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UPDATED TO 2023-2025 SYLLABUS

EDEXCEL IGCSE
PHYSICS
SUMMARIZED NOTES ON THE THEORY SYLLABUS
Prepared for Salma Ahmed for personal use only.
EDEXCEL IGCSE PHYSICS
Fuse Circuit Breaker

1. Electricity A fuse protects a circuit. Thin

piece of wire which overheats
and melts if current is too high. An automatic switch which if
It is placed on the live wire current rises over a specified
1.1. Mains Electricity before the switch. This value, the electromagnet pulls
prevents overheating and the contacts apart, breaking
Power is m­­easured in joules per second or watts. catching fire. A fuse will have a the circuit. The reset button is
specific current value (e.g. 13 to rest everything. It works like
P=lV amps.) So when choosing a a fuse but is better because it
Watts = ampere x volts suitable fuse you must use the can be reset.
one above minimum value but
Energy = power x time less than maximum value
E = Pt
Joules = Watt x seconds
Varying current or voltage in an appliance is called an
alternating current (a.c.) or alternating voltage.
Currents and voltages that are always in the same
direction and have the same value is called direct current
(d.c.) or direct voltage.

Some modern appliances use casings made from an

insulator such as plastic. This is known as insulation.
If all the electrical parts of an appliance are insulated in
this way, so that they cannot be touched by the user, the
appliance is said to have double insulation. Appliances
that have double insulation use a two-wire flex. There is
no need for an earth wire.
Benefits of Earthing a Metal Case:
Many electrical appliances, have metal cases, the
earth wire creates a safe route for current to flow
through if the live wire touches the casing
Earth terminal connected to metal casing, so in such
a case, the current goes through earth wire instead of
causing an electric shock.
A strong current surges through earth wire because it
has very low resistance
This breaks the fuse and disconnects the appliance
The wires of a heating element are designed to have a
high resistance so that as the current passes through
How devices are protected: them, energy is transferred and the element heats up.
We use this heating effect of current in many different
appliances in our homes such as kettles, dishwashers,
electric cookers, etc.

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EDEXCEL IGCSE PHYSICS

Series circuit
Parallel circuit
The current at any point in a series circuit is the same
The current splits at each branch in a parallel circuit so
the total current is always greater than the current in
one branch
Combining resistors
In Series: RT otal = R1 + R2
​ ​ ​

In Parallel: RT otal = 1 +1 1​ ​

R1 R2
​ ​

​ ​

The combined resistance of 2 resistors in parallel is

less than that of either resistor by itself and the
current in the two resistors in greater in the source
than in the individual resistors and is equal to the
1.2. Current and Voltages in circuits sum of the currents in all the resistors connected in
parallel.
An electric current is a flow of charge.
Advantages of putting lamps in parallel are:
Electrons flow easily through all metals, so they are
If one lamp breaks, the other still works
labelled as good conductors of electricity.
Each lamp gets maximum PD
Electrons do not flow easily through plastics - they are
In series: PD across the supply = PD across all the
poor conductors of electricity, or, an insulator.
components combined
We measure the size of the current in a circuit using an
In parallel: Current across the source = sum of currents
ammeter.
in the separate branches.
charge, Q (coulombs) = current, I (amps) x time, t
The relationship between current, voltage and resistance
(seconds)
is expressed by Ohm's Law.
Q = I*t
This states that the current flowing in a circuit is directly
energy transferred, E (joules) = charge, Q (coulombs) x
proportional to the applied voltage and inversely
voltage, V (volts)
proportional to the resistance of the circuit, provided the
E = Q*V
temperature remains constant.
There are two main types of electrical circuit: Circuit symbols:

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EDEXCEL IGCSE PHYSICS

Materials such as plastic, rubber, glass and wood do not

1.3. Electrical Resistance allow electricity to flow through them easily. They are
electrical insulators.
V (volts) = I (amps) x R (ohms) Types of resistors:
We measure resistance in units called ohms (Ω).
Variable resistor is used to control the size of the
Current voltage graph for a wire: current in a bulb.
If the resistance is decreased, there will be a larger
current and the bulb shines more brightly.
If the resistance is increased the current will be
smaller and the bulb will glow less brightly or not at
all.
A thermistor is a resistor whose resistance changes
with small changes in temperature.

Current voltage graph for a filament bulb:

A light-dependent resistor (LDR) has a resistance that

changes when light is shone on it. In the dark its
resistance is high but in light, its resistance is low.
Diodes are very special resistors that allow charges to
flow in one direction. Some diodes glow when charges
flow through them. They are called light emitting diodes
(LEDs).

Current voltage graph for a diode:

1.4. Electric Charge

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EDEXCEL IGCSE PHYSICS

2 types of charges: positive and negative.

Unlike charges attract and like charges repel.
SI unit of charge is the Coulomb (C).
The presence of an electrostatic charge can be detected
using a leaf electroscope.
If a charged object is placed near the cap, charges are
induced.
The metal cap gets one type of charge (positive or
negative) and the metal stem and gold leaf get the
other type of charge so they repel each other.
Painting an awkwardly shaped object with a spray gun
can take a long time and use a lot of paint. Hence,
electrostatic spraying is used to make the process much
more efficient.
Uses of static electricity:
Electrostatic Paint Spraying
Inkjet Printers
Photocopiers
Electrostatic Precipitator
Problems of static electricity:
As aircraft fly through the air, friction causes them to
become charged with static electricity. Solution: Earth
the plane with a conductor as soon as it lands, before
refuelling.
All atoms contain small particles called protons, neutrons
and electrons.

Charge Mass(AMU) location

Proton +1 1 Nucleus
Neutron 0 1 Nucleus
Electron -1 0 Orbitals

If an atom gains extra electrons, it is then negatively

charged.
If an atom loses electrons, it becomes positively charged.
An atom that becomes charged by gaining or losing
electrons is called an ion.
When electrical insulators of different materials are
rubbed together, they become charge.

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Edexcel IGCSE
Physics

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