8.

3 Electrical energy in the home

2. One of the main advantages of electricity is that it can be moved with
comparative ease from one place to another through electric circuits
-Describe qualitatively how each of the following affects the movement of
electricity through conductions:
-Length
-Cross sectional area
-Temperature
-Material

Factors affecting the movement of electricity through conductors

- There are a number of factors that affect the resistance of a conductor:
- Conductors have a low resistivity and insulators have a high resistivity
- Longer conductors have a high resistance than shorter conductors
- Conductors with a small cross-sectional area have a higher resistance
than conductors with a large cross-sectional area
- The temperature of the conductor also affects resistance. For metals,
resistance increases as the temperature increases. For graphite,
resistance decreases as temperature increases

3. Series and parallel circuits serve different purposes in households

-Identify the difference between series and parallel circuits
-Compare parallel and series circuits in terms of voltage across components and
current through them
- An electrical circuit is a continuous conducting path that allows a current to flow

Parallel circuits
- Provide more than one conducting path & junctions are placed at
different points around the circuit
- At some junctions current is split so that some of the current moves
along one path and the rest through another path and at other
junctions two or more paths recombine to form one large current
- The current does not go through every component in the circuit
Series circuits
- Series circuits only have on conducting path where all components are
connected one after another, the current moves through them in order.
Voltage in circuits
- Law of conservation: Energy cant be created or destroyed, but can be
transformed from one form to another
- Kirchhoffs voltage rule describes the relationship between energy
gained by the electrons in the power supply and the energy lost by the
electrons as they move around the circuit.

In closed loop EMF= potential difference. Closed loop in a circuit is a

single continuous conducting path
Current in circuits
- Kirchhoffs law: The current leaving a point in the circuit is equal to the
current entering that point. The charge cant be destroyed or created
- According to Kirchhoffs, the current is at the same points around a
series circuit

-Explain why there are different circuits for lighting, heating and other
appliances in a house

Different circuits for appliances in a house

Circuits are used for lighting, heating and other appliances. These run parallel.
There are several reasons for this:
-

Series circuits are inefficient, and will stop the current to another globe
if there is a fault, however in a parallel the current can continue
Different currents can be used at different times
Some circuits are needed all the time, e.g. lighting and power
Other circuits such as water heater are only required when heated
water is needed
Resistance of circuit < parallel resistance, therefore to prevent greater
current drawn circuits are connected as parallel

-Identify uses of voltmeters and ammeters

Voltmeter use: Used to measure the potential difference across a section

of the electric current
Ammeter use: Used to measure the current through a section of the
circuit

-Explain why ammeters and voltmeters are connected differently in a circuit

How voltmeters and ammeters are connected

- Voltmeter is connected parallel to the section of the circuit being
measured because the potential difference across the voltmeter will be
the same as the potential difference across the section of circuit
- Ammeter is connected in series because the current that passes
through the section being measured also passes through the ammeter.

4. The amount of power is related to the rate at which energy is

transformed
-Explain that power is the rate at which energy is transformed from one form to
another

Electrical power
- Because of worked being defined as the amount of energy that is
transformed from one form to another. Power (P) is related to work by

the equation: P=W/t, hence why power is defined as the rate at which
energy is transformed from one form to another.
-Identify the relationship between power, potential difference and current

Relationship between power, potential difference and current

- The power of a component in an electrical circuit depends on the
potential difference across the component and the current through the
component, which is also expressed as: P=VL

-Identify that the total amount of energy is used depends on the length of time
the current is flowing and can be calculated using: energy = VIt

Measuring Electrical Energy in the Home

- The energy used by an individual device depends both on the power
drawn by the component and the amount of time the component is
used for. The energy used by an individual device is: Energy = VIt

-Explain why the kilowatt-hour is used to measure electrical energy consumption

rather than the joule

Why kilowatt hour is used

- The joule is a relatively small unit. As electricity is billed quarterly, this
means that the measurement of the total amount of energy used would
be huge if household electricity was measured in joules, hence why
household energy is measured in kilowatts
- 1 kWh = 3.6 x 106 J

5. Electric currents also produce magnetic fields and these fields are
used in different devices in the home
-Describe the behaviour of the magnetic poles of bar magnets when they are
brought close together

Magnetic Fields:
- One pole is called the north pole and the other pole is called the south
pole
- A north pole and another north pole will repel and a south pole and a
south pole will also repel
- A north pole and a south pole will attract each other.

