HOW TO MEMORIZE A FORMULA

1) Calm down. You'll get this.

2) Write the formula down several times on a piece of paper.
3) Close your eyes and try to say the formula out loud.
4) Make a mental picture of the formula. Most formulas,
especially the quadratic equation, have a distinctive shape that
you can remember like you'd remember a picture.
5) Work several practice problems using the formula. Application
always helps with memorization.
6) Group the formulas you've learned into lessons. One group for
a particular chapter, and another group for a different one. It's
kind of like a filing system for your brain.
x x
 HOW TO SOLVE AN ESSAY PROBLEM
• Example: Ohm’s Law Problems

1. Begin with the defining/starting formula,

and rearrange to solve for the unknown variable
(the one you are trying to find).
x x
2. The defining formula for Ohm’s Law is
V = IR (voltage = current x resistance)

3. Similarly, the “Ohm’s Law” equation can be rearranged to solve for

each variable (letter): <TRIANGLE METHOD>

4. Plug in (substitute) the numbers and units as given in the question.

5. Factor the units if possible.

6. Calculate the number for the answer, and include the units left over
after factoring.
 EXAMPLE

1) A typical 100 W light bulb has a resistance of 144Ω

and a allows a current of 0.833A. What is the
voltage drop across the tungsten filament in a
100W light bulb?

2) An electric toaster is connected to a normal 120V

outlet in the kitchen. If the heating element in the
toaster has a resistance of 14Ω, calculate the
current flowing through it.

3) The current required to operate an electric can

opener is 1.5 A and it is plugged into a regular 120V
outlet. What is its resistance?
Electric Current
Electrocuted eels make for tasty snacks
It might be difficult to find eels in a big city, as they are found mostly in rural areas and sold
in traditional markets. Many people love these slippery fish that look like snakes. In Cianjur,
West Java, eels are processed into dendeng (a spiced, dried meat). In several other places in
West Java and East Java, makeshift food stalls can still be found selling eel or belut dishes,
like pecel belut (fried eel served with chili sauce and green salad) and pepes belut (eel
roasted in coconut leaves).
One area with many eel sellers is the border between Banjaran and Soreang in Bandung
Regency, West Java. But the eels sold here are not made into dishes. They are live eels; the
catch of people who make a living by looking for eels in rice fields.
If you take the Banjaran-Soreang bypass road, you will see a line of eel traders after the first
kilometer mark. There are as many as eight traders who conduct business by the side of the
road, but only three who sell eels every day.
The live eels they sell vary in size and weight; from the very small to those that weigh around
230 grams.
"It is really hard to get big eels," said Anton, 36, one of the eel sellers.
Anton and other traders sell their eels in plastic bags. Each bag weighing 250 grams is sold
for Rp 7,500 to Rp 8,000. Each trader can sell around a kilogram of eels per day. On holidays,
daily sales can increase to up to five kilograms for each trader.
Most of the eels are caught in rice fields in Banjaran and Soreang districts and surrounding
areas. People catch eels by electrocuting them in their nests. As the eels are dying, they are
easily captured.
Anton said the traditional way of catching eels involved the use of hooks and was rather
time consuming. Today, eel catchers are armed with an accumulator battery, which is used
to transmit an electric current through a piece of wire.
"Just electrocute (the nest) and the eels will come out. If the eels do not get out of the
hole, the catcher can just put their hand down the hole to catch the eels, as they are
already weak due to the electrocution," said Anton.
An adult eel can reach any size from five to nine feet
in length - this will give an indication of the potential
voltage it produces when in attack or defense.
A large adult can produce a potential difference in
excess of 600 V (between its head and tail), and
combined with a current of up to 1 A, this can be fatal
if delivered to a human in the near vicinity of the eel.
The eels thick skin acts
as protection against its
own electric shocks.
Injuries inflicted upon
the eel can result in the
eel electrocuting itself.
 THIS IS BASIC, PEOPLE! YOU SHOULD KNOW THIS BY HEART!

Electricity is moving charge, or flow of charge (-ve).

Current (I) - the rate of flow of charge; measured in A.

Voltage (V) - the potential difference or force of electricity

(force of current); measured in V.  or ___

Resistance (R) - the resistance to electrical flow or current;

measured in Ω.

