9.

Electricity
9.1 Electric current
Current is at all points in the circuit as soon as the circuit is complete.

The cell produces an electric field, the field lines are along the wire, from the positive to negative
terminal. This means there is a force on each electron in the wire, so electrons start to move and current
flows.

Charge Carriers
Sometimes current is a flow of positive charges - Beam of protons produced in particle accelerator.

Sometimes current is due to both charges - Electrolysis – a conducting solution, where both charges
move in opposite direction when connected to a cell.

Charge Carrier: A charged particle that contributes to an electric current; these may be electrons,
protons or ions.

Quantisation of Charges
A quantity is said to be quantised when it has a definite minimum magnitude (in case of charges, it is
the elementary charge) and always comes in multiples of that magnitude.

• An electron carries a tiny negative charge of 𝟏. 𝟔 × 𝟏𝟎−𝟏𝟗 C. Protons carry a positive charge of same
magnitude.
• The magnitude of the charge is known as elementary charge.
• It means the charge is not continuous but quantised, or exists only in discrete amounts.
• A whole electron or proton with its charge moves. You cannot have a charge of 2.0 × 10−19 C
charge on an object. The charge must be the multiple of the elementary charge.
Q = ne

n = integer, e = elementary charge

Electric Current
The rate of flow of electric charge past a point.

Unit: ampere, A
𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒈𝒆
𝒄𝒖𝒓𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒕 =
𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆

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Charge is measured in coulombs, C.
One coloumb is the charge that flows past a point in a circuit in a
time of 1 s when the current is 1 A.
Charge = current x time
∆𝑸 = 𝑰∆𝒕
1C=As

Charge is the area under the I-t (Current-time) graph

𝟏
𝑸= (𝟖. 𝟎)(𝟔𝟎 + 𝟐𝟎)(𝟏𝟎−𝟑 ) = 𝟎. 𝟑𝟐𝑪
𝟐
Direction of Flow:
• Before the discovery of the electron, scientists
assumed that current was due to positively-charged
particles moving from the positive terminal around
a circuit to the negative terminal.

• This way of representing the direction of current is

called conventional current.

• It is now known that charge is carried by electrons,

flowing from the negative terminal to the positive
terminal. This is called electron flow.

Equation for current:

Why are certain metals good conductors of electricity and some are not?
It is due to the number of conduction electrons per unit volume.
Copper, silver and gold has a large number of conduction electrons.
Number density (Symbol n): The number of charge carriers, such as free electrons, per unit volume in
a material. For copper, the value of n is about 𝟏𝟎𝟐𝟗 𝒎−𝟑
Drift Velocity: Average speed of a collection of charged particles when there is a current in a
conductor.
Consider a particular length of wire.
The number of conduction electrons in it is n.
Volume of wire is:
𝑽=𝒍×𝑨
So, number of free electrons per unit volume is given
by:
𝒏𝒖𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒇 𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒔 = 𝒏 × 𝒍 × 𝑨
As we know, total charge is:
𝑸 = 𝒏𝒆
𝑸 = 𝒏×𝒍×𝑨×𝒆
We know Q = It
𝑰𝒕 = 𝒏 × 𝒍 × 𝑨 × 𝒆
𝒍
𝑰=𝒏× ×𝑨×𝒆
𝒕

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 𝑙
Substituting v for
𝑡
𝑰 = 𝒏×𝒗×𝑨×𝒆
Since moving charge carriers can be ions, whose charge q is multiple of e. The general version of the
equation is:
𝑰 = 𝒏𝒗𝑨𝒒
A conduction electron continually collides with metal ions in the wire, changing speed and direction
upon each collision.
It experiences fast movements in random direction (its
thermal movement) while simultaneously being drawn
towards the positive terminal of the power supply.
Together this produces a mean drift velocity.
The mean drift velocity varies in different situations
𝑰
𝒗=
𝒏𝑨𝒆
If the current increases the mean drift velocity must increase
𝒗∝𝑰
If the wire is thinner, the electrons move more quickly for a
given current.
𝟏
𝒗∝
𝑨
In a material with low density electrons n, the mean drift velocity must be greater for a given current.
𝟏
𝒗∝
𝒏

9.2 Potential Difference and Power

Potential Difference:
The potential difference V between two points, A and B, is the
energy transferred per unit charge as it moves from point A to
point B.
𝑾
𝑽=
∆𝑸

E.m.f:
The energy transferred per unit charge in driving charge
round a complete circuit.
𝑾
𝑬=
∆𝑸
Unit: Volt – It is joule per coulomb.

𝟏𝑽 = 𝟏𝑱𝑪−𝟏
SI Base units of Volt:

𝑽𝒐𝒍𝒕 = 𝑱𝑪−𝟏

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 𝑽 = 𝒌𝒈𝒎𝟐 𝒔−𝟐 𝑨−𝟏

Electric Power:
The rate at which energy is transferred is known as power.
𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒈𝒚 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒔𝒇𝒆𝒓𝒓𝒆𝒅 ∆𝑾
𝒑𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓 = ≅𝑷=
𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒏 ∆𝒕
∆𝑊
We know 𝑉 = or ∆𝑊 = 𝑉∆𝑄
∆𝑄

∆𝑾 𝑽∆𝑸 ∆𝑸
𝑷= = = 𝑽( )
∆𝒕 ∆𝒕 ∆𝒕
∆𝑸
Since the ratio of charge to time, ∆𝒕
is the current I in the component

