ELECTRICITY

INTRODUCTION

• Charge is a fundamental particle in an atom. It may be positive or negative.

• Coulomb (C) : S. I. unit of charge
• Charge on 1 electron = Negative charge of 1.6 × 10-19 C
So, number of electrons in 1 coulomb charge = 1/ (1.6 x 10-19) = 6.25 x 1018 electrons
CURRENT

• The rate of flow of charge through a particular area.

Current = Charge/Time
Mathematically, I = Q/T
Where, Q= net charge flowing through any cross section of conductor
T= time
I = current through conductor
S. I. unit of current = Ampere (A)
1 A = 1 C/1s
Current through a circuit is said to be 1 ampere when 1 coulomb charge passes through the
circuit in 1 second.
Smaller units of current are
(i) milli ampere and 1 mA = 10-3 A
(ii) micro ampere and 1 µA = 10-6 A

• Current is measured by Ammeter. Its symbol is

• Ammeter has low resistance and always connected in series.

Symbol Unit

Charge Q C (Coulomb)

Current I A (Ampere)

ELECTRIC CIRCUIT

A continuous and closed path for an electric current is called an electric circuit. A simple
electric circuit comprises of at least a source of current (a cell or a battery or any other
source), a switch and a device which works with the flow of current (e.g. bulb, fan etc.).

Direction of current is taken opposite to flow of electrons as electrons were not

known at the time when the phenomenon of electricity was discovered first and current
was considered to be flow of positive charge.
POTENTIAL

Work done in bringing a unit positive charge from infinity to a point in an electric field is
termed as Potential at that point.

POTENTIAL DIFFERENCE

• Potential Difference (V): Work done to move a unit charge from one point to another is
the potential difference between the two points.
V = W/Q

• S. I. unit of Potential difference and Potential is Volt (V)

1 V = 1 J/1C

• 1 Volt: When 1 joule work is done in carrying 1 Coulomb charge then potential difference
is called 1 volt.

• Voltmeter: It is an instrument to measure the potential difference.

• It has high resistance and always connected in parallel. Symbol is

• Cell is the simplest device to maintain potential difference.

• Current always flow from higher potential to lower potential.

SYMBOLS OF SOME COMMONLY USED COMPONENTS IN CIRCUIT

 Symbol Unit
Charge Q C
Current I A
Potential V V (Volt)
Work W Joule (J)

OHM’S LAW
Current passing through a conductor is directly proportional to the potential difference
applied across its ends provided physical conditions like temperature, pressure remain
constant.

• Mathematical expression for Ohm’s law

IαV
OR
V∝I
V = IR

R is a constant called resistance offered by the given conductor

• V-I graph for Ohm’s law

From first graph resistance can be obtained by slope of the graph whereas from second graph
resistance can be obtained by the reciprocal of the slope of the graph. (Slope of the graph
means tangent of the angle between x- axis and the straight line.)

• Resistance (R): It is the property of a conductor to resist the flow of charges through it.

• Ohm (Ω): S. I. unit of resistance.

• 1 ohm = 1 volt/1ampere

When potential difference of 1 V is applied across a conductor and current through it is 1A,
then resistance of the conductor is said to be 1 ohm.

• Rheostat: A variable resistance which is a component used to regulate current without

changing the source of voltage.
Factors on which the Resistance of a Conductor depends

• Resistance of a uniform metallic conductor is:

(i) Directly proportional to the length of conductor,

(ii) Inversely proportional to the area of cross-section,
(iii) Directly proportional to the temperature and
(iv) Depends on nature of material.

At constant temperature for a given material of a conductor,

Resistance R α L/A

Or, R = ρL/A

Where ρ is the resistivity or specific resistance of the material of the conductor.

• Resistivity (ρ): It is defined as the resistance offered by a cube of a material of side 1m

when current flows perpendicular to its opposite faces.
Or
It is equal to resistance of a conductor of length 1 m and area of cross section 1m2.
Mathematically, ρ = AR/L

• Its S.I. unit = (m2 x Ω)/m

= Ω m.

Resistivity does not change with change in length or area of cross-section but it changes with
change in temperature. It increases with increase in temperature for conductors.

Resistivity is the property of material of conductor. It does not depend on the dimensions of
the conductor.

Range of resistivity of metals and alloys is 10-8 to 10-6 Ωm.

Range of resistivity of insulators is 1012 to 1017 Ωm.

Resistivity of alloy is generally higher than that of its constituent metals.

Alloys do not oxidize (burn) readily at high temperature and have high melting point, so they
are commonly used in electrical heating devices.

Copper and aluminium are used for electrical transmission lines as they have low
resistivity.
RESISTORS IN SERIES

When two or more resistors are connected end to end, the arrangement is called series
combination.

