TOPIC-1 E lectric Current, Ohm’s Law

Concepts Covered:
 Electric current and electric potential  Electric circuit and symbols used in it  Ohm’s law  Resistance and resistivity.

Revision Notes  Electric circuit: The closed path along which an electric
current flows is called an ‘electric circuit’.
 Charge is a fundamental quantity of matter. It may be
positive and negative.
 S.I. unit of charge is Coulomb (C).
 Static and current electricity: Static electricity deals
with the electric charges at rest
while the current electricity deals
with the electric charges in motion.
 Electric current: The electric
current is defined as the rate of the
flow of electric charge through any
cross-section of a conductor.
Charge Q
Electric current = or I = Fig 11.1: A typical electric circuit
Time t
 Conventional direction of current: Conventionally,
 Electric current is a scalar quantity. the direction of the motion of positive charges through
the conductor is taken as the direction of current. The
direction of conventional current is opposite to that of
the negatively charged electrons.
 Electrochemical or voltaic cell: It is a device which
converts chemical energy into electrical energy.
 Galvanometer: It is a device to detect current in an
electric circuit and by the help of appropriate resistance,
we can calculate the voltage of the circuit.
 Ammeter: It is a device to measure current in a circuit.
It is a low resistance galvanometer and is always
connected in series in a circuit.
 Electric potential is the amount of electric potential
energy at a point while potential difference is the
difference in the amount of electric potential energy
between two points in an electric circuit.
 Ampere: It is the SI unit of current. If one Coulomb of  It is known as voltage, which is equal to the work
charge flows through any cross-section of a conductor done to move a unit charge from one point to another
in one second, then current through it is said to be one against static field.
ampere.
 Work done ( W )
Voltage ( V ) =
Ch arg e (Q)
 S.I. unit of potential difference is Volt (V).
 1 Volt: When 1 Joule of work is done in carrying one
Coulomb charge then potential difference is called 1
Volt. Mathematically
1 volt = 1 joule/1 coulomb
1 V = 1 JC-1
 Voltmeter: It is a device to measure the potential
difference. It is a high resistance galvanometer and is
always connected in parallel to the component across
Fig 11.2 : V-I Graph
which the potential difference is to be measured.  Resistance (R): It is the property of a conductor to
Symbol is, resist the flow of charges through it. [Board, 2019]
(i) S.I. unit of resistance is Ohm (Ω).
1 volt
(ii) 1 ohm =
 Ohm’s Law: It states that “the 1 ampere
current through a conductor  When potential difference is 1 V and current through
between two points is directly the circuit is 1 A, then resistance will be 1 ohm.
proportional to the voltage across  Rheostat: Rheostat is a variable resistor used to regulate
the two points provided external current without changing the source of voltage.
conditions remain constant”.  Factors on which the resistance of a
 [Board, 2020] conductor depends: Resistance of a
uniform metallic conductor is,
(i) Directly proportional to the length
of the conductor.
(ii) Inversely proportional to the area
of cross-section.
(iii)Directly proportional to the
temperature.
(iv) Depends on nature of the material.
 Resistivity (r): The resistance offered by a wire of unit
length and unit cross-sectional area is called resistivity.
 [Board, 2019]
 Its S.I. unit is Ohm-metre (Ωm).
 Resistivity does not change with change in length or
area of cross-section but it changes with change in
temperature.
–8 –6
 Range of resistivity of metals and alloys is 10 to 10
Ωm.
12 17
 Range of resistivity of insulators is 10 to 10 Ωm.
 Resistivity of alloy is generally higher than that of its
(i) Mathematical expression for Ohm’s law: constituent metals.
I∝V   Alloys do not oxidise (burn) readily at high
V = IR temperature, so they are commonly used in electrical
(where, R = Resistance) heating devices.
(ii) V-I graph for Ohm’s law : The graph between V and I  Copper and aluminium are used for electrical
is always straight line with slope equals to R. transmission lines as they have low resistivity.
 TOPIC-2 R esistance in Series and Parallel Combination, Electric Power and Heating Effects of
Electric Current
Concepts Covered
 Resistance in series and in parallel combinations  Electric power  Heating effects of electric current (Joule’s law)
 Applications of heating effect of electric current
  ractical application of the heating effect of
P
Revision Notes electric current: It is utilised in the electrical heating
 Resistances in series: When two or more resistances appliances such as electric iron, room heaters, water
are connected end to end so that same current flows heaters, etc. The electric bulb also works on the
through each one of them in turn, they are said to be principle of heating effect of electric current. When
connected in series. Here, the total electric current passes through a very thin, high
resistance tungsten filament of an electric bulb, the
resistance is equal to the sum of the
filament becomes white-hot and emits light.
individual resistances.
 [Board, 2019]
 [Board, 2022]
 Electric energy: It is the total work done in maintaining
Rs = Rl + R2 + R3 + ........
an electric current in an electric circuit for a given time.
 Resistances in parallel: When two
Electric energy,
or more resistances are connected
W = VIt = I2Rt Joule
across two points so that each one of them provides a  Electric Fuse: It is a safety device that protects
separate path for current, they are said to be connected our electrical appliances in case of short circuit or
in parallel. Here, the reciprocal of their combined overloading.
resistance is equal to the sum of the reciprocals of the (i) Fuse is made up of pure tin or alloy of copper and tin.
individual resistances. (ii) Fuse is always connected in series with live wire.
1 1 1 1 (iii) Fuse has low melting point.
= + + + .... (iv) Current capacity of fuse is slightly higher than that of
RP R1 R2 R3
the appliance.
 Heating effect of current: When an electric current  Electric Power: The rate at which electric energy is
is passed through a conductor, heat is produced in it. consumed or dissipated in an electric circuit :
This is known as heating effect of current. P = VI
 Joule’s law of heating: It states that the heat produced V2
P = I2 R =
in a conductor is directly proportional to (i) the square R
of the current I flowing through it, (ii) its resistance
R and (iii) the time t, for which current is passed.
Mathematically, it can be expressed as :
I 2 Rt
H = I 2 Rt Joule = cal
4.18
VIt
Or H = VIt Joule = cal  S.I. unit of power = Watt (W)
4.18
1 watt = 1 volt × 1 ampere
These Questions are for practice and their solutions are given at the end of the chapter.
 Commercial unit of electric energy = kilo Watt-hour  Kilowatt hour: It is the commercial unit of electrical
(KWh) energy. One kilowatt hour is the electrical energy
1 kWh = 3.6 × 106 J consumed by an appliance of 1000 watts when used
1 kWh = 1 unit of electric energy for one hour.
 Electrical power: Electrical power is the rate at which 1 kilowatt hour (kWh) = 3.6 × 106 J
electric energy is consumed by an appliance.
 Power rating: The power rating of an appliance is the
 Watt: It is the S.I. unit of power. The power of an
electric energy consumed per second by the appliance
appliance is 1 Watt if one Ampere of current flows
when connected across the marked voltage of the
through it on applying a potential difference of 1 Volt
mains.
across its ends.
1 joule  Efficiency of an electrical device: It is the ratio of the
1 watt = = 1 volt × 1 ampere output power to the input power.
1 second
Output power
or 1 W = 1 Js–1 Efficiency, h =
1 kilowatt = 1000 W. Input power