ELECTRICITY

• Electricity is the movement of electrons.

• If electrons move within insulators, we call this static electricity.
• If electrons move within conductors, we call this current electricity.

• Conductors and insulators

• Conductors are materials that allow electrons pass through them.
• These materials gain charges and immediately lose them because electrons flow
through them or the surrounding material until the balance of positive and negative
charge is restored.
• Metals are the best electrical conductors because their electrons are loosely held
(delocalised) to their atoms, and can move from one atom to another with ease.
• Insulators are materials that hardly conduct at all because their electrons are tightly
held to their atoms and are not free to move about.
• However, insulators are easy to charge by rubbing (friction) because any electrons
that get transferred tend to stay where they are.
 Current electricity
• Current electricity is the flow of electrons through conductors when
a circuit is closed.
• Electrons flow from the negative terminal in the circuit to the positive
terminal, however conventional current flows from positive to
negative.
• A circuit must be complete for the current to flow.
• Current is defined as the amount of charge moving through a wire
per second.
• An electric cell or battery can make electrons move.
• The SI unit of current is amperes or amps (A) and is measured using
an ammeter.
• A diagram of a circuit can be drawn using circuit symbols.
• Rules for drawing circuits
• 1. Use a pencil and ruler.
• 2. Diagrams must always be drawn as rectangles, even if the
wire doesn’t look that way.
• 3. No gaps can be left between wires and components.
• 4. Do not cross wires over each other.
• 5. Always label the “+” and “–” terminals of the cell/battery.
• 6. Always use the correct circuit symbols.
• Circuit diagrams showing conventional and electron flow

Conventional current Electron flow

• Potential difference (Voltage)
• A battery transforms chemical energy into electrical energy. Through
chemical reactions, a surplus of electrons builds up at the battery
terminals.
• When the battery is connected to a lightbulb, the lightbulb creates a
“demand” for the electrical energy. There is a shortage of electrons in
the lightbulb.
• Electrons (carrying the energy) then flow from where there is a surplus
of electrons to where they are needed. This is known as the potential
difference (p.d.)of the battery, which is a shorter way of saying potential
energy difference
• The SI unit for p.d. is volts (V), and the term voltage is sometimes used
instead of p.d.
• Model of a circuit

• Note that the electrical energy (the pizza) is used up, not the
charge or current (the mopeds).
• Series and parallel circuits
• In a series circuit, all components are connected end-to-end,
forming a single path (or loop) for current flow.
• In a parallel circuit, the components are connected along multiple
paths (or loops).

In this circuit, the current flows

in a clockwise direction, from In this circuit, the current has
point 1 to point 2 to point 3 to many paths to flow.
point 4 and back around to 1.
• Differences between series and parallel circuits
• In a series circuit, the current flowing through all the components is
the same because there is only one loop.
• If one component stops working in this circuit, then all the
components stop working.
• The voltage in each component adds up to the total voltage
supplied by the battery.
• For this reason, an ammeter must be connected in series to be able
to measure the current.
• In a parallel circuit, the current divides between each component,
but the voltage stays the same throughout the circuit.
• This is because there are many smaller circuits within the larger
one.
• If one component stops working, the others continue working
because they are on separate loops.
• The current flowing through each component adds up to the total
current of the circuit.
• For this reason, a voltmeter must be connected in parallel to be
able to measure the voltage.
• Resistance
• The resistance of a circuit is a measure of how easy or difficult it is for electrical
charges to flow in a circuit.
• The SI unit of resistance is the ohm (W – Greek letter omega or W).
• Resistance is calculated using the following equation:
• Resistance =

• The same equation can be used to calculate p.d. and current.

• For example:
• What is the resistance of bulb with a current of 0,2 A flowing through it, when it is
connected across a 6 V battery?

• W
• Factors affecting the resistance of a conductor
• 1. Length: the longer the wire, the greater the resistance.
• 2. Cross-sectional area: the thinner the wire, the greater the resistance.
A thicker wire has less resistance because it is wider.

• 3. Material: different metals have different resistance (known as

resistivity). For example, nichrome wire has a higher resistance than
copper.
• 4. Temperature: for metal conductors, resistance increases with
temperature. For semi-conductors, it decreases when temperature
increases.
• Resistance in series and in parallel
• If two or more resistors are connected in series, they give a higher resistance
than any of the individual resistors.
• This is because adding more resistors makes the circuit longer, thus
increasing resistance.
• To calculate the total resistance of a series circuit, we use the following
formula:
• If two or more resistors are connected in parallel, they give a lower
resistance than any of the individual resistors.
• Because resistors are added to different loops of the circuit, the effect is the
same as widening the wire, thus decreasing resistance.
• To calculate the total resistance of a series circuit, we use the following
formula:
• The final answer is inverted to give
• Calculating resistance in series and parallel circuits
• Example 1: Two resistors, each having a resistance of 6 W and
12 W are placed in series in a circuit.
• Calculate the total resistance of the circuit.
• Solution: Total resistance = 6 W + 12 W = 18 W

• Example 2: If the same two resistors are placed in parallel,

calculate the total resistance of the circuit.
• Solution:
• W
• Solving circuit problems
• Example 1: A 3 W and a 6 W resistor are connected in series across
an 18V battery. Calculate the p.d. across each of the resistors.

• Example 2: A 3 W and a 6 W resistor are connected in parallel

across an 18V battery. Calculate the current across each of the
resistors, as well as, the total current in the circuit.
• Solutions to the examples
• Example 1:
• Because the circuit is in series, we first calculate the current.
• Total resistance = 3 W + 6 W = 9 W
• Therefore, total current = A
• We can then calculate the voltage across each resistor:
•
•
•
• Solutions to the examples
• Example 2:
• For the 3 W resistor:
• For the 6 W resistor:
• Because the circuit is in series, the total current is:
•