 Electric Current and EMF

 Electric Resistance and Ohm’s Law

 Factors Affecting Resistance of a Wire
› Length
› Area
› Nature of Material (Resistivity)
 Temperature Coefficient of Resistance
 Electric Power
 Direct Current Circuit
› Resistors in Series
› Resistors in Parallel
› Resistors in Series and Parallel
 7. Kirchoff’s Law
WHAT IS ELECTRICITY?
In some materials like metals, the electrons
farthest from the nucleus are not bound to a
particular atom - they can move freely from
one atom to another. Electricity is the flow of
these free electrons in a wire:
Such a flow of electrons is called a current.
Direct current or DC electricity is the
continuous movement of electrons from
an area of negative (−) charges to an
area of positive (+) charges through a
conducting material such as a metal
wire. Whereas static electricity sparks
consist of the sudden movement of
electrons from a negative to positive
surface, DC electricity is the continuous
movement of the electrons through a
wire.
What makes these free electrons move?
Suppose we put something that has a
net positive charge at the one end of the
wire (say, at the right end of the wire
pictured above). Let's also suppose that we
put something with a net negative charge
at the other end (the left end in the wire
above). Then the electrons in the wire will
be attracted to the positive end and
repelled by the negative end. Hence, they
will flow from left to right. That's electric
current!
MEASURING CURRENT
How do we measure current? Current is
measured by literally counting the number
of electrons that pass a given point in the
wire. Any point will do - it doesn't matter
which one because the current will be the
same in each point of the wire, unless the
wire branches off into a more complicated
circuit, because there are billions of billions
of electrons in even a very little piece of
wire, we need to have a unit of
measurement that will make it easy to
count so many.
The basic unit for counting electrons (that
is, charge) is the "coulomb“, C

1 coulomb = 1.6 x 1019 electrons

= 16,000,000,000,000,000,000
= 16 billion billion electrons!
To measure current, we pick one point
along the wire and count the electrons
that go by, like watching things go by on
an assembly line. If 1 coulomb of
electrons go by each second, then we
say that the current is 1 "ampere“ or
1 amp for short. If 2 coulomb's per second
goes by, we say the current is 2 amps,
and so on:
1 ampere = 1 coulomb per second

It is traditional to represent the current with

the symbol I, as in I = 1 amperes, or I = 15 A
EXAMPLE: A charge of 30 C flows in a wire.
How much charge flows past a fixed point
in 10 seconds?
A 2 mm long cross section of
wire is isolated and 20 C of
charge is determined to pass
through it in 40 s.
A 1 mm long cross section of
wire is isolated and 2 C of
charge is determined to pass
through it in 0.5 s.
In order to maintain an electric current,
work is required to expend energy in
moving the charge around a circuit. All
conductors present some opposition to
the flow of the charge so that work must
be done to maintain a current. An
agency capable of causing such flow
by converting other forms of energy to
electrical work is called source current
When a voltage is generated by a
battery, or by the magnetic
force according to Faraday's Law, this
generated voltage has been traditionally
called an "electromotive force" or emf.
The emf represents energy per unit
charge (voltage). The term emf is
retained for historical reasons. It is useful
to distinguish voltages which are
generated from the voltage changes
which occur in a circuit as a result of
energy dissipation, e.g., in a resistor.
Electric potential or voltage.
Electromotive force is not really a
force, but a measure of how much
work would be done by moving an
electric charge.
BATTERIES
Batteries are devices which can
make a current flow by creating a
positive charge at one end of a wire
and a negative charge at the other.
A battery has two terminals (wire
contacts), called positive and
negative, corresponding to the net
charges created at the terminals.
BATTERIES
Batteries rely on chemical reactions
to create DC electricity.