𝑷 = 𝑽𝑰
Formulas for Power

𝑷 = 𝑽𝑰

𝑷 = 𝑰𝟐 𝑹

𝑽𝟐
𝑷=
𝑹

Energy of a circuit:
Since,
Power = current x voltage
Energy = power x time
Energy transferred = current x voltage x time
W = IVΔt

9.3 Resistance and Resistivity

Resistance
Consider a lamp connected to a battery causing it to glow.
What determines the current in a circuit?
The potential difference or voltage across the lamp – the greater the potential difference, the
greater the current for a given lamp.
The resistance R of the lamp – the greater the resistance, the smaller the current for a given
potential difference.
Electrical resistance is the ratio of potential difference to current.
𝒑𝒐𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝒅𝒊𝒇𝒇𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝑽
𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 = ≅𝑹=
𝒄𝒖𝒓𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝑰
Unit: ohms (Ω)

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The ohm is the resistance of a component when a potential difference of 1 volt drives a current of 1
ampere through it.

𝟏𝜴 = 𝟏𝑽𝑨−𝟏

Quantity Symbol Unit Symbol for unit

Current I ampere A
Voltage (p.d., e.m.f) V volt V
Resistance R ohm Ω
SI Base units of ohm (Resistance):

𝜴 = 𝒌𝒈𝒎𝟐 𝒔−𝟐 𝑨−𝟐

Ohm’s Law:
What do you see?
A straight line, through the origin.
What does that indicate?
Current I is directly proportional to Voltage V. (Also, known as
ohm’s law – provided the resistance is kept constant by keeping
the temperature and other factors constant).
Gradient is constant.
Significance:
A metallic conductor at a constant temperature is an ohmic
conductor i.e., has constant resistance.
How to determine resistance for a I against V graph?
It is the reciprocal of the gradient.
𝟏
𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 =
𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒅𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒕
Only applicable when the line is straight through origin.
The current is proportional to the potential difference across
it. The resistance is the same for all currents. The resistance
of the wire is equal to the inverse of the gradient.

Explanation:

Metals contain many free electrons. These carry the current.

The greater the potential difference the faster the drift
velocity of these electrons.

I-V Characteristics – Filament Lamp:

At low current, the current is proportional to
the potential different. At higher currents, the
current does not increase as much for the
same voltage increase. The Resistance
increases at higher current. It is a non-ohmic
Conductor

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Explanation:

• Lamp filament are made from tungsten metal. At low currents, the filament behaves the same
way as the wire.
• At higher currents, the temperature increases around 1500 °C, the vibrations of the ions in the
crystal lattice increase, presenting a large collision cross-section and reducing the drift velocity
of the electrons.

I-V Characteristics – Semiconductor Diode

No current will pass in one direction.
Once the potential difference (in the
opposite direction) reaches a set value
(0.6 V for a silicon diode) it conducts
with very little resistance.

Explanation:

Diodes are also semiconductors but they are designed to

allow current to pass in one direction only. One type gives
off light when it conducts called LED.

Threshold Voltage: The minimum forward potential difference across a diode at which it starts to
conduct

Forward Bias – in this condition the diode Reverse Bias – in this condition the diode
has low resistance and let the current flow has high resistance and do not let the
from + to – and the lamp turns on. current flow from + to – and the lamp does
not turn on.

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Resistivity:

• The longer the room, the greater the resistance the

waiter meets

• The wider the room, the easier it is for the waiter to pass
through.

Factors affecting
resistance:
1. Temperature
2. Presence of
Impurities

a) At low
temperatures,
electrons flow relatively freely.

b) At high temperatures, the electrons are obstructed by

the vibrating ions and they make very frequent
collisions with the ions. Their mean drift velocity
decreases.

c) Impurity atoms can also obstruct the free flow of electrons.

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Resistance of a particular wire depends on its size and
shape.
𝑹𝒆𝒔𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 ∝ 𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒕𝒉
𝟏
𝑹𝒆𝒔𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 ∝
𝒄𝒓𝒐𝒔𝒔 − 𝒔𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒂
𝒍
𝑹∝
𝑨
𝒍
𝑹=𝝆
𝑨
𝜌 (Greek letter rho) is called resistivity and is a constant whose value depends on the type of material
we are using.
Its unit is ohm metres (Ωm).
The resistivity of the material is:
𝑹𝑨
𝝆=
𝒍
SI base units of resistivity:
𝜴𝒎 = 𝒌𝒈𝒎𝟑 𝒔−𝟐 𝑨−𝟐

Area and Diameter:

A lot of times, the diameter of the wire is mentioned instead of its area.
Diameter of wire is linked with area by the following equation:
𝒅𝟐
𝑪𝒓𝒐𝒔𝒔 − 𝒔𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒂 𝒐𝒇 𝒘𝒊𝒓𝒆 𝑨 = 𝝅
𝟒
So, if a diameter doubles, Area becomes 4 times
Or if diameter becomes half, area becomes quarter.

Heating effect of a current:

The metal filament of a lamp gets hot because the work done in it by electrons passing through.
We know,
• P = IV and V = IR
Substituting for V in P = I V gives:
• P = I2R
This equation show power dissipated, which means as thermal energy in an electrical device
increases as the square of the current.
If the current doubles, the power output quadruples, but this can be used to our advantage by
reducing current we can reduce wasted thermal energy.

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