Ohm’s Law
• V = IR (voltage = current x resistance) I = V/R R = V/I
• The greater the current (I), the lower the resistance (R).
• The greater the resistance (R), the lower the current (I).
 BATTERIES
 When batteries are connected (+) to (+) and (-) to
(-), they are in parallel – they have the same
voltage as a single battery, but 2 batteries in
parallel would last twice as long.
- For example, two 1.5 V batteries connected in
parallel would put out 1.5 V.

 When batteries are connected (+) to (-), they

are in series – they increase the voltage because
the current is boosted from one battery into the
next. They wouldn’t last any longer than a single
battery, but they would put out more voltage.
- For example, two 1.5 V batteries connected in
series would put out 3 V.
BATTERIES
 Series and Parallel Circuits

 A circuit is a path that electricity follows.

 A load is any device in an electrical circuit that
uses electricity (i.e. has resistance), such as a light
bulb, electric motor, clock, stereo, etc.
 When there is more than 1 load, there are 2
different kinds of circuits – series and parallel.
 Series Circuit

There is only one path or loop for electricity – the path of current (I) flows
through one load to get to the next one.

The IT in the circuit is constant, regardless of the number of loads.

As R goes ↑ (loads are added), I goes ↓ – each load gets less I. Stated
another way, the greater the R, the lower the I to each load.

If the loads are light bulbs, as more bulbs are added, they get dimmer as
they share the IT and each one gets less I.

Disconnecting any load, such as unscrewing a bulb, breaks the single path
and the circuit is dead – none of the loads get any current.
 Parallel Circuit

There can be more than one path or loop for electricity – each load is
connected to (+) and (-), so each load gets its own path of I.

The IT in the circuit increases as loads are added – each load gets the full I,
since each is connected to (+) and (-) with its own path.

As R goes ↑ (loads are added), I goes ↑ – each load gets the full
amount of I. Stated another way, the greater the R, the greater the I in
the total circuit.

If the loads are light bulbs, as more bulbs are added, they keep the same
brightness regardless of how many bulbs.

Disconnecting any load, such as unscrewing a bulb, does not break the
circuit to the other bulbs – they continue to shine since they are each on
their own path of current.
1) Car batteries provide a potential difference of 12 volts. If an
automobile headlight has an average resistance of 24
ohms, what amount of current passes through the
headlight?

2) In a personal CD player, the label indicates 0.5 amps of

current are flowing through a conductor that provides 18
ohms of resistance. What potential difference (voltage) must
be provided by the batteries?

3) A clothes dryer uses a 220 volt power source. The coils of

the heater provide an average resistance of 12 ohms.
(a) What amount of current is flowing through the heating
coils?
(b) If the circuit has a 15 amp fuse or breaker, will it be
sufficient?
4) A 9 volt battery maintains a current of 3 amps
through a portable radio. What is the resistance of
the conductor?
5) What is the resistance of a 1100 watt hair dryer
plugged into a 110 volt outlet with a 10 amp current
flowing through it?
6) A 55 watt bulb will allow 0.5 amps to flow through it.
If the outlet provides a potential difference of 110
volt, how much resistance is provided by the bulb?
7) An automobile headlight has a resistance of 40 ohms
when attached to a standard 12 volt battery. How
much current flows through the headlight?
8) Copy and complete the following sentences, filling in and underling the
correct answer.
(a) The greater the resistance, the _____ (greater; lower) the current.
(b) Electrical appliances requiring a lot of current, like a hair dryer or toaster, have _____
(high; low) resistance.
(c) Electrical appliances requiring very little current, like a clock-radio or portable CD player,
have _____ (high; low) resistance.
9) A 220V electric heater draws a current of 20A. What is its resistance?
10) Wattmeiser looked around his home and listed the amperages from
several electrical appliances:

computer 3.5 A microwave oven 8.3 A telephone 0.3 A

monitor 1.8 A electric oven 25 A cell phone charger 0.4 A
inkjet printer 0.4 A electric tea kettle 9.2 A clothes dryer 20 A
laser printer 7.5 A electric frying pan 5.8 A lamps 0.3 - 0.8 A
hair dryer 12.5 A stereo amplifier 2.0 A ceiling lights 0.8 - 2.5 A

• (a) List at least 3 pairs of appliances that could not be plugged into the same 15 A circuit.
• (b) Which 2 appliances could not be operated on a regular 15 A circuit?
• (c) Make a list consisting of the highest number of appliances that could be plugged into a
15 A circuit.