Physics GCSE

P5: Electric Circuits

Table of Contents
A: Static electricity...........................................................................................................................4

 Static electricity..................................................................................................................4

 Electric charge....................................................................................................................4

 Electric fields......................................................................................................................4

 Electric current...................................................................................................................4

B: Simple circuits.............................................................................................................................5

 Electric circuits...................................................................................................................5

 Electron flow......................................................................................................................5

 Convectional current..........................................................................................................5

C: Electric current............................................................................................................................6

 Ammeters..........................................................................................................................6

 Amperes or amps (A).........................................................................................................6

 Series circuits.....................................................................................................................6

 Parallel circuits...................................................................................................................6

D: Controlling current......................................................................................................................7

 Voltage...............................................................................................................................7

 Potential difference............................................................................................................7

 Resistance..........................................................................................................................7
  Resistors.............................................................................................................................7

 Ohm’s law..........................................................................................................................7

 Variable resistors................................................................................................................8

 Light-dependent resistors (LDR).........................................................................................8

 Thermistors........................................................................................................................8

E: Potential difference.....................................................................................................................9

F: Electrical power.........................................................................................................................10

 Power...............................................................................................................................10

 Work done.......................................................................................................................10

G: Domestic appliances.................................................................................................................11

 Efficiency..........................................................................................................................11

 Fuses................................................................................................................................11

H: An electricity supply.................................................................................................................12

 Batteries...........................................................................................................................12

 Generators.......................................................................................................................12

 Electromagnetic induction...............................................................................................12

 Alternating current (a.c.)..................................................................................................12

 Direct current (d.c.)..........................................................................................................12

I: Distributing electricity................................................................................................................13

 Transformers....................................................................................................................13

 The National Grid.............................................................................................................13

A: Static electricity
 Static electricity is an electric charge that has built up on an object.
 Plastic can become charged by rubbing it against an object.
 Two charges the same repel.
 Two different forces attract.
 Electric charge is the overall charge that occurs when electrons are added or lost.
 There are two types of charge; positive and negative.
 Charge is not made when two objects are rubbed together, but moved around.
 When two objects are rubbed together, one will become positively charged and the

other will become negatively charged.

 Charged objects can attract light, uncharged objects by repelling electrons to one end of

the object, so the force of attraction overcomes the force of repulsion.

 Most atoms are neutral; the charge of the protons and electrons is balanced.
 When electrons are rubbed onto other objects, the objects become charged.
 Electric fields are regions around an electric charge where the effects of the charge
can be felt, causing a force.
 Electric current is the flow of electric charges around a circuit.
B: Simple circuits
 Electric circuits are closed loops of conductors connected to a battery or power
supply.
 Circuits need to be complete for them to work.
 Effects of the circuit, for example turning on a bulb, are immediate because there is

current in the components all the time.

 Charges are present throughout a circuit at all times.
 When the circuit is a closed loop, the battery or power supply makes all the charges

move.
 Chemical reactions in batteries separate the charges into the terminals, with positive on

one end and negative on the other.

 Electron flow is the flow of electrons in a circuit.
 Convectional current is the effect of a positive charge going in the opposite
direction to the electron flow.
C: Electric current
 Ammeters are used to measure the electrical current of a circuit.
 Amperes or amps (A) are the measurement of current, and show the amount of
charge going through an ammeter every second.
 Current is not used up!
 Series circuits are circuits with a single loop, so the charge passes through the
components one at a time.
 Current is the same in all parts of a series circuit, because the voltage provides the

energy, and current is just use to transfer it.

 Parallel circuits are circuits where the components are connected in branches of
the circuit, so the circuit has more than one loop.
 At junctions in parallel circuits, the current splits.
D: Controlling current
 Voltage is the measure of ‘push’ a battery or power supply exerts on the current.
 Potential difference is the same as voltage.
 Voltage is measured by voltmeters in volts (V).
 Bigger voltage = bigger current.
 Simple batteries are made from two pieces of different metals in a salt solution or an

acid.
 The voltage depends on the metals and solutions used to make the battery.
 Resistance is the measurement of how easy or difficult it is to push current through
a component.
 Resistors are components that control the flow of charge in a circuit.
 The bigger the resistance, the smaller the current.
 All components in circuits have resistance.
 The resistance in wires is very low; almost zero.
 Filaments of light bulbs have high resistance.
 Resistance produces a heating effect, because the free electrons collide with the fixed

atoms in the component, making the atoms vibrate more.

