Chapter 12 Electricity

Electric circuit-A continuous and closed path of an electric current is called an electric circuit.

Electric current(I)- The rate of flow of electric charges.

Electric current I = Q/t

Q =electric charge; t= time

Q= ne

n= no. of electrons, e= charge of an electron= 1.6 x 10-19 C

The S.I unit of electric charge- coulomb(C)

The S.I unit of electric current- Ampere ( A)

(Define S.I unit of electric current or ampere)

One ampere is the flow of one coulomb of charge per second.

Ammeter- used to measure electric current. It is always connected in series in a circuit.

Smaller units- milliampere, microampere

1 mA = 10–3 A and 1microampere (1 μA) = 10–6 A.

Electric potential difference( V)

The work done to move a unit charge from one point to the other

Potential difference(V)= Work done (W)

Charge (Q)

V= W/Q

S.I unit- volt

(Define the S.I unit of potential difference or volt)

One volt is the potential difference between two points in a current carrying conductor when 1 joule of work is done to
move a charge of 1 coulomb from one point to the other.

Voltmeter- used to measure potential difference. The voltmeter is always connected in parallel

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Circuit diagram

A schematic diagram,in which different components of the circuit are represented by the symbols.

Symbols of some commonly used components in circuit diagrams

Table 12.1(203)

Ohm’s law (pg 204)

The potential difference, V, across the ends of a given metallic wire in an electric circuit is directly proportional to the
current flowing through it, provided its temperature remains the same.

V α I

V= IR,

where R is a constant called resistance.( the property of a conductor to resist the flow of charges)

Verification of Ohm’s law

Activity 12.1(Pg 203)

Fig12.2(pg 204)

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Graph 12.3

The V-I graph for a conductor at two different temperature and 𝑻𝟐 is shown .At which of the two temperature the
resistance of the conductor is higher? Justify your answer.

Ans: Slope of VI graph represents the resistance of the given conductor .At the temperature 𝑻𝟐, the resistance of the
conductor is higher as it has greater slope than that of at temperature 𝑻𝟏.

Resistance

The property of a conductor to resist the flow of charges through it.

S.I unit-ohm (Ω)

(Define the S.I unit of resistance or one ohm)

If the potential difference across the two ends of a conductor is 1 V and the current through it is 1 A, then the resistance
R, of the conductor is 1 Ω.

Resistor

A conductor having some appreciable resistance is called a resistor.

Resistance of the conductor depends (i) on its length, (ii) on its area of cross-section, and (iii) on the nature of its
material.

Resistance of a uniform metallic conductor is directly proportional to its length (l) and inversely proportional to the area
of cross-section (A). That is,

R α l

R α 1/A

R α l/A

R = ρ l/A

ρ (rho) is a constant of proportionality called electric resistivity.

 It depends on the nature of the substance and temperature.

The S.I unit of resistivity-ohm metre (Ωm)

 The resistivity of an alloy is generally higher than that of its constituent metals. Alloys do not oxidise (burn)
readily at high temperatures. For this reason, they are commonly used in electrical heating devices, like electric
iron, toasters etc.
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Resistance of a system of resistor Series and parallel combination

Circuit in series- The circuit which connects the components one after the other so that current is same throughout the

Circuit.

Circuit in parallel - The circuit where components are divided into two or more than two branches, so that current is
different in each branch, but voltage is same, is known as parallel circuit.

Resistors in series(derivation)

Consider three resistors R1, R2 and R3 connected in series as shown in figure.

Let I be the current flowing through the circuit and Rs be the equivalent
resistance of the series combination of resistors.
Suppose potential difference across R1 is V1, across R2 is V2 and that across R3 is
V3. The total p.d V is equal to sum of potential differences V1,V2 and V3
V= V1 +V2+V3---------1

Applying ohm’s law, V=IRs

V1=IR1 , V2=IR2 , V3=IR3

Substituting these in 1 , we get

IRs = IR1 +IR2 + IR3

Rs = R1 +R2 +R3 i.e, the equivalent resistance of a number of resistances in series combination is equal

to the sum of their individual resistances.

Resistors in parallel(derivation)

Consider three resistors R1,R2 and R3 connected in parallel as shown in figure.

The potential difference across each resistor is V and R P be the equivalent resistance
of the parallel combination of resistors.
Suppose current through R1 is I1, through R2 is I2 and that through R3 is I3.
Total current I = I1 +I2 +I3 ----------(1)

Applying ohm’s law,

I = V/Rp

I1 = V /R1; I2 = V /R2; and I3 = V /R3

Substituting these in 1 , we get

V/Rp = V/R1 + V/R2 + V/R3

1/Rp = 1/R1 + 1/R2 + 1/R3

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i.e, the reciprocal of the equivalent resistance of a number of resistances in parallel combination is equal to the sum of
the reciprocals of their individual resistances.

Advantages of parallel combination

 Each electrical appliance gets the same p.d (voltage)as that of the power supply line.
 If one electrical appliance stops working due to some defect, then all other appliances keep working.
 Each electrical appliance has its own switch due to which it can be turned on or off independently.
 The overall resistance of the household circuit is reduced due to which the current from the power
supply is high.

Electric power(P)

P=E/t or P =W/t

P=VQ/t

P=VI

Using ohm’s law V=IR,

P=I2 R and

P=V 2 /R

S.I unit- watt

( define the S.I unit of power or 1 watt)pg 219 or pg 220

Bigger units-kilowatt( 1kilowatt=1000watts),

Megawatt ( 1megawatt=106watts),

1H.P= 746watts

Heating effect of electric current

Joule’s law of heating

The heat produced in a resistor is directly proportional to

1. the square of current for a given resistance

2. resistance for a given current, and
3. the time for which the current flows through the resistor.
H= I2 Rt

Consider a current I flowing through a resistor of resistance R. Let the potential difference across it be
V. Let t be the time during which a charge Q flows across

The work done W =VQ

Power P=W/t

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 =VQ/t= VI

The energy supplied to the circuit = P x t

This energy gets dissipated in the resistor as heat.

H = VIt

Applying ohm’s law, we get H= I2 Rt

Applications of heating effect

The heating effect is utilized in

1. the working of electrical heating appliances such as electric iron, electric oven, electric kettle and electric heater
etc
2. electric bulb for producing light-
 A strong metal with high melting point such as tungsten is used for making bulb filaments.
 When electric current passes through high resistance tungsten filament, it becomes very hot and emits light.
 It must not melt at high temperature.
3. electric fuse-
 It protects circuits and appliances by stopping the flow of any unduly high electric current. The fuse is
placed in series with the device.
 It consists of a piece of wire made of a metal or an alloy of appropriate melting point. If a current larger
than the specified value flows through the circuit, the temperature of the fuse wire increases. This melts
the fuse wire and breaks the circuit.
The relation between commercial unit and S.I unit of energy
The commercial unit of electric energy is kilowatt hour (kW h),commonly known as ‘unit’.
The S.I unit of energy is Joule.
1 kW h = 1000 watt × 3600 second
= 3.6 × 106 watt second
= 3.6 × 106 joule (J)
H.W.Numerical –example problems