DC GENERATOR
Another reliable source of DC
electricity is the DC generator, which
consists of coils of wire spinning
between North and South magnets.
CAR BATTERY
The automobile battery consists of lead
plates in a sulfuric acid solution. When the
plates are given a charge from the car's
generator or alternator, they change
chemically and hold the charge. That
source of DC electricity can then be used
to power the car's lights and such. The
biggest problem with this type of battery is
that sulfuric acid is very caustic and
dangerous.
LEMON BATTERY
Another battery that you can make yourself is a
lemon battery. This one needs no charging but
depends on the acidic reaction of different metals.
Copper and zinc work the best. You can use a
copper penny or copper piece of wire. A zinc-
coated or galvanized nail can be used as the other
terminal. A standard iron nail will work, but not as
good.
Push the copper wire and galvanized nail into an
ordinary lemon and measure the voltage across the
metals with a voltmeter. Some people have been
able to dimly light a flashlight bulb with this battery.
THE VOLTAIC CELL & BATTERIES

A cell is an individual unit that produces a

potential difference/voltage between two
metal terminals. It consists of two metal
terminals with an electrolytic material
between them. As the terminals are
oxidized by chemical reaction with the
electrolyte, the terminals become
negatively charge, one more than the
other thus a potential difference occurs
between terminals.
A battery is any collection of cells
connected together

The amp-hour rating of battery is the

product of current & time duration of that
current that can be sustained by the
battery.
A 3 amp-hour rating will maintain 3
amps for 1 hour or 1 amp for 3 hours.
 When a wire is connected
across these terminals, forming
a closed circuit, the positive
and negative charges created
by the battery cause a current
to flow:

Note that the electrons flow

from the negative terminal to
the positive terminal.
Eventually, when enough
electrons have flowed, the
battery will become drained,
and the current will cease.
MEASURING VOLTAGE
How strongly the battery pushes
electrons through the wire is a
measure of its voltage, symbolized
with the letter V. You can think of
voltage like pressure: the higher the
voltage, the higher the pressure is to
push electrons through the wire. The
lower the voltage, the lower the
pressure.
Voltage is measured in volts. For
example, common voltages for
batteries are 1.5 volts, 6 volts, 9 volts,
and 12 volts. Car batteries are
typically 12 volts. An electrical outlet
in the Philippines has a voltage of 220
volts (AC).
 Volt (V)
Volt is the electrical unit of voltage or
potential difference (symbol: V).
One Volt is defined as energy
consumption of one joule per electric
charge of one coulomb.
1V = 1J/C
One volt is equal to current of 1 amp
times resistance of 1 ohm:
1V = 1A · 1Ω
Volts to electron-volts conversion
The energy in electronvolts (eV) is equal to
the potential difference or voltage in volts
(V) times the electric charge in electron
charges (e):

electronvolts (eV) = volts (V) × electron-

charge (e)

= volts (V) × 1.602176e-19 coulombs (C)

RESISTANCE
Resistance is the hindrance to the flow of
charge. An electron travelling through the
wires and loads of the external circuit
encounters resistance. For an electron, the
journey from terminal to terminal is not a
direct route. Rather, it is a zigzag path that
results from countless collisions with fixed
atoms within the conducting material.
Ohm (symbol Ω) is the electrical unit of
resistance.
The unit was named after Georg Ohm.
1Ω = 1V / 1A

= 1J · 1s / 1C2
While the electric potential difference
established between the two
terminals encourages the movement of
charge, it is resistance that discourages it.
The rate at which charge flows from
terminal to terminal is the result of the
combined affect of these two quantities.

Resistance is an electrical quantity that

measures how the device or material
reduces the electric current flow through it.
RESISTANCE CALCULATION
The resistance of a conductor is resistivity
of the conductor's material times the
conductor's length divided by the
conductor's cross sectional area.
R is the resistance in ohms (Ω).
ρ (rho) is the resistivity in ohms-
meter (Ω×m)
l is the length of the conductor
in meter (m)
A is the cross sectional area of
the conductor in square meters
(m2)
TEMPERATURE EFFECTS OF RESISTANCE
The resistance of a resistor increases when
temperature of the resistor increases.

R2 is the resistance at temperature T2 in ohms (Ω).

R1 is the resistance at temperature T1 in ohms (Ω).
α is the temperature coefficient.
 Resistivity and Temperature Coefficient at 20 C°

Resistivity r Temperature
Material
(ohm m) coefficient (α)
per degree C°
Silver 1.59 x 10-8 0.003819
Copper 1.68 x 10-8 0.004041
Gold 2.4 x 10-8 0.003715
Aluminum 2.65 x 10-8 0.004308
Tungsten 5.6 x 10-8 0.004403
Iron 9.71 x 10-8 0.005671
Platinum 10.6 x 10-8 0.003729
Lead 22 x 10-8 ...
Mercury 98 x 10-8 0.0009

Nichrome ((Ni,Fe,Cr alloy) 100 x 10-8 0.0004

Carbon* (graphite) 3-60 x 10-5 -0.00048

Germanium* 1-500 x 10-3 -0.048

Silicon* 0.1-60 -0.075

Glass 1-10000 x 10-9 ...