→ Current through each resistor is same.

→ Voltage across each resistor is different

Total voltage V = V1 + V2 + V3

• Voltage across each resistor, using Ohm’s law is

• V1 = IR1
• V2 = IR2
• V3 = IR3

V = IRs = V1 + V2 + V3

Or, V = IR1 + IR2 + IR3

Or, IRs = I(R1 + R2 + R3)

Or, Rs = R1 + R2 + R3

Hence, resultant resistance in a series combination of resistors is equal to the sum of

resistances of individual resistors.

Also, the resultant resistance is always more than the highest resistance of the combination.

If there are n resistors of equal resistances connected in series, the resultant resistance of the
combination is given by,
Rs = R + R + R + - - - n times = nR,
Hence, resultant resistance is equal to n times the resistance of one resistor.
RESISTORS IN PARALLEL

→ Voltage across each resistor is same and equal to the applied voltage.

→ Total current is equal to sum of currents through the individual resistances.

• I = I1 + I2 + I3

⇒ V/Rp = V/R1 + V/R2 + V/R3

1/Rp = 1/R1 + 1/R2 + 1/R3

Hence, reciprocal of equivalent resistance in parallel combination of resistors is equal to the

sum of reciprocals of resistances of individual resistors.

Also, equivalent resistance is less than the value of the smallest individual resistance in the
combination.

In case all resistances are equal in a parallel combination of n resistors,

1/Rp = 1/R + 1/R + 1/R + - - - n times = n/R

Or, Rp = R/n

The resultant resistance of n resistors of equal resistances in parallel is equal to 1/n times the
resistance of one resistor.

Advantages of Parallel Combination over Series Combination

(i) In series circuit, when one component fails, the circuit is broken and none of the
components works whereas in parallel, if one component stops working all other components
work properly

(ii) Different appliances have different requirement of current. This cannot be satisfied in
series as current remains same.

(iii) The total resistance in a parallel circuit is decreased.

Heating Effect of Electric Circuit

If an electric circuit is purely resistive, the source of energy continually get dissipated
entirely in form of heat. This is known as heating effect of electric current.

As, Energy = Power X Time

Or, E = P×t = (W/t)t = (VQ/t)t = VIt = H [ P = W/t, Q/t = I, E = H]

Heat produced, H = VIt

Or, Heat produced, H = I2Rt [V = IR ]

Joule’s Law of Heating Effect of Electric Current

It states that the heat produced in a resistor is directly proportional to square of current,
H ∝ I2

It is directly proportional to resistance for a given current,

H∝R

It is directly proportional to time for which current flows through the conductor,
H ∝ t.
So,
H = I2Rt

Heating effect is desirable in devices like electric heater, electric iron, electric bulb, electric
fuse, etc.

Heating effect is undesirable in devices like computers, computer monitors (CRT), TV,
refrigerators etc.

In electric bulb, most of the power consumed by the filament appears a heat and a small part
of it is radiated in form of light.

• Filament of electric bulb is made up of tungsten because:

(i) it has high melting point (3380º C)

(ii) it has low resistivity, so the filament is made very thin to increase the resistance to
produce more heat
(iii) the bulbs are filled with chemically inactive gases like nitrogen and argon to prolong
the life of filament.
(iv) It emits light at high temperatures.

• Elements of heating devices are made of alloys and not pure metals:

(i) Alloys have higher resistivity as compared to pure metals constituting the alloy,
which helps in producing more heat.
(ii) These do not oxidise at high temperatures.
(iii) These have high melting points.

• Electric Fuse: It is a safety device that protects our electrical appliances in case of short
circuit or overloading.

→ Fuse is made up of pure tin or alloy of copper and tin.

→ Fuse is always connected in series with live wire.

→ Fuse has low melting point.

→ Current capacity of fuse is slightly higher than that of the appliance.

→ When the circuit is overloaded or short circuiting happens, high current flows through the
circuit which may result in fire or damage to the appliances connected. Fuse wire, in such a
situations heats up, melts and breaks the circuit.

• Electric Power: The rate at which electric energy is consumed or dissipated in an electric
circuit is termed as electric power.

P = VI

⇒ P = I2R = V2/R

S.I. unit of power is Watt (W)

⇒ 1 Watt = 1 volt × 1 ampere = 1 joule/ 1 second

Power consumed is said to be one watt if one joule of energy is consumed in one second.

Commercial unit of electric energy is Kilo Watt hour (KWh)

Electrical energy of 1 KWh or 1 unit is said to be consumed if an appliance of power rating

of 1 KW (1000W) is continuously used for 1 hour.

1 KWh = 1KW x 1h = 1000W x 3600sec = 3.6 x106 W sec = 3.6 × 106 J

1 KWh = 1 unit of electric energy