Charge and Current

Electricity is caused by a flow of free ………………………. in metals (and many other solid
conductors like graphite). The more electrons flow past any point in a second, the higher the
current of electricity.

Current in a circuit is defined as …………………………… - this means the charge flowing past a
point per unit of time.
If 2 coulombs of charge flows through a resistor each second, then the current is 2 amps.

As a formula we can write:

𝑄
𝐼= 𝑡

Symbol Quantity Units Unit

Symbol
I

t
Questions:

1. A 0.3 amp household lamp is left on for 5 minutes. Calculate the charge flowing through the
lamp in this time.

2. A 30 mA L.E.D. is left on for some time. During this interval, 6 C of charge flows through it.
How long was the L.E.D. on for?

Conventional current

We draw the conventional current direction as …………………… to …………………… and just ignore
the flow of electrons in the opposite direction. Stick with your current arrows as positive to
negative!
Circuit diagrams

Have you ever used a battery or cell to light up a bulb? It is a simple circuit as shown here. on
the left is a picture of what it looks like in real life, and on the right is a simplified diagram:

There are some standard circuit symbols that you need to be familiar with at the beginning of
this topic, as shown here:
Series Circuit

The circuits shown in figure 2 show two bulbs and a

single cell arranged side by side

In the series circuit, current flows through bulb A and

then onwards to bulb B, and back to the cell. The current
continues to flow around and around in this way. If one
bulb breaks, then the flow of current round and round is
………………, and BOTH bulbs turn …………………………….

To measure current we need an ……………………… The

symbol for an ammeter is shown below - just a letter 'A'
with a circle around it.

An ammeter is always placed ……………………………. with the component being measured.

Voltage

Voltage is the ……………………………. per unit …………………. passed.

 To measure voltage, we use a voltmeter as shown below. The voltmeter is always
connected …………………………… with the component being measured.

The voltage across any component is called

the …………………….., or p.d. for short.

Note that ammeters and voltmeters are

designed to measure electrical quantities
without interfering with the circuit.

For example, adding an ammeter in series

will not affect the current flowing at all -it
has effectively no resistance.

Q. A kettle needs 20 kJ to boil the water inside. If the kettle voltage is 240 V, calculate the total
charge flowing through the kettle.

To understand Series Circuit you need to understand how Current & Voltage flow in the circuit.

When components are connected in such a way that the current or charges can flow in one
path just like water flowing through a single pipe. The pipe does not have to be straight for
water to flow. Same is true for Electric Series circuit. Following circuits are all series circuit,
current is flowing out from the positive side and going back into negative side.
How Voltage (Potential Difference) flows in Series Circuit:

In series circuit, unlike current, voltage does not stay the same.

The voltage in a series circuit is ……………………………(or shared) between the components

1. Which has the largest current through it?

 A. X
 B. Y
 C. Z
 D. all have the same current
2. In the circuit above the cell has a voltage of 12V. The potential
difference (p.d.) across each bulb will be:

 A. X = 5V, Y = 4V, Z = 3V
 B. X = 4V, Y = 4V, Z = 4V
 C. X = 6V, Y = 6V, Z = 6V
 D. X = 12V, Y = 12V, Z = 12V

Resistance

A large current might destroy the component.

For this reason we need a 'resistor' in the
circuit - a small component that controls the
current.

The basic rule for resistors is common sense - the …………………………. the resistance, the
……………………. current flows. It resists the flow of current around a circuit.
We can investigate resistance by
measuring the current flow for different
voltages. To change the voltage, it is easier
to use a ………………………….. instead of
changing the cell or battery each time.

To calculate resistance:

voltage
resistance =
current

3. A 20 Ω resistor is connected to a 6 V battery. What current flows through it?

4. A 4 kΩ resistor has a current of 2 mA flowing through it. What is the p.d. across the
resistor?
To test the behaviour of current against voltage in different component we need to use only
the following simple circuit

Component: __________________________
As the voltage increases the current increases.
When the voltage is increased the current goes up
by the same amount.

Component: __________________________
As the voltage increases the current increases.
When the voltage is increased the current doesn’t
always go up by the same amount.
When you reverse the voltage (negative) no current
flows.

Component: __________________________
As the voltage increases the current increases.
When the voltage is increased the current goes up
by the same amount until the lamp gets hot and the
resistance changes. At this point when the voltage in
increased the current doesn’t increase by the same
amount.
 Getting the Results
You can get the results for the above by using the
circuit drawn to the right.
Voltmeters are attached in ________________
They measure the ________________________
Ammeters are attached in ________________
They measure the ________________________

The variable resistor is used to ______________

________________________________________

Light Emitting diodes (LEDs)

Diodes are very clever components that work like …………………. Current can only go through
……………………………...

You can buy LEDs in many different colours, and as they are getting more and more efficient,
they are becoming more common place and used widely for household and office lighting. They
are also used in T.V. sets, traffic lights, power indicators and many more applications.

Diode
Current →

LED
(light emitting diode)

5. A component that emits light and only lets current pass through one way is called

 A. an L.D.R.
 B. an L.E.D.
 C. a diode
 D. a thermistor
 6. Which component has a voltage(V) ~ current (I) graph like
this?
A. a resistor
B. a diode
C. a bulb (filament lamp)
D. an L.D.R.

7. Which of these answers gives the correct way of connecting each meter?

Ammeter Voltmeter
A) Series Series
B) Parallel Parallel
C) Series Parallel
D) Parallel Series

8. A student is experimenting with identical bulbs and 6V cells.

The bulb in this circuit below has a current of 2A passing through it when
connected to a single 6V cell as shown.

What are the currents in the following circuits using the same bulbs and
cells as shown above?
A.C./D.C.

A.C., which stands for ……………………….

Eg-

The power station produces a current that constantly changes direction (a 50 Hz frequency in
Europe). The power station that produces the electricity is effectively pushing and pulling
electrons around the circuit. Note that an a.c. supply does not have a positive and negative
terminal.

D.C. - this stands for ………………………………, always flowing from positive to negative.

DC supply symbol

AC supply symbol
 9. Resistance is measured in 'Ω'. This is the symbol for the unit .....

 A. watts.
 B. ohms.
 C. resists.
 D. coulombs.

10. The formula to calculate resistance (often called Ohm's Law) is

 A. resistance = voltage x current2 (R=V.I2)

 B. resistance = voltage ÷ current (R= V/I)
 C. resistance = current ÷ voltage (R= I/V)
 D. resistance = voltage x current (R=V.I)

11. 0.3 kΩ is the same as

 A. 3Ω
 B. 30Ω
 C. 300Ω
 D. 3000Ω

12. What is the resistance of this resistor?

A. 0.2Ω
B. 2Ω
C. 5Ω
D. 80Ω

13. What is '2mA' in amps?

 A. 2000A
 B. 200A
 C. 0.02A
 D. 0.002A