Quartz (fused) 7.5 x 10-17 ...

Hard rubber 1-100 x 10-13 ...

EXAMPLE:
A resistor is to be made from a 150m long
aluminum wire 0.2mm in radius. What is the
resistor’s resistance at 20oC and at 2000oC?
Resistance of an aluminum, gold,
silver, copper, & tungsten cables
with length 10 m and cross
sectional area of 3 mm2 can be
calculated as
a) A carbon resistor with
resistance 1 kΩ at 20°C is
heated 100 oC. With a
temperature coefficient -4.8 x
10-4 (/Co) the resistance
change can be calculated as:

b) If R1 is change to 500 Ω:
c) If T2 is change to 75 o C
 OHM'S LAW
Ohm's Law deals with the relationship between voltage
and current in an ideal conductor. This relationship
states that:

The potential difference (voltage) across an ideal

conductor is proportional to the current through it.

The constant of proportionality is called the

"resistance", R.

Ohm's Law is given by:

V=IR
 RESISTANCE CALCULATION WITH OHM'S LAW

R is the resistance of the resistor in ohms (Ω).

V is the voltage on the resistor in volts (V).
I is the current of the resistor in amperes (A).

If we increase the voltage, the current will increase.

If we increase the resistance, the current will reduce.

 For a given voltage, some wires let more current flow
than others. A wire that doesn't let very much current flow
is said to have high resistance.

To simplify matters, we usually assume that the wire itself is

an ideal wire with no resistance, and we represent the
resistance as a localized component of the circuit
symbolized with a broken line:
If we have a 1 volt battery, and a
resistance of 1 ohm, then the current that
results is given by :

Likewise, if we have a 2 volt battery, and a

resistance of 3 ohms, then the current that
results is given by:
EXAMPLE: A 15 W resistor is connected to
a 45V power supply. What current flows
through the resistor?
R

I + V

-
If 0.6A current flows through a
resistor shown in figure. Voltage of
two points of resistor is 12V. What is
the resistance of the resistor?
Resistance of an electric iron 50 Ω.
Then 4.2 A current flows through the
resistance. Find the voltage between
two points.
Filament resistance of an electric
bulb is 660 Ω. Potential difference
of two points 220V. Find the
current through the filament
flowing.
An emf source of 6.0V is
connected to a purely resistive
lamp and a current of 2.0 amperes
flows. All the wires are resistance-
free. What is the resistance of the
lamp?
Find the current of an electrical circuit
that has resistance of 50 Ohms and
voltage supply of 5 Volts.

Find the resistance of an electrical

circuit that has voltage supply of 10
Volts and current of 5mA.
MEASURING POWER IN WATTS
What happens to the energy delivered to the wire? For
a simple circuit which is purely resistive & assuming wire
is perfect conductor, the energy is completely
converted into heat energy in the wire which escapes
into space.

The voltage of a battery, V (J/s) is related to the amount

of energy that the battery can deliver, but in many
practical applications, we want to know the rate at
which energy is delivered, not how much energy is
delivered per coulomb of charge.
The rate at which energy is
delivered is called power.
Power is thus defined:
In the metric International units, the unit of
power corresponding to 1 joule per
second is called a watt:
Find the electric power of an electrical
circuit that consumes 120 joules for 20
seconds.
DC Electric Power
The electric power in watts associated with a complete
electric circuit or a circuit component represents the
rate at which energy is converted from the electrical
energy of the moving charges to some other form, e.g.,
heat, mechanical energy, or energy stored in electric
fields or magnetic fields.
Power Dissipated in Resistor
Convenient expressions for
the power dissipated in
a resistor can be obtained by
the use of Ohm's Law.
POWER SUPPLIED AND POWER LOSS: R
In this circuit a battery and resistor
(load) are connected in series. Current
from the battery flows through wires to I
and through the resistor and then back
to the battery. When it leaves the
battery the current is at high energy. + V
On its journey through the circuit this
I
energy is lost and the current returns to
the battery at low energy. -
Neither current nor charge is consumed. Chemical energy within the
battery is converted to electric potential energy carried by the current
leaving the battery. The electric potential energy is lost as the current
crosses the resistor where the energy is converted to some other form,
mostly thermal (known as joule heating.) As the current moves
through the battery, a chemical reaction pumps the current from low
PE to high PE and the journey is repeated. This will continue until the
available chemical energy within the battery is exhausted, being
ultimately converted to thermal energy.
POWER SUPPLIED AND POWER LOSS:
The emf of a battery is defined Electric charge loses energy as
as the energy supplied by the it flows through a resistor.
battery per unit charge.

