MODULE 1.5 PHYSICS Printed

Physics 2 Electric Current
Electric Currents
When a circuit is formed, charge can flow through the
Static Electricity wires of the circuit from one terminal to the other as long
as the conducting path is a continuous.
 Electricity produced when electric charges are at
rest.
 Charges are located on the surface of the
material.
Dynamic Electricity
 Electricity produced when electric charges are at
motion.
 Charges are moving from one atom to another.
The flow of charge is called electric current.

Battery / Electric Cell
A battery produces electricity by transforming chemical An electric current is defined as the net amount of charge
energy into electrical energy. that passes through the wire’s cross section at any point
A simple battery contains two plates or rods made of per unit time.
dissimilar metals called electrodes. SI unit of current is Ampere (A).
These electrodes are immersed in a solution such as
dilute acid, called electrolytes.
Current is defined as:
A single device with electrodes immersed in electrolytes
is called electric cell. ∆Q
I=
∆t
Series of electric cell connected together is called
battery. And its purpose is to produce potential If electric potential is measured in joules per coulomb or
difference. volt
J
1 V =1
C
On any diagram of a circuit, battery is drawn using the
symbol: Then, electric current is measured in coulombs per
second or ampere
C
1 A=1
s
NOTE:
If volt is after the Italian physicist, Alessandro Volta,
Ampere is after the French physicist, Andre Ampere.

Electric Circuit
Electric circuit means that a continuous conducting path
is connected between the terminals of a battery.
A terminal is the part of the electrode outside of the
electrolytes.
REMEMBER: Resistor
If there is a continuous conducting path wherein current
Resistor are used to control the amount of current.
can flow, then the circuit is complete.
On any diagram of a circuit, resistor is drawn using the
If there is a break at any point in the circuit wherein symbol:
current cannot flow, then the circuit is open.
If there is an unwanted flow of current in a circuit, then

the circuit is short.
Resistivity
Current Flow The resistance of any wire is directly proportional to its

length and inversely to its cross-sectional area.
Current flow can be drawn into two ways:
L
(a) Conventional Current Flow R=ρ
A
from + to – ρ is the proportionality constant called resistivity.
(b) Electron Current Flow

Electric Power
from – to +
Electric energy can be transformed into another type of
energy.
Benjamin Franklin: experimented the current flow.
Power is the rate of energy transformed is written as:
QV
Ohm’s Law P=
t
To produce current in a circuit, a difference in potential P=IV
is required.
George Ohm: define the fundamental relationship

between voltage, current and resistance. The SI unit of electric power is watt (W).
J
1 W =1
s
(a) Voltage is directly proportional to resistance.
(b) Resistance is inversely proportional to current. Power can be written as:
(c) Current is directly proportional to voltage. P=1 ² R
V =IR V²
P=
R
Resistance
Resistance is a measure of the opposition to current
flow in an electric circuit.
SI unit of resistance is ohm (Ω).
The device representing resistance in any circuit is called

resistor.
Example 1 Example 5
Compute the current produced by a particle with a How long of number 10 aluminum wire is needed to
charge of +6.5 ×10−18 C flowing in a conductor for 15s. have a resistance of 1.0 Ω if the number 10 wire has a
diameter of 2.59 mm ? The resistivity of aluminum is
−8
2.80 ×10 Ω∙ m.
Example 2
A steady current of 0.6 A flows through the wire. How Example 6
much charge passes the wire in 1 minute? What is the cross-sectional area of a silver whose length
is 5 mlong and measured resistance of 50 Ω ? The
resistivity of silver is 1.59 ×10−8 Ω∙ m.
Example 3
If the current on a flashlight is measured by 0.80 A, how Example 7
much charge does it have per second and how many Solve for the electric current of a conductor, given a
electrons does it have per second? voltage of 25 V and a resistance of 10 Ω .
Example 4
A metal rod is 2 m long and 8 mm in diameter. Compute Example 8
the resistance if the resistivity if the metal is An electric water heater uses 15 A of current when
−8
1.76 ×10 Ω ∙ m . plugged to a 220 V outlet. What is the resistance
provided by the appliances?

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Physics 2 Electric Current

The flow of charge is called electric current.

Ampere is after the French physicist, Andre Ampere.

If there is an unwanted flow of current in a circuit, then

Current Flow The resistance of any wire is directly proportional to its

(b) Electron Current Flow

George Ohm: define the fundamental relationship

SI unit of resistance is ohm (Ω).

The device representing resistance in any circuit is called

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