 Ohm’s law applies to certain conductors, and is the theory that the current through a
resistor is proportional to the voltage across the same resistor.
 Equation for resistance:

o Resistance of a conductor (ohms) = Voltage across the conductor (V)

Current through the conductor (I)
 Resistance is measured in ohms.
 Variable resistors are used to control the current in a circuit, and are resistors
where their resistance can be changed.
 Light-dependent resistors (LDR) are variable resistors that reduce the
resistance as the brightness increases.
 Thermistors are variable resistors that change its resistance as the temperature
changes. Most commonly, the hotter the temperature, the lower the resistance.
 When resistors are connected in series, the total resistance is the sum of the resistance

of all the resistors.

 Adding more resistors in parallel makes the total resistance of the circuit less.
E: Potential difference
 If the voltage of the battery or power supply is increased, the potential difference across

the components in the circuit also increases.

 Voltmeters are connected in parallel.
 In parallel circuits, the voltage in each branch is equal to the voltage of the power supply.
 In series circuits, the voltage is shared between the components, so the resistor or

component with the biggest resistance also has the biggest potential difference.
F: Electrical power
 Power is the measurement of the rate at which work is done by the power supply on
the components in a circuit.
 Power is proportional to current.
 Equation for power:
o Power (W) = current (A) x voltage (V)
 Power is measured in watts (W).
 Work done is measured in joules (J).
 1W is equivalent to 1J/s.
 Equation for work done:
o Work done (J) = power (W) x time (s)
 Increasing the voltage of a circuit increases the power of the circuit because collisions

between the free electrons and the atoms of the component are harder and more

frequent.
G: Domestic appliances
 Electricity bills are based on the amount of work done by the appliances we run.
 Work done on an appliance depends on:
o Its power rating
o The time it’s on for
 The work done on an appliance is measured in kilowatt hours instead of joules because

they are large quantities.

 ‘1 unit’ on an electricity bill means 1 kW h
 Efficiency of appliances is the percentage of energy supplied to a device that is used
for its desired purpose.
 Equation for efficiency:

o Efficiency (%) = useful energy

work done
 In all UK mains appliances, the voltage is 230 V.
 Fuses are short pieces of wire made of metals that melt at low temperatures that are
used in circuits as the ‘weak link’; they melt if the current in the circuit is getting too

high.
 Fuses come in 3A and 13A values.
 13A fuses are used for appliances with power ratings above 690W.
H: An electricity supply
 Batteries can be used to power low-power devices.
 Generators can be used to produce electricity, but are noisy and more expensive
than mains electricity.
 Electromagnetic induction is the process where potential difference is
generated in a wire when it is in a changing magnetic field.
 The size of the current in a generator can be increased by:
o Moving the magnet in and out of the coil more quickly
o Using a stronger magnet
o Using a coil with more turns
 If a magnet is rotated near a coiled wire, the magnetic field constantly reverses,

producing an alternating current (a.c.).

 Alternating current (a.c.) is an electric current that reverses direction many
times a second.
 Direct current (d.c.) is an electric current that stays in the same direction.
 The size of the alternating voltage produced by a generator can be increased by:
o Using a stronger magnet
o Rotating the magnet faster
o Using a coil with more turns
o Putting an iron core inside the fixed core, making the magnetic field bigger
I: Distributing electricity
 Transformers are electrical devices that are used to change the voltage, consisting
of two coils of wire wound onto an iron core, so that when an alternating current is in

one coil, it causes a changing magnetic field, inducing an alternating current in the other

coil.
 Transformers are dependent on the number of turns of wire on the two coils:

o Voltage across secondary coil (Vs) = number of turns on the secondary coil (Ns)
Voltage across primary coil (Vp) number of turns on the primary coil (N p)
 If the voltage is increased by a transformer then the current is reduced.
 The National Grid distributes electricity by connecting power stations to power
sockets everywhere in the country using long chains of wires.
 When electricity is distributed, it is ‘stepped-up’ by transformers, and then ‘stepped-

down’ again before it reaches power sockets.

 Electricity is distributed at high voltages because this means there is less current, so the

energy wasted due to heating is lower.