UNIT II: CURRENT ELECTRICITY

Electric current, flow of electric charges in a metallic conductor, drift velocity, mobility and
their relation with electric current; Ohm's law, electrical resistance, V-I characteristics
(linear and non-linear), electrical energy and power, electrical resistivity and conductivity;
temperature dependence of resistance.

Internal resistance of a cell, potential difference and emf of a cell, combination of cells in
series and in parallel, Kirchhoff's laws and simple applications, Wheatstone bridge, metre
bridge(qualitative ideas only)

Potentiometer - principle and its applications to measure potential difference and for
comparing EMF of two cells; measurement of internal resistance of a cell(qualitative ideas
only)
Electric current : It is defined as the rate of flow of electric charge through a cross-
section of the conductor.

SI UNIT: AMPERE

Current density : Current density at a point inside the conductor is defined as the
amount of current flowing per unit area around that point of the conductor,
provided the area is held in a direction normal to the current. It is denoted by
symbol j.
Drift velocity : It is defined as the average velocity with which free electrons get drifted
towards the positive end of the conductor under the influence of an external electric field.

Mobility: drift velocity per unit of electric field strength

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CURRENT AND DRIFT VELOCITY :
I = n A e vd
 OHM’S LAW :
It states that the current (I) owing through a conductor is directly
proportional to the potential difference (V) across the ends of
the conductor, provided physical conditions of the conductor
such as temperature, mechanical strain etc. are kept constant.
V=RI

Resistivity : The specific resistance offered by the conductor of unit length and unit cross
section area. It is denoted by ρ .
If length of a given metallic wire of resistance R is stretched to n times, its resistance
becomes n2R but its resistivity remains unchanged.
If radius of the given metallic wire of resistance R becomes n times, its resistance
becomes (1/n4)R.
Conductivity : The reciprocal of resistivity is known as conductivity or specific conductance.
It is denoted by symbol σ.
 POTENTIAL DIFFERENCE AND EMF OF A CELL :
INTERNAL RESISTANCE OF A CELL
Cell is made of matter, there is a resistance against the flow of
charge within the cell. This resistance is called the internal
resistance of the cell and is usually denoted by r. For an ideal cell
with zero internal resistance

EMF OF A CELL :
EMF E of a cell/circuit is defined as the work done (energy
required) to move/push a unit positive charge once around
the close circuit
OR
The EMF E of a battery/cell is the maximum possible
potential difference across the terminals of the battery when
no current flows through it, ie when cell is in open circuit.
 TERMINAL POTENTIAL DIFFERENCE OF A CELL :
Terminal potential difference of a cell is defined as the potential
difference between the two electrodes of a cell in a closed
circuit. The value of terminal potential difference of a cell is less
than the EMF of a cell, when current is drawn from the cell (i.e.,
during discharging of cell)
 COMBINATION OF CELLS :
CELLS IN SERIES COMBINATION:
Cells are connected in series when they are joined end to end so
that the same quantity of electricity must flow through each cell.
NOTE:
1. The EMF of the battery is the sum of
the individual EMF’s
2. The current in each cell is the same
and is identical with the current in
the entire arrangement.
3. The total internal resistance of the
battery is the sum of the individual
internal resistances.
CELLS IN PARALLEL COMBINATION:
Cells are said to be connected in parallel when they are joined
positive to positive and negative to negative such that current is
divided between the cells.
NOTE:
1. The EMF of the battery is the same as
that of a single cell.
2. The current in the external circuit is
divided equally among the cells.
3. The reciprocal of the total internal
resistance is the sum of the reciprocals
of the individual internal resistances.
MIXED GROUPING OF CELLS:
KIRCHHOFF’S LAWS :
Kirchoff’s junction rule :
It states that the algebraic sum of all the currents
meeting at a junction is zero

Kirchoff’s mesh rule :

It states that the algebraic sum of the potential
differences across the different arms of a closed mesh is
zero
 PROBLEM BASED ON KIRCHOFF’S LAW
1. Calculate current across the different arms of the circuit.
2. Calculate potential difference between points F and C.
EXAMPLES SHOWING THE POTENTIAL DROP ACROSS DC CIRCUITS :
Wheatstone’s bridge : It is an arrangement of four resistances P,
Q, R and S connected as shown in the fig.
Their values are so adjusted that the galvanometer G shows no
deflection. The bridge is then said to be balanced. When this
happens, the points B and D are at the same potential and it can
be shown that
Metre bridge or slide wire bridge :
It is based on the principle of Wheatstone’s bridge.
POTENTIOMETER
It is based on the fact that the fall of potential across any
portion of the wire is directly proportional to the length of
that portion provided the wire is of uniform area of cross-
section and a constant current is flowing through it.
i.e., V ∝ l (If I and A are constant) or V = Kl
where K is known as potential gradient i.e., fall of potential
per unit length of the given wire.
COMPARISON OF EMF OF TWO PRIMARY
CELLS :
CALCULATION OF INTERNAL RESISTANCE OF A CELL :
 PREVIOUS YEARS CBSE BOARD QUESTIONS
1: How does the random motion of free electrons in a conductor get affected when a
potential difference is applied across its ends ? (Delhi 2014C)

