Chapter 2 : Electricity

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2.1 Electric Field and Charge Flow
2.1.1 Electric charge, Q

1. Two types of charge: ___________, ___________
2. An electron : a negative charge (_____________________)
3. A proton : a positive charge (_____________________)
4. SI unit of charge is the coulomb or C.
5. A body is :
*neutral (equal number of positive and negative charges)
*charged positive (an atom loses electrons)
*charged negative (an atom gains electrons)
6. Like charges repel, unlike charges attract.
Total charge, Q =
A small body has an initial charge of + 3.0 C. What is its final
charge if
a) it acquires 1.875 10
19
electrons from another body,
b) it loses 1.25 10
19
electrons?


2.1.2 Static electricity (Electrostatics charges)
*electric charges which do not move
*can be produced by rubbing two materials together (rubbing
polythene rod with a dry woolen cloth)
*electrons are pulled from woolen cloth to the polythene rod
*polythene rod gains electrons ___________charged
Woolen cloth loses electrons ___________ charged

Detecting and testing small charge (____________________)
*When a charged object touches the metal cap at the top of
electroscope, some of the charges are transferred to the gold
leaf and the metal plate. (giving charge to the electroscope)
*Similar charges on the gold leaf and metal plate
__________ each other > the leaf rises







*When a positively charged rod is brought near the metal
cap of a positively charged electroscope, the gold leaf rises
even more
Reason: Electrons are attracted to the metal cap by the
positive charges on the rod. The gold leaf and the metal plate
have more positive charge. The gold leaf is repelled further
by a stronger force.
Chapter 2 : Electricity

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Effects of static electricity


1. Rubbing plastic comb on your shirt sleeve and use it to pick
up small pieces of tissue paper.



2. When a negatively charged polythene rod is brought near a
fine stream of water, the stream of running water is bent
towards the rod because of the force of attraction between
opposite charges.


3. Carpet attracting dust



*A carpet surface becomes charged by the rubbing of shoes.
*Each dust particle carries equal numbers of positive and
negative charges (electrons) >> neutral
*When dust particles fall from shoes onto the carpet, the
electrons of the dust particles are displaced towards the
carpet. The positive charges are displaced away from the
carpet.
*The force of attraction between the negative electrons on
the dust particles and the positive charges on the carpet
causes the dust particles to stick to the carpet.

4. Earthing of a vehicle


*Vehicles (car, lorry tanker, aircraft) will become charged
due to friction with the air.
*When a person touches the outside of the vehicle, the
highly charged vehicle will discharge through him and the
person will receive a brief electric shock.
*If the vehicle is a petroleum tanker, the sparks produced
during discharge may start a fire.
*To avoid this, a long metal chain which touches the ground
is usually tied to the back of the vehicle.
*Thus, the electric charge produced by friction can flow
from the vehicle to the earth through the metal chain.
Chapter 2 : Electricity

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Applications of electrostatic charges
1. Electrostatic crop sprayer


*A strongly charged metal wire charges the tiny droplets of
pesticide as they leave the nozzle.
*The droplets of pesticides have the same charge, so they
repel each other and spread out evenly to cover a wide area.
*When a droplet is near a leaf, it induces an opposite charge
on the leaf and is attracted to it.

2. Electrostatic paint sprayer

*The droplets of paint coming out from a nozzle are charged
positively as the nozzle is connected to a positive potential.
*As the droplets of paint have same charge, they repel each
other to form a wide fine spray.
*The body is earthed during spraying and thus the droplets
of paint are attracted to the metal body, giving a very even
coating.
*save cost, even spraying, reach inaccessible parts

3. Electrostatic air filter (to clean air in room or factory)

*When the fan on top spins, dirty air is sucked from below
through a filter netting. Bigger dirt particles are filtered off
by the netting.
*The dirty air then moves up through two sets of metal grids.
Grid A is charged positive and Grid B is charged negative.
*Dust particles are charged by the grids. Negatively charged
particles are attracted to grid A and positively charged dust
particles are attracted to grid B.
*The foul smell of the air is removed through absorption by
charcoal placed on top. Thus what flows out of the filter is
fresh clean air.

