant while the potential difference
across the two ends of the component decreases to half of its former value. What change will
occur in the current through it?
9. Why are coils of electric toasters and electric irons made of an alloy rather than a pure metal?
10. The values of current I flowing in a given resistor for the corresponding values of potential
difference V across the resistor are given below
I (amperes)
0.5
1.0
2.0
3.0
4.0
V (volts)
1.6
3.4
6.7
10.2 13.2
Plot a graph between V and I and calculate the resistance of that resistor.

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1. When a 12 V battery is connected across an unknown resistor, there is a current of 2.5 mA in

the circuit. Find the value of the resistance of the resistor.
2. Why is the tungsten used almost exclusively for filament of electric lamps?
3. Why are the conductors of electric heating devices, such as bread-toasters and electric irons,
made of an alloy rather than a pure metal?
4. How does the resistance of a wire vary with its area of cross-section?

ASSIGNMENT 4

5. Why copper and aluminium wires are usually employed for electricity transmission?
6. Keeping the potential difference constant, the resistance of a circuit is doubled. By how much
does the current change?
7. Give two examples of materials which are (i) good conductor (ii) resistor (iii) insulator (iv)
poor conductor.
8. Why do electricians wear rubber hand-gloves while working with electricity?
9. Name the device used to change resistance in a circuit to regulate current without changing the
voltage source.
10. What is nichrome? State its one property and one use.
11. Define resistivity. On what factor does it depends?
12. A wire of resistance 20 is stretched to double its length. What will be its new (i) resistivity
(ii) resistance?
RESISTANCE OF A SYSTEM OF RESISTORS
There are two methods of joining the resistors together. Figure below shows an electric circuit in which
three resistors having resistances R1, R2 and R3, respectively, are joined end to end. Here the resistors are
said to be connected in series. In series, there is only one path for flow of current.

Next Figure shows a combination of resistors in which three resistors are connected together between
points X and Y. Here, the resistors are said to be connected in parallel. In parallel, there is separate path
for flow of current in each device.

Resistors in Series

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In a series combination of resistors

(1) Same current I flow through each resistor.
(2) Potential difference across each resistor is
different. V1 across R1, V2 across R2 and V3
across R3.
(3) Total potential difference across the combination
is equal to the sum of potential difference across
the individual resistors. That is,

Equivalent Resistance of Series Combination

Let I be the current through the circuit. The current through each resistor is also I. Applying the Ohms
law to three resistors separately, we have

Since
We have

Where, RS is the equivalent resistance of the series combination.

We can conclude that when several resistors are joined in series, the resistance of the combination RS
equals the sum of their individual resistances, R1, R2, R3, and is thus greater than any individual
resistance.
It is possible to replace the three resistors joined in series by an equivalent single resistor of resistance RS
such that the potential difference V across it, and the current I through the circuit remains the same.
Resistors in Parallel
In parallel combination of resistors
(1) Potential difference across each resistor is same.
(2) Current through each resistor is different. I1 across
R1, I2 across R2 and I3 across R3.
(3) The total current I, is equal to the sum of the
separate currents through each resistor of the
combination.

Equivalent resistance in parallel combination

On applying Ohms law to each resistor of parallel combination, we have

Since

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We have

Thus, we may conclude that the reciprocal of the equivalent resistance of a group of resistances joined in
parallel is equal to the sum of the reciprocals of the individual resistances.
Preference of parallel combination over series
We prefer parallel combination over series combination in domestic circuit because of the following
reasons:
(1) In a series circuit the current is constant throughout the electric circuit. Thus it is obviously
impracticable to connect different appliances such as an electric bulb and an electric heater in
series, because they need currents of widely different values to operate properly.
(2) Another major disadvantage of a series circuit is that when one component fails the circuit is
broken and none of the components works.
On the other hand
(1) In a parallel circuit, different appliances are connected in different branches and each appliance
gets its required amount of current in that branch.
(2) In a parallel circuit, if one component fails, the others are not affected.
HEATING EFFECT OF ELECTRIC CURRENT
Work is done by the battery in maintain an electric current in a circuit. A part of the batterys energy in
maintaining the current may be consumed into useful work (like in rotating the blades of an electric fan).
Rest of the source energy may be expended in heat to raise the temperature of gadget.
If the electric circuit is purely resistive, that is, a configuration of resistors only connected to a
battery; the source energy continually gets dissipated entirely in the form of heat. This is known as
the heating effect of electric current. This effect is utilised in devices such as electric heater, electric
iron etc.
Expression for heating effect of electric current
Consider a current I flowing through a resistor of
resistance R. Let the potential difference across it be V.
Let t be the time during which a charge Q flows
across. The work done in moving the charge Q
through a potential difference V is
Since

