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ELECTRICAL

QUANTITIES

Name: Mr. Burnett


Date: 5/09/16
Class: 6A

ELECTRICITY
Cells and batteries possess chemical energy which
is converted into electrical energy which give charges
the energy required to fl ow around a circuit. It is this
fl ow of charge that produces what is known as an
electric current.

CIRCUIT SYMBOLS

ELECTRIC CHARGE, Q
fundamental property of electricity that constitutes
The
an electric current when under the infl uence of an
electric fi eld.

S.I Unit: Coulomb (C)


1 Coulomb is the amount of charge transferred by a
current of one ampere (1A) in one second (1s).
The charge on an individual electron is 1.6 x 10 - 1 9 C.

ELECTRIC CHARGE

ELECTRIC CURRENT, I
The rate of fl ow of electric charge.
S.I Unit: Ampere (A)

EXAMPLE: CHARGE
A wire which forms part of a circuit has a diameter of
0.5mm. Calculate:
a) The steady current through the wire if a charge of
400C passes a point in the wire in 8ms.
b) The number of electrons per second passing
through the wire (hint: electron charge = 1.6 x10 - 1 9
C).
Ans: a) I = 0.05A; b) # of electrons = 3.125 x 10 1 7

POTENTIAL DIFFERENCE

POTENTIAL DIFFERENCE (VOLTAGE)


1
volt is the potential diff erence (p.d) between two points
in a circuit in which 1 joule (1J) is converted to other
forms when 1 coulomb of charge passes between them.
S.I Unit: 1 volt

; 1V = 1JC - 1
where W = work done

Q = charge

V = voltage or

of energy converted
p.d
But sir!!
Q= It; thus

W = VIt

EXAMPLE: VOLTAGE
The voltmeter reads 12V.
a) How many joules of electrical energy are changed
to light and heat when:
5C fl ows through the bulb

b) 2A fl ows for (i) 5 sec, (ii) 2 minutes


Ans: i) 60J , b) i) 120J ii) 2880J

ELECTRICAL RESISTANCE

ELECTRICAL RESISTANCE
This is measure of the opposition to the fl ow of
charge (current).
Symbol: (Ohm)
;
Where R = electrical resistance
I = current fl owing through the resistor (A)
V = voltage across the resistor (V)
For a particular resistance the current fl owing through
it is directly proportional to applied voltage (p.d)
across it. This is Ohms law.

ELECTRICAL ENERGY
Domestic Unit: 1 kilowatt-hour (1kWh)
The kilowatt-hour (kWh) is the quantity of energy
converted to other forms of energy by a device of
power 1 kilowatt in a time of 1hr.
Sample Calculation
How much energy does a 4kW electrical radiator
running for 3hrs consume?
Energy = Power x time
= 4000W x (3x 3600)
=4.32 x 10 7 J
Thus, = 3.6MJ

ELECTRICAL ENERGY
Domestic Unit: 1 kilowatt-hour (1kWh)
The kilowatt-hour (kWh) is the quantity of energy
converted to other forms of energy by a device of
power 1 kilowatt in a time of 1hr.
Sample Calculation
How much energy does a 4kW electrical radiator
running for 3hrs consume?
Energy = Power x time
= 4000W x (3x 3600)
=4.32 x 10 7 J
Thus, = 3.6MJ

POWER PRACTICE
a) Calculate the current fl owing through a resistor of
resistance 10 when a battery of emf 12V is connected
to it
b) Hence fi nd the power dissipated from the resistor
c) If the source was replaced with one of emf 9V, what
would be the new reading on the ammeter and
voltmeter?
Ans: a) I = 1.2A
b) P = 14.4W
c) I = 0.9A ; V =9V