2: In the two electric circuits shown in the figure, determine the readings of ideal
ammeter (A) and the ideal voltmeter (V). (Delhi 2015C)
3: Two conducting wires X and Y of same diameter but different materials are joined in series across a
battery. If the number density of electrons in X is twice that in Y, find the ratio of drift velocity of
electrons in the two wires. (AI 2010)

4:
5: A conductor of length ‘l’ is connected to a dc source of potential ‘V’. If the length of the conductor is
tripled by gradually stretching it keeping ‘V’ constant, how will (i) drift speed of electrons and
(ii) resistance of the conductor be affected. Justify your answer. (Foreign 2012)

6: Figure shows a plot of current ‘I’ owing through the cross-section of a wire
versus the time ‘t’. Use the plot to find the charge flowing in 10 sec through
the wire. (AI 2015C)
7: Two wires of equal length, one of copper and the other of manganin have the same resistance. Which
wire is thicker ? (AI 2012)

8: I-V graph for a metallic wire at two different temperatures, T1 and T2 is as shown
in the figure. Which of the two temperatures is lower and why? (AI 2015)
9: A wire of resistance 8R is bent in the form of a circle. What is the effective
resistance between the ends of a diameter AB ? (Delhi 2010)

10: Calculate the value of the resistance R in the circuit shown in the
figure so that the current in the circuit is 0.2 A. What would be the
potential difference between points B and E? (AI 2012)
11: In the circuit shown, R1 = 4Ω, R2 = R3 = 15 Ω, R4 = 30 Ω and E = 10 V.
Calculate the equivalent resistance of the circuit and the current in each
resistor. (Delhi 2011)

12: The plot of the variation of potential difference across a combination of three
identical cells in series versus current is shown below. What is the emf and internal
resistance of each cell? (AI 2016, Delhi 2008)
13: Three cells of emf e, 2e and 5e having internal resistances r, 2r and 3r
respectively are connected across a variable resistance R as shown in the figure.
Find the expression for the current. Plot a graph for variation of current with R.
(AI 2010C)

14: A battery of emf 10 V and internal resistance 3 Ω is connected to a resistor. If the current in the circuit
is 0.5 A, find (i) The resistance of the resistor; (ii) The terminal voltage of the battery (Delhi 2012C)
15: A straight line plot showing the terminal potential difference (V) of a cell as
a function of current (I) drawn from it is shown in the figure. Using this plot,
determine (i) the emf and (ii) internal resistance of the cell.
16: Use Kirchhoff’s rules to determine the potential difference between the
points A and D when no current flows in the BE of the electric network
shown in the figure. (AI 2015)
17: In the electric network shown in the figure, use Kirchhoff’s rules
to calculate the power consumed by the resistance R = 4 Ω.
(Delhi 2014C)
18: Use Kirchhoff’s rules to determine the value of the current I1
flowing in the circuit shown in the figure (Delhi 2013C)
19: In the given circuit, assuming point A to be at zero potential,
use Kirchhoff’s rules to determine the potential at point B.
(AI 2011)

20: Calculate the current drawn from the battery by the network
of resistors shown in the figure. (AI 2015C)
21: In an experiment of meter bridge, a student obtains the balance point at the point J such
that AJ = 40 cm as shown in the figure. e values of ‘R’ and ‘X’ are both doubled and then
interchanged. Find the new position of the balance point. If the galvanometer and battery are
also interchanged, how will the position of balance point be affected ? (AI 2012C)
22: In a meter bridge, the null points is found at a distance of 40
cm from A. If a resistance of 12 Ω is connected in parallel with S,
the null point occurs at 50.0 cm from A. Determine the
values of R and S. (Delhi 2010)
23: The figure shows experimental set up of a meter bridge. When the
two unknown resistances X and Y are inserted, the null point D is
obtained 40 cm from the end A. When a resistance of 10 Ω is connected
in series with X, the null point shift by 10 cm. Find the position of the
null point when the 10 Ω resistance is connected in series with
resistance ‘Y’. Determine the values of the resistance X and Y.
(Delhi 2009)
24: In the following potentiometer circuit AB is a uniform wire of
length 1 m and resistance 10 Ω. Calculate the potential gradient
along the wire and balance length AO (= l). (Delhi 2016)
25: Two students ‘X’ and ‘Y’ perform an experiment on
potentiometer separately using the circuit given : Keeping other
parameters unchanged, how will the position of the null point be
affected if
(i) ‘X’ increases the value of resistance R in the set-up by keeping
the key K1 closed and the key K2 open ?
(ii) ‘Y’ decreases the value of resistance S in the set-up, while the
key K2 remains open and the key K1 closed ? (Foreign 2012)