, thereforce

Using Ohms law

For purely resistive circuit, the work done by the battery gets dissipated in the resistor as heat.

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Joules Law of Heating

According to Joules law of heating, heat produced in a resistor is
(i)
directly proportional to the square of current,
(ii)
directly proportional to resistance, and
(iii) directly proportional to the time for which the current flows through the resistor.
Thus,

Undesirable effect of heating in electric circuit

(1) Heating effect of electric current convert useful electrical energy into heat.
(2) In electric circuits, the unavoidable heating increases the temperature of the gadget and alter their
properties.
Practical Applications of Heating Effect of Electric Current
(1) The electric laundry iron, electric toaster, electric oven, electric kettle and electric heater devices are
based on Joules heating.
(2) The electric heating is used to produce light, as in an electric bulb.
(3) The functioning of fuse in electric circuit is based on joules heating.
Working of Electric iron, Electric toaster etc
Alloys such as nichrome ( an alloy of nickel, chromium, manganese and iron), Constantan ( alloy of
copper and nickel) and manganin (alloy of copper, manganese and nickel ) are used as an element of
heating devices. Two properties which make these alloys suitable for heating element are:
(a) High resistivity than metal.
(b) Do not oxidise at higher temperature.
When a large current is passed through these alloys then according to joules heating a large amount of
heat is generated.
Working of Electric bulb
The filament of electric bulb is made up of tungsten. The melting point of tungsten is very high ( 3380C)
When electric current is passed through tungsten filament it gets very hot and emits light. The filament is
thermally isolated from the surrounding. The bulbs are usually filled with chemically inactive nitrogen
and argon gases to prolong the life of filament. Most of the power consumed by the filament appears as
heat, but a small part of it is in the form of light radiated.
Two properties of tungsten which makes them suitable as filament of electric bulb
(a) Very high melting point ( 3380C)
(b) Can be drawn into very thin wires
(c) High resistivity than metals
Electric Fuse
Electric fuse protects circuits and appliances by stopping the flow of any unduly high electric current. It
consists of a piece of wire made of a metal or an alloy of appropriate melting point, for example
aluminium, copper, iron, lead etc.
Working: If a current larger than the specified value flows through the circuit, the temperature of the
fuse wire increases. This melts the fuse wire and breaks the circuit.
Capacity of fuse wire: The fuses used for domestic purposes are rated as 1 A, 2 A, 3 A, 5 A, 10 A, etc.
Connection of fuse wire in circuit: The fuse is placed in series with the device.

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SI Unit: The SI unit of electric power is watt (W).

ELECTRIC POWER
Electrical power is the rate at which electric energy is dissipated or consumed in an electric circuit.
The power P is given by

Definition of 1 watt:
It is the power consumed by a device that carries 1 A of current when operated at a potential difference
of 1 V. Thus,
1 W = 1 volt 1 ampere = 1 V A
Bigger unit of power:
(a) kilowatt(kW)
1 kW = 1000 W.
(b) Megawatt(MW)
1 MW =1000 kW = 1000000 W =106 W
Watt-hour
Watt-hour(W h) is the unit of energy.
One watt hour is the energy consumed when 1 watt of power is used for 1 hour.
Kilowatt-hour(kW h): Commercial unit of energy
The commercial unit of electric energy is kilowatt hour (kW h), commonly known as unit.
One kilowatt- hour is the energy consumed when 1 kilowatt of power is used for 1 hour.

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Relation between kilowatt-hour and joule

Energy = Power x time
1 kW h = 1000 watt 3600 second
= 3.6 106 watt second
= 3.6 106 joule (J)