-Define the direction of the magnetic field at a point as the direction of force on
a very small north magnetic pole when placed at that point

Direction of a magnetic field

- The direction of a magnetic field at any point is defined as the direction
of the force on a very small north pole when placed at that point

-Describe the magnetic field around pairs of magnetic poles

Magnetic fields around pairs of magnetic poles

- Magnetic field lines go from north to south pole
- Theyre closer together when the magnetic field is stronger
- They do not meet or cross over
- Do not necessarily meet at right angles

-Describe the production of a magnetic field by an electric current in a straight

current-carrying conductor and describe how the right hand grip rule can
determine the direction of current and field lines

Electromagnetism
- Magnetic field around a current carrying conductor is circular and the
plane of the circular magnetic field is perpendicular to the direction of
the current meaning that the magnetic field is 3 dimensional
- The right hand grip rule is when the wire is gripped with the right hand
with the thumb out stretched in the direction of the current; the fingers
curl around the wires in the direction of the magnetic field.

-Compare the nature and generation of magnetic fields by solenoids and a bar
magnet

Nature and Generation of magnetic field by solenoids

- Solenoids are a wire coil which produces magnetic fields when there is
a current moving through the wire.
- The magnetic field around a solenoid helps us to understand how the
magnetic field around a bar magnet is generated.
- When magnetic fields are aligned they stay aligned unless impacted by
heat, force or a strong external magnetic force
- As a result, a bar magnet is always surrounded by a magnetic field
whereas an electromagnet is only surrounded by a magnetic field when
the current is flowing

6. Safety devices are important in household circuits

-Discuss the dangers of an electric shock from both a 240 volt AC mains supply
and various DC voltages, from appliances, on the muscles of the body

The physiological effects of electricity

- Current that passes through an individuals body is determined by the
potential difference across their bodys resistance according to ohms
law.
Factors that affect the resistance of the body:
- Area of contact: Resistance is higher if wire is touched by a finger than
if grabbed by a hand. A current that wont be felt would be if it passes
through a metallic ring on the finger
- Moisture: Wet skin has lower resistance than dry skin

The condition of skin: Broken skin has lower resistance than unbroken
skin
Psychological effects on the normal functioning of the body:
- Burning tissue: If enough heat is generated by the current that moves
through the body, tissue will be burned
- Muscular contraction: Small electric sparks cause our muscles to
contract. When electric shocked. This means only larger currents will
cause the muscle to contract, this is called tetanus. It may cause
difficulty in breathing
- Ventricular fibrillation: Since the heart receives electrical impulse
shocks, if a large enough current passes through the heart the muscle
will contract and the prevention of blood being pumped around the
body effectively is possible. This is known as ventricular fibrillation.

-Describe the functions of circuit breakers, fuses, earthing, double insulation and
other safety devices in the home

Preventing electric shock in the home

Many safety devices are used in the home to prevent electric shock, these
include:

Fuses: Fuses prevent a circuit from drawing a large current due to the
circuit being overloaded or if there is a short circuit. This leads to the
circuit being damaged or large amounts of heat being produced. It also
causes damage to the circuit and appliance.
Circuit breakers: This has the same function as a fuse. Some circuit
breakers contain a bimetallic strip, which causes the strip and lose
electrical contact with the rest of the circuit. Other circuit breakers are
electromagnetic. This is when a mechanical arms pivots on a fulcrum and
released the switch forming a break in the circuit.
Earthing: Earthing is designed to prevent electric shocks. If a loose
appliance comes in contact with a conductor on the outside of the
appliance, the appliance will become electrically alive. The earthing is
connected to a conductor and at the other end it runs from a wire
connected to the bottom socket on a power point and runs to a spike
going into the ground.
Double insulation: Current carrying wires are coated in an insulating
material to prevent any current from leaving the wire along its length.
Wires are often doubled, e.g. a power cord consists of three wires, each
wire is covered in an insulator and another insulator holds the wires
together, this prevents electric shock if the chord is touched
Residual current devices (RCDs): An RCD is able to detect if any
current has been lost as it has travelled through the circuit. By Kirchhoffs
rule, all of the currents that enters the circuit is expected to return.
However, if some current is lost to the ground, the RCD detects the change
in current and breaks the circuit.