PE PE t PE  qV

E V   
q t q PE q
 V
PE q t t
Psupplied  I PE q
t t Ploss  I
1 t t
V  Psupplied  V  IR
I
Psupplied  IV Ploss  I  IR  I R
2
EXAMPLE CALCULATIONS USING THE DIFFERENT
DERIVED FORMULAS

The fundamental difference between a 60-Watt bulb

and a 120-Watt bulb is not the current that is in the bulb,
but rather the resistance of the bulb. It is the resistances
that are different for these two bulbs; the difference in
current is merely the consequence of this difference in
resistance.

Calculate the current & resistance for 120-Watt Bulb &

for 60-Watt Bulb using different formulas.
SAMPLE PROBLEMS FOR SIMPLE CIRCUIT

An electrical device with a resistance of 3.0 Ω will allow a

current of 4.0 amps to flow through it if a voltage drop of
________ Volts is impressed across the device. The power
rating is_____.

When a voltage of 120 V is impressed across an electric

heater, a current of 10.0 amps will flow through the heater
if the resistance is ________ . The power rating is_____.

A flashlight that is powered by 3 Volts and uses a bulb

with a resistance of 60 Ω will have a current of
________. The power rating is_____.
When a hair dryer is plugged into a 120 V
outlet, it has a 9.1 A current in it. What is
the hair dryer’s power rating?

An electric space heater requires 29 A of

120 V current to adequately warm a room.
What is the power rating of the heater?
A color television has a power rating of 320 W.
How much current is in the television when
it is connected across 120 V?

The operating voltage for a light bulb is 120 V.

The power rating of the bulb is 75 W. Find
the current in the bulb.

The current in the heating element of an

electric iron is 5.0 A. If the iron dissipates 590 W
of power, what is the voltage across it?
•Calculate the resistance and the current of a 7.5-Watt
night light bulb plugged into a Philippine household outlet
(220 V).
•The sticker on a compact disc player says that it draws
288 mA of current when powered by a 9 Volt battery.
What is the power (in Watts) of the CD player?

• Calculate the resistance and the current of a 1500-Watt

electric hair dryer plugged into a Philippines household
outlet (220 V).

• A 541-Watt toaster is connected to a 220-V household

outlet. What is the resistance (in ohms) of the toaster?

•A color TV has a current of 1.99 Amps when connected

to a 220-Volt household circuit. What is the resistance
(in ohms) of the TV set?
SAMPLE PROBLEMS THEORY
A circuit is wired with a power supply, a resistor. Let initial
voltage as V, current is I & resistance R.

Determine the new current if the voltage of the power

supply was ...

a. increased by a factor of 2 & the resistance was held

constant.
b. increased by a factor of 3 & the resistance was held
constant.
c. decreased by a factor of 2 &the resistance was held
constant.
d. held constant & the resistance was increased by a factor
of 2.
e. .held constant and the resistance was
increased by a factor of 4.
f. .held constant and the resistance was
decreased by a factor of 2.
g. ... increased by a factor of 2 and the resistance
was increased by a factor of 2.
h. ... increased by a factor of 3 and the resistance
was decreased by a factor of 2.
i. ... decreased by a factor of 2 and the resistance
was increased by a factor of 2.
Which of the following will cause the
current through an electrical circuit to
decrease? Choose all that apply.

a) decrease the voltage

b) decrease the resistance
c) c. increase the voltage
d) d. increase the resistance
If the resistance of a circuit were tripled,
then the current through the circuit
would be ____.

a) one-third as much
b) b. three times as much
c) c. unchanged
d) d. ... nonsense! There would be no
way to make such a prediction.
If the voltage across a circuit is
quadrupled, then the current through the
circuit would be ____.

a) one-fourth as much
b) b. four times as much
c) c. unchanged
d) d. ... nonsense! There would be no way
to make such a prediction.