ELECTRICAL ENERGY
An electric heater draws a steady 15.0A on a 120-V
line. How much power does it require and how much
does it cost per month(30days) if it operates 3.0h per
day and the electric company charges 9.2cents per
kWh?
Ans: P = 1.8kW

cost = $15

RESISTIVITY

Sy m b o l : ( r h o )
S .I U n i t : O h m m e tr e ( m )
R e s i s t i v i t y i s a te rm th a t d e s c r i b e s h o w w e l l th e m a t e r i a l f ro m w h i c h
t h e o b j e c t i s m a d e re s i s ts o r o p p o s e s c u rren t fl o w. I t i s t h e i n v e r s e o f
e l e c t r i c a l c o n d u c t i v i t y ( = 1 / res i s ti v i ty ) .
I t i s a u s e f u l p ro p e r t y c o n s i d e re d b y en g i n ee r s i n d e s i g n i n g t h e s i z e
a n d c o n s tr u c t i o n o f c o n d u c t o r s ( e . g th i c k n e s s o f w i re s ) .

nductor ()

L = length of the conductor (m)

A= Cross-sectional Area (m 2 )
= Resistivity (m)

i s d i r e c t l y p r o p o r t i o n a l t o t h e re s i s ta n c e o f th e m a t e r i a l a n d i t i s
a l s o te m p e r a tu re d e p e n d e n t ( i n c re a s e s w i th t em p er a t u re) .

RESISTIVITY IN MATERIALS

N.B The resistivity of insulators are greater than


that for conductors

EXAMPLE: ENERGY, RESISTIVITY


An electrical heating element is to be designed so
that it dissipates energy at the rate of 1.2 x 10 3 W
when it is connected to a 240V supply. If the element
is to be made of nichrome wire of diameter 0.6mm,
and resistivity
1.1 x 10 - 6 m, calculate the
length of wire needed.
Ans: L = 12.3m to 3s.f

EXAMPLE 2: RESISTIVITY
A p.d of 2V is connected to a uniform resistance wire
of length 2.0m and cross-sectional area 8 x 10 - 9 m 2 . A
current of 10A then fl ows in the wire. Find:
a) the current fl owing if the length and diameter of
the wire are doubled and the same p.d is connected
to it
b) The resistivity of the material
c) The conductivity of the material
Ans: a) I = 20A

b) = 8 x 10 - 1 0 m

c) = 1.25 x 10 9 - 1 m - 1

ELECTROMOTIVE FORCE (EMF)


Symbol: epsilon ()
S.I Unit: Volt (V)

EMF VS P.D
Electromotive force
(Emf)

Potential
diff erence(P.d)

Source supplying
electrical energy
Work done by the source
(battery, cell etc) in
driving a coulomb of
charge around a
complete circuit.
The p.d between the two
electrodes when no
current is fl owing (open
circuit).

The conversion of
electrical energy within
the external circuit
Work done between two
points in driving a
coulomb of charge
through a load
The p.d between the two
electrodes when the cell
is discharging current
through the circuit

EMF VS PD

DRIFT VELOCITY
This is the average velocity (v or v d ) attained by
electrons under the infl uence of an electric fi eld. The
electrons fl ow in the opposite direction to the
applied fi eld (E).

DERIVATION!
*Derive: I = nevA

- Volume of cylindrical section: A x L


- no. free electrons in the section = nAL
- total charge Q in the section = nLAe
The time t for all the electrons in the section to travel from
one face to the another is the time for one electron to travel
the whole length (L).

DERIVATION

And since,
Substituting for I and t,

E.G 1: DRIFT VELOCITY


Calculate the drift velocity of electrons in a copper
wire of cross-sectional area 2x10 - 7 m 2 (0.5mm
diameter) carrying a current of 0.5A. (n= 8.5 x 10 2 8 )
Ans: 1.84 x 10 - 4 ms - 1

E.G 2: DRIFT VELOCITY


A copper wire, 3.2mm in diameter carries 5.0A
current. Determine the drift speed of the free
electrons. Assume that one electron per Cu atom is
free to move.
Given: density of copper = 8.9 x 10 3 kg/m 3 ; atomic
mass of copper = 63.5g. (Hint: use n = N/V, the
number of free electrons per unit volume; Avogadros
constant = 6.02x10 2 3 atoms).
Ans: v d = 4.6 x 10 - 5 m/s

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