7.

1 Analysing Electric Field and Charge Flow

1. Electric current is defined as the rate of flow electrons or charges.

Electric current, I=

Where Q=electric charge , t=time taken

2. The SI unit for current is Ampere (A).

3. The unit for quantity charge is coulomb, C.

7.2 Analysing the Relationship between Electric Current and Potential Different

1. Potential difference between two points in an electric field is defined as the work
done or energy that would be required to move one coulomb of charge from one point
to another.

Potential difference, V=

Where V=potential difference (p.d) in volt (V)

W=work done in driving the charge between the two points in joule (J)

Q=amount of positive charge in coulomb (C)

2. The SI unit for potential difference is volt (V).

3. Ohm’s law states that the current passing through an ideal conductor is directly
proportional to the potential difference applied across its ends, provided that the
temperature and other physical factors of conductor are kept constant

I V or = Constant

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4. Resistance, R of a conductor is defined as the ratio of potential difference, V across
the conductor to the current (I), flowing through it.

= R or V = IR

5. The SI unit of resistance is the ohm (Ω).

7.3 Analysing Series and Parallel Circuit

Effective resistance of resistors connected in series

1.There are three important characteristics in a series circuit.

 The current flowing through each resistor is the same

 The potential difference across each resistor depends directly on its

resistance

 The sum of the voltage drops across each resistor is equal to the total
voltage supply by the source

2. Potential difference, V = V + V + V

Resistance, R = R + R + R

IR = IR + IR + IR

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Effective resistance of resistors connected in parallel

1.There are three important characteristics in a parallel circuit.

 The current flowing through each branch is inversely proportional to the

resistance of the branch

 The voltage is the same across each resistor

 The total current in the circuit is equal to the sum of the currents in its
parallel branches

2. I = I + I + I

= + +

= + +

7.4. Analysing Electromotive Force and Internal Resistance

1. The electromotive force (e.m.f.) is the work done by a source in driving a unit charge
around a complete circuit.

2. The internal resistance of a battery is the resistance against the moving charge due
to the electrolyte in the battery.

3. A battery can be modeled as an e.m.f. , E connected in series with a resistor r, which

represents the internal resistance.

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4. The value of V is less than the e.m.f. , E of the battery. The difference between E and
V is due to the potential difference needed to drive the current I through the internal
resistance r of the battery. Hence,

E.m.f. = Potential difference + Drop in potential difference due

to internal resistance

or

E = V + IR

7.5 Analysing Electrical Energy and Power

1. From the definition of potential difference,

Potential difference, V =

Hence ,

V= or E = V x Q

2. Since current is the rate of charge flow, the total charge flows through the two points
is given as :

Q=Ixt

Therefore, the relationship between E, V ,I and t can be written as :

E = VIt

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From ohm’s law, E = I²Rt =

3. Power is defined as the rate of energy released or transferred.

Power = or P = =

Hence, P = VI

From ohm’s law, P = I²R =

4. Power is measured in joule per second (J s¯¹). The power of 1 watt means that 1
joule of electrical energy is being released in every second.

5. The units for power are watt (W), kilowatt (kW) and megawatt (MW).

6. Electrical energy used

= Power x Time

= 1kW x 1h = 1 kWh

7. 1kW of electrical energy used is considered as 1 unit. The cost of using electrical
energy at home can be calculated by multiplying the number of units with the cost of 1
unit based on the tariff rate.

8. The efficiency of electrical appliances stated in percentage is given as follow:

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Efficiency of electrical appliances = x 100%

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