Chapter 2 : Electricity

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4. Electrostatic precipitator (remove ash and dust from the
waste gases in power stations or factory chimneys before
being discharged to the atmosphere)

(1) Smoke particles pick up a negative charge.
(2) Smoke particles are attracted to the collecting plates.
(3) Collecting plates are knocked to remove the smoke
particles

5. Photostating machine (Photocopier)
*The selenium-coated drum is
charged positively as it rotates past a
charged rod.

*Drum becomes evenly charged.

*Print image are focused on the drum.
Parts which receive light lose all their
charges. Dark areas on the drum
surface retain their charges.

*Fine powdered ink (toner) which is
negatively charged is attracted to the
charged areas of the drum.

*The toner is transferred to the paper
and the images are printed on the
paper.

*The toner is heated to melt the
powdered ink and fix the images
permanently on the paper.




Chapter 2 : Electricity

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2.1.3 Electric current, I

1. Electric current, I = rate of flow of charge


2. SI unit of current, I =
1 A is the steady current that flows through a wire when a
charge of 1 coulomb flows through the wire in 1 second.
Hence, 1 A = 1 C s
-1


3. The amount of charge, Q, flowing through any conductor is
given by :


4. When free electrons move through the wire from B to A, the
electric current, I, flows from A to B.


Exercise
A fuse wire will blow if the current flowing through it exceeds 5.0 A
for a time of 80 ms.
a) What is the quantity of electric charge that has passed
through the fuse wire in 80 ms?
b) How many electrons have passed through the fuse wire in
that time, given that the charge on 1 electron is 1.6 10
-19
C?
2.1.4 The electric field

1. Electric field = a region surrounding a charged body where
electrostatic force can be experienced.

2. An electric field can be represented by:




3. Arrangement used to observe electric field patterns:





4. Patterns of electric field using different types of electrode:
Electric field patterns








Chapter 2 : Electricity

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Effect of an electric field
1. A ping-pong ball coated with a conducting material




*When a high voltage is applied across the two plates, the ball
is observed to be stationary.
*This is because opposite charges are induced on the surface of
the ball, so that the ball is attracted by the positive and negative
charge plates with equal force, F.
*If the ping-pong ball is slightly displaced to one side, the ball
will bounce back between the two plates continuously.

2. Spreading of a candle flame




*When the high d.c. voltage connected to plates P and Q is
switched on, it is observed that:
a) the candle flame spreads out in two opposite directions
b) the spread of the flame towards the negative (P) plate is
bigger
Explanation
a) Heat energy from the candle flame produces ionization of
the air molecules. Positive and negative ions are formed
around the flame.
b) Positive ions are heavier, and move slower. Movement of
the positive ions towards the negative plate P causes a
bigger spread of the flame.
c) Electrons are lighter and move at a higher speed. When
they move towards the positive plate Q, they cause a
smaller spread of the flame.

3. Lightning




*When a negatively charged thundercloud passes above a tall
building, positive charges are induced on the roof.
*A strong electric field between the cloud and the roof
produces a strong force of attraction between the opposite
charges.
*Electrons will suddenly accelerate from the cloud to the roof
and this causes the building to be struck by lightning.
*A lightning conductor with sharp spikes is fixed on the
highest part of the roof to reduce the risk of lightning strikes in
two ways:
a) The lightning conductor carries some induced charges to the
ground and also cancels out some of the charges on the cloud.
This reduces the chances of lightning striking.
b) If lightning does strike, the lightning conductor provides an
easy path for the electrons to pass to the ground without
damaging the building.
Chapter 2 : Electricity

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2.2 Relationship between electric current and
potential difference
2.2.1 Potential difference (Voltage)




Electric potential at X (+ve terminal) ( )
Electric potential at Y (-ve terminal)
>> Electric current flows from X to Y, passing through an electric
bulb, because of the electric potential difference across the battery.



