Important Notes

Chapter: Electricity

Electricity and its effects

In circuits using metallic wires, electrons constitute the flow of charges. 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.

Electric Current – It is the rate of flow of electric charges.

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

I=Q/t

The SI unit of electric charge is coulomb (C), which is equivalent to the charge contained
in nearly 6 × 1018 electrons

The electric current is expressed by a unit called ampere (A).

One ampere is constituted by the flow of one coulomb of charge per second, that is, 1 A = 1
C/1 s. Small quantities of current are expressed in milliampere (1 mA = 10–3 A) or in
microampere (1 μA = 10–6 A).

*An instrument called ammeter measures electric current in a circuit. It is always connected
in series in a circuit through which the current is to be measured. It has low resistance.

Potential difference :
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.

Electric potential between two points in an electric circuit carrying some current as the
work done to move a unit charge from one point (Infinity) to the other.

Potential differennce 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.

Potential difference (V) between two points = Work done (W)/Charge (Q)

V = W/Q.

The SI unit of electric potential difference is volt (V).

1Volt is defined as the potential difference between two points if 1 Joule of work is done
to move 1-coulomb charge from one point to another.

*The potential difference is measured by means of an instrument called the voltmeter. The
voltmeter is always connected in parallel across the points between which the potential
difference is to be measured. It has high resistance.

Ohm’s law (IMPORTANT)

The potential difference between the two points is directly proportional to the current,

V∝l
provided the temperature is constant.

⇒ V = lR
R is a constant known as Resistance. The SI unit of resistance is the ohm (Ω)

Resistance - is the property of a conductor to resist the flow of charges through it.
Its SI unit is ohm, represented by the Greek letter Ω.

1 Ohm: 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 Ω.
That is, 1 ohm = 1 volt X 1 ampere

Factors on which resistance of a conductor depends-

 It is directly proportional to the length of the conductor.(l)
 Inversely proportional to the area of cross-section.(A)
 Directly proportional to the temperature.
 Depends on the nature of the material.

In many practical cases it is necessary to increase or decrease the current in an electric circuit.
A component used to regulate current without changing the voltage source is called variable
resistance or rheostat. In an electric circuit, a device called rheostat is often used to change
the resistance in the circuit.

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.

Resistivity: Resistivity is the electrical resistance of a material per unit length and unit cross-
sectional area at a specific temperature. It is represented by the symbol ρ and its SI unit is
ohm-meter (Ωm).

The SI unit of resistivity is Ω m.

*The resistivity of an alloy is generally higher than that of its constituent metals. Alloys do
not oxidise (burn) readily at high temperatures. For this reason, they are commonly used in
electrical heating devices, like electric iron, toasters etc.

Tungsten is used almost exclusively for filaments of electric bulbs, whereas copper and
aluminium are generally used for electrical transmission lines.

Resistance in Series:
V = V1 + V2 + V3

Resistance in Parallel:

Advantages of a parallel circuit:

 1. A parallel circuit divides the current through the electrical gadgets. The total
resistance in a parallel circuit is decreased. This is helpful particularly when each
gadget has different resistance and requires different current to operate properly.

Ex - ‘fairy lights’ to decorate buildings on festivals, on marriage celebrations etc. electrician

spending lot of time in trouble-locating and replacing the ‘dead’ bulb – each has to be tested
to find which has fused or gone.

Disadvantages of series circuit:

1. In a series circuit the current is constant throughout the electric circuit. Thus it is
obviously impracticable to connect Devices having 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.

HEATING EFFECT OF ELECTRIC CURRENT

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.

Applying Ohm’s law , we get

H = I2 Rt

H = V2/R X T

Application of heating effect of current:

1. Electric Bulb: A strong metal with high melting point such as tungsten (melting point
3380°C) is used for making bulb filaments. The filament should be thermally isolated
as much as possible, using insulating support, etc.
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.

2. Electric fuse: Another common application of Joule’s heating is the fuse used in
electric circuits. It protects circuits and appliances by stopping the flow of any unduly
high electric current.
The fuse is placed in series with the device. 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.
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.

ELECTRIC POWER
The rate of consumption of energy.
The rate at which electric energy is dissipated or consumed in an electric circuit. This
is also termed as electric power. T
The power P is given by
P = VI
P = I2R
P= V2/R

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

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

Electrical energy is the product of power and time, the unit of electric energy is,
therefore, watt hour (W h).

One watt hour is the energy consumed when 1 watt of power is used for 1 hour.
The commercial unit of electric energy is kilowatt hour (kW h), commonly known as
‘unit’.
1 kW h = 1000 watt × 3600 second = 3.6 × 106 watt second = 3.6 × 106 joule (J)