Current Electricity – Summary Notes

 Electric Current: It is the amount of charge flowing through a cross-section of a

conductor in 1 second. It is denoted by the letter I.
 If a charge Q flows through a cross-section of a conductor in time t, then:
Q ne
I 
t t
Where n = number of electrons that pass through the cross-section of the conductor and e
= charge on 1 electron.
 The SI unit of current is ampere (A). The smaller units of current are milliampere (mA)
and micro-ampere ( μ A).
1mA  103 A and 1μA  106 A
The bigger units of current are kiloampere (kA) and mega-ampere (MA).
1kA  103 A and 1MA  106 A
 One ampere is the current, when a charge of 1 coulomb flows through a conductor in 1
second.
 Potential: It is that electrical state of a conductor which determines the direction of flow
of charge when two conductors are either kept in contact or they are connected by a
metallic wire. The electric current is said to flow from a region of higher potential to that
of lower potential, i.e., in the direction opposite to the direction of flow of electrons.
 If W joules of work is done in bringing a test charge Q coulomb from infinity to a point,
W
the potential V at that point is equal to .
Q
 Potential difference: It is the amount of work done in moving a unit positive charge from
one point to another point. The potential difference, V is given as:
W
V
Q
Where W is work done in moving a test charge Q from a point to other.
 The SI unit of potential difference is volt (V). The potential difference between two points
is said to be 1 volt if the work done in moving 1 coulomb charge from one point to another
is 1 joule. The bigger units of potential difference are kilovolt  kV  103 V  and mega-volt

 MV  10 V  .
6

 Ohm’s law: It states that the current flowing through a metallic conductor at constant
temperature is directly proportional to the potential difference applied to its ends, i.e., the
ratio of the potential difference across a conductor and the current flowing through it is
constant. The proportionality constant is called the resistance of the conductor.
Potential difference V
Resistance  or R 
Current I
The SI unit of resistance is ohm, denoted by the symbol  .

www.vedantu.com 1
 Ohm’s law does not apply to vacuum tubes, metal rectifiers and electricity through gases.
It is applicable only when the temperature is constant.
 Ohmic and Non-ohmic Conductors
 The conductors that obey Ohm’s law are called ohmic conductros.
 The conductors that do not obey Ohm’s law are called non-ohmic conductors.
 Superconductors: These are the substances that lose their resistance drastically at a very
low temperature, near about absolute zero.
 One ohm is the resistance of a conductor which requires the potential difference of one
volt to be applied to its ends to send a current of one ampere through it.
 Resistance of a wire (conductor) depends on the following factors:
 Nature of wire: Resistance depends on the material of the wire.
 Length of wire: It is directly proportional to the length of the wire.
 Thickness of wire: It is inversely proportional to the area of cross-section of the wire.
 Temperature: The resistance of a wire increase with the rise in its temperature and vice-
versa.
 Resistivity or Specific resistance: It is the resistance offered by a wire of unit length and
unit area of cross-section.
l l
R   or R   2
a r
Where R = resistance, r = specific resistance (or resistivity), l = length of the wire, a = area
of cross-section and r is the radius of the wire. It depends on the following.
 Factors Affecting the Resistivity: Resistivity of a conductor depends on the following
factors.
 Material of the conductor
 Temperature of the conductor
 The SI unit of specific resistance is ohm meter (  m) and the CGS unit of specific
resistance is ohm cm (  cm).
 Conductance: The reciprocal of resistance is called conductance. Its unit is ohm1 or mho
or siemen.
 Conductivity: The reciprocal of resistivity is called the conductivity. It is represented by
the symbol  (sigma).
1 l
The conductivity is expressed as:   
 Ra
Its unit is or 1 m 1 siemen metre1 .
 When two or more resistors are connected in series, their effective equivalent resistance is
given by:
Rs  R1  R2  R3  ....

www.vedantu.com 2
 When two or more resistors are connected in parallel, the sum of reciprocals of the separate
resistances equals the reciprocal of the effective equivalent resistance and is given by:
1 1 1 1
    .....
R R1 R2 R3
R1 R2
 For two resistors R1 and R2 connected in parallel, Equivalent resistance, Rp  .
R1  R2
 Electromotive Force: When no current is drawn from the cell (in open circuit), the potential
difference between the terminals of the cell is called is electromotive force (emf). It is
denoted by the symbol  .
 If W is the work done in taking charge q around the complete circuit of the cell, then emf
of the cell,
W

q
It depends on the following factors:
 Material of the electrodes
 Electrolyte used
 Terminal Voltage: The potential difference between the plates (electrodes) of a cell when
current is drawn from it called terminal voltage. It is denoted by the letter V. It is always
less than emf of the cell. It depends on the amount of current drawn from the cell.
 The resistance offered by the electrolyte, inside a cell, to flow of current is called the
internal resistance of the cell. It is denoted by the letter r.
 The electrons in a conductor move in a direction, opposite to the direction of positive
charge.
 Factors Affecting the Internal Resistance: Internal resistance of a cell depends on the
following factors:
 The surface area of the electrodes: Larger the surface area, smaller is the internal
resistance.
 The distance between the electrodes: More the distance between electrodes, greater is
the internal resistance.
 The nature and concentration of the electrolyte: Higher the concentration of the
electrolyte, greater is the internal resistance.
 The temperature of the electrolyte: Higher the temperature of the electrolyte, smaller
is the internal resistance.

www.vedantu.com 3
 If a cell of emf  and internal resistance r sends a current I in an external resistance R,
then:
 Total resistance of the circuit = R + r

 Current drawn from the cell, I 
Rr
R
 Terminal voltage of the cell, V  IR 
Rr
r
 Voltage drop inside the cell, v  Ir 
Rr
 Emf of the cell,   V  v  IR  Ir  I  R  r 
 
 Internal resistance of cell, r    1 R .
V 

www.vedantu.com 4