1. The potential difference between two points in a circuit causes
an electric charge to move between the two points.

2. An electron will move from a point of low potential to a point
of high potential.
Hence, an electric current I will flow from a point of low
potential to a point of high potential.

3. Potential difference, V, between two points: work done (or
energy produced) when 1C of charge moves between the two
points in an electric field.

Or

4. The SI unit of potential difference ( or voltage ) is volt (V).
1 Volt is the potential difference between two points if 1 J of
energy is produced when 1 C of charge flows between the two
points.

Exercise

If 2 10
19
electrons pass a point on a wire in 5 seconds, what is
the magnitude of the current that flows through the wire?





The energy released between points A and B is 60 J when a
charge of 20 C flows from A to B.
a) What is the potential difference between A and B?
b) If the time taken for the 20 C to flow between A and B is
40s, what is the value of the current flowing through the
bulb?



Chapter 2 : Electricity

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2.2.2 Ohms Law

Ohms law states that the current, I, flowing through a metal
conductor is directly proportional to the potential difference, V,
across the conductor (if the temperature and other physical
conditions remain constant)

1. Graph for a conductor that obeys Ohms law ( )



2. Resistance, R = ratio of the potential difference (or voltage),
V, across the conductor to the current, I, flowing through it.

3. 1 is the resistance of a conductor when a potential
difference of 1 volt applied across it produces a current of
1A through it.

Exercise
A 9 V battery connected across a resistance wire produces a steady
current of 0.3 A through the wire. If the internal resistance of the
battery can be neglected, what is the resistance of the wire?


5.0 V is applied across a 2.0 resistor. What current will flow
through the resistor?


2.2.3 Factors that affect resistance
1. Four factors that affect resistance of a conductor:



Resistance
Length of conductor
(wire or filament)






Cross-sectional area
of conductor
(diameter or number
of wires)
(Highway)





Temperature of the
conductor
atoms in metallic lattice
vibrate stronger > block
the movement of
electrons >flow slower






Type of material
Silver
Copper
Constantan
Nichrome


A resistance wire of resistance 3 has length 0.2 m and
cross-sectional area 0.02 mm
2
.
What is the resistance of another wire of the same material,
but with length 0.80 m and cross sectional area 0.04 mm
2
?


Chapter 2 : Electricity

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2.2.4 Superconductors

1. Resistance of a metal increases with temperature.
Resistance of a semiconductor decreases with temperature.




2. A superconductor = a material whose resistance become ZERO
when its temperature drops to a certain value called the critical
temperature, T
c
.
E.g. mercury becomes a superconductor when its temperature
reaches 4.2 K.



3. Other examples of superconductors:
Material Critical temperature, T
c
(K)
Zinc 0.88
Aluminium 1.19
Mercury 4.15
Lead 7.18
YBa
2
Cu
3
O
7
90
Ti-Ba-Ca-Cu-O 125

4. When a small permanent magnet is moved above the surface of
a superconductor, a current is induced inside the
superconductor.
5. As the resistance of the superconductor is zero, the induced
current will continue to flow for years, even after the
permanent magnet is removed.

6. As the magnetic field produced by a superconductor is opposite
in direction to that of the permanent magnet, the permanent
magnet will be acted by an opposing magnetic force. Thus, it
will float above the surface of the superconductor.

Advantages of superconductors
*At critical temperature, a very large current can flow through
the superconductor without overheating, as its resistance is zero.
*The magnetic field produced by a superconductor is many
times more powerful than that produced by any permanent
magnet.

Uses of superconductors
a) As superconducting coils (in electromagnets)
*produce very powerful magnetic fields
*used in scanning devices in hospitals (CT-Scan and MRI)

b) As high temperature superconducting cables (in power
transmissions)
*Efficient! Low cost! Low power loss!
c) Make strong superconducting electromagnets (in MAGLEV
train magnetic levitation train)
*the train floats about 1 cm above the tracks (due to strong
magnetic repulsion between the base of the train and the
railway tracks)
*the train can slide at high speed (500km/h) without friction

Chapter 2 : Electricity

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2.3 Series and parallel circuits
1. Electrical circuit = complete path along which electric current
can flow
2. A circuit made of electrical components
2.3.1 Resistors in a series circuit




Series circuit = circuit components are connected end to end
consecutively to provide a single path for current flow through
all the components

*All components in series circuit have the __________ current
*If one component fails to allow current to flow through, the
whole circuit breaks off.

1. Current, I =
2. Potential difference, V =
=
=
3. Resistance, R =



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2.3.2 Resistors in a parallel circuit






Parallel circuit = components are placed side by side and their
corresponding ends are joined together

*Failure of one component does not affect the other
components.
1. Potential difference, V =
=
2. Current, I =
=

=

3. Since,

Thus,

Advantages of parallel cicuits
1. If one of the electrical appliances does not function, the other
appliances can still be in use.
2. Additional appliances can be connected in parallel with the
existing appliance without the need for more voltage.
3. Therfore,most of the household applian ces are connected in
parallel.

Effective resistance (Combined resistance)
Effective resistor
= a single resistor that replaces 2 or more resistors in seires
or parallel
= has the same effect on the circuit
= allow same amount of current to flow in the circuit
Combined circuit
Combined circuit = a combination of resistors connected in series
and in parallel

Chapter 2 : Electricity

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Calculate the effective resistance







Calculate the effective resistance








2.4 Analysing electromotive force and internal resistance
Internal resistance
1. A circuit is a closed loop through which current can
continuously flow.
a) _____________ = path taken by the current outside the cell
b) _____________ = path taken by the current within the cell

2. When current flows in a circuit (internal or external), resistance
is produced.
a) For external circuit = ______________
b) For internal circuit = ______________ or source resistance

3. What is internal resistnace or source resistance?
The resistance within the cell or battery itself , (due to its
electrolyte or electrodes).
(A cell consists of electrodes in a chemical electrolyte.
When the cell is connected in a circuit, the current flowing in
the electrolyte through the electrodes experience internal
resistance.)





To show the exsistence of internal resistance
1. Turn on a torch for 20 minutes. The dry cells in the torch
becomes hot (due to resistance)
2. Hot (resistance) happens when current flows in resistor.
3. Curent flows through the cell and external circuit.
4. Therefore, resistors in the external circuit become hot too.
2
3
4
2 4
6
2 3 5
2
3
5
Chapter 2 : Electricity

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Electromotive force (e.m.f.)
1. A cell = an electrical source which uses chemical reactions to
produce a current (changes chemical energy into electrical
energy)

2. A battery = combination of two or more cells connected in
series

3. _________________________________________________
has to be in a circuit to make a current flow through the circuit.

4. Electromotive force, E, of a dry cell = total electrical energy
given to one coulomb of charge flowing through the CELL

If a dry cell has E = 1.5 V, the dry cell will provide 1.5 J of
electrical energy to every 1 C of charge passing through the cell.
This 1.5 J of energy is transferred to all parts of the circuit.


Relationship between e.m.f. & terminal potential difference

Electromotive force
*Work done by a source in driving 1 coulomb of charge around
a COMPLETE CIRCUIT (external and internal circuit)
*can be measured by voltmeter connected to the terminals of a
cell on open circuit

Terminal potential difference , V
t

*Work done by a source in driving 1 coulomb of charge
through the EXTERNAL RESISTOR
*can be measured by voltmeter connected to the terminals of a
cell on closed circuit (when the cell sends current through the
external resistor)

Since V
t
< E ; E V
t
= V
d


Lost Volts, V
d
*Work done by a source in driving 1 coulomb of charge
through the CELL
*OR, potential difference required to drive the current through
the internal resistance
*cant be measured directly

# Work done = Energy
# E.m.f = energy supplied by a cell per coulomb of charge to
the whole circuit


Chapter 2 : Electricity

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2.5 Analysing electrical energy and power
Electrical power

Power,P = amount of energy transferred in one second


1 watt = power of an electrical appliance which can produce a totoal
energy of 1 J in 1 sec


Cost of using electrical energy
1. Unit for cost of using electrical energy = kilowatt-hour (kWh)
2. 1 kWh = total energy consumed by an electrical appliance of
power 1 kW in 1 hour.
1 kWh =


3. If a television set of power 700 W is switched on for 6 hours
a day, then the total electrical energy used in a day is

Energy = Power x Time



Exercise
1. The lamp of a motorcycle is labelled 12 V, 15 W
a) Explain the meaning of 12 V, 15 W
b) What is the value of the current flowing through the lamp
when it is connected to a 12 V supply?
How much is the resistance of the filament of the lamp?


2. The usage of electrical appliances in Alis household in one day is
as shown in the table below:
Appliance Number of
units
Power Time duration
used
Lamp 8 100 W 12 h
Television 1 700 W 8 h
Kettle 1 2 kW 1 h
Fridge 1 400 W 12 h
Fan 3 70 W 10 h

a) Determine the total electrical energy (in kWh) used in Alis
hosue in 1 day.
b) Calculate the cost of electrical energy usage in Alis house in
one week if the cost per unit is as follows:
First 100 units: 22 cent per unit
Every additional unit: 26 cent per unit



Chapter 2 : Electricity

15

Efficiency of electrical energy
1. Efficiency =

2. If power output = power in put, then the electrical appliance
has 100% efficiency.

3. For most electrical appliances, efficiency < 100% due to loss
of useful input power as heat.

a) Filament lamp and fluorescent lamp
Function is to produce light
Both types produce heat as side products
Fraction of electrical energy that is converted to heat
= wastage
Fluorescent lamp produce less heat, higher efficiency
Fluorescent lamp - 4 to 6 times more efficient
Efficiency of lamp =

A tungsten-filament lamp and a fluorescent lamp, each with a power
rating of 40 W, produce 8 W and 38 W of light energy respectively.
What is the efficiency of each lamp?



b) Hairdryer


Consists of fan and heating coils made from
nichrome
To increase efficiency, users can choose cool air,
warm air or very hot air by switching the hairdryer

c) Comparing the efficiency of electric kettle and imersion
heater







Both appliances consist of wires made from nichrome
Efficiency of electric kettle is higher
*has cover that prevents heat loss to surroundings
Efficiency of immersion heater is lower
*has long connecting wire that has resistance (waste)




Chapter 2 : Electricity

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Importance of using energy efficiently
Depletion of major fuel supplies (natural gas, coal, oil)
Only renewable energy (nuclear, hydroelectric, wind) can be
used to generate energy constantly

Ways to improve efficiency of energy usage
1. Better insulation or ventilation of buildings
Reduce heat loss during cold weather
Less fuels needed to keep interior temperature at
comfortable level
2. Combined heat and power
Waste heat produced in the colling water can be
channeled back to household building

3. Better use of electricity
Use fossil fuels instead of electricity to heat homes
and offices during cold weather
(avoid loss of energy)
Use electricity to run machinery, computer, domestic
appliances and so on.

4. Change of lifestyle
Use less electrical energy
Use public transport
Switch on fans and air-conditioners when neccessary
Switch off unused electrical appliances
Carry out maintenance service on electrical
appliances from time to time (fridge, air-conditioners,
water heaters)
Clean air filters of air-conditioners every month
Clean the cooling fins at the back of fridge every two
months
Wipe the surfaces of filament bulbs and fluorescent
lamps from time to time