Electrical power

• Power is defined as

The rate of energy transfer or the amount of energy transferred per second

• The electrical power of a device depends on:

o The voltage (potential difference) of the device

o The current of the device

• The power of an electrical component (or appliance) is given by the equation:

P = VI

• Where:

o P = power, measured in Watts (W)

o I = current, measured in amperes (A)

o V = potential difference, measured in volts (V)

• The unit of power is the Watt (W), which is the same as a joule per second (J/s)

A formula triangle can help rearrange the electrical power equation

Power, current, voltage formula triangle

Worked Example

Calculate the potential difference through a 48 W electric motor with a current of 4 A.

 AC & DC
• Mains electricity can be supplied by alternating current (a.c.) or direct current (d.c.) from a cell
or battery

Direct current
• A direct current (d.c.) is defined as

A steady current, constantly flowing in the same direction in a circuit, from positive to negative

• The potential difference across a cell in a d.c. circuit travels in one direction only

o The current travels from the positive terminal to the negative terminal

• A d.c. power supply has a fixed positive terminal and a fixed negative terminal

• Electric cells, or batteries, produce direct current (d.c.)

A cell or battery provides a d.c. supply to a circuit

Circuits powered by cells or batteries use a d.c. supply

Alternating current
• An alternating current (a.c.) is defined as

A current that continuously changes its direction, going back and forth around a circuit

• An alternating current power supply has two identical terminals that change from positive to
negative and back again

o The alternating current always travels from the positive terminal to the negative
terminal
 o Therefore, the current changes direction as the polarity of the terminals changes

• The frequency of an alternating current is the number of times the current changes direction
back and forth each second

o In the UK, mains electricity is an alternating current with a frequency of 50 Hz and a

potential difference of around 230 V

Graphs of direct current vs alternating current on an oscilloscope screen

Two graphs showing the variation of current with time for alternating current and direct current

Comparing alternating current & direct current

• The following table summarises the differences between d.c. and a.c.

Direct Current (d.c.) Alternating Current (a.c.)

Continuous and in one direction Constantly changing direction

Produced by cells and batteries Produced by electrical generators i.e. mains electricity

Has a positive and negative terminal Has two identical terminals

Examiner Tips and Tricks

If asked to explain the difference between alternating and direct current, sketching and labelling the
graphs above can earn you full marks. All the circuits you have studied so far are d.c. circuits. Don't be
put off by an exam question if you are asked to calculate the current, potential difference or resistance in
d.c. series circuits, you don't have to do anything different from what you have already learned!

Current in series circuits

• There are two ways of joining electrical components:

o in series

o in parallel

Current in series

• A series circuit is a circuit that has only one loop, or one path that the electrons can take

• In a series circuit, the current has the same value at any point

o This is because the electrons have only one path they can take

o Therefore, the number of electrons passing a fixed point per unit time is the same at all
locations

• This means that all components in a series circuit have the same current

The current is the same at each point in a series circuit

• The amount of current flowing in a series circuit depends on:

o the voltage of the power source

o the number (and type) of components

• Increasing the voltage of the power source drives more current around the circuit

o So, decreasing the voltage of the power source reduces the current

• Increasing the number of components in the circuit increases the total resistance
 o Hence less current flows through the circuit

Increasing the voltage and number of components in series

Current will increase if the voltage of the power supply increases and decreases if the number of
components increases

Current in parallel circuits

• A parallel circuit is a circuit that has two or more loops, or more than one path that electrons can
take

• Parallel circuits contain junctions and branches

o Junctions are points where two or more wires meet to form a new branch

o Branches are the sections of wire between junctions

Current in parallel

• In a parallel circuit, the current has different values at different points in the circuit

o This is because the current splits at a junction

o Therefore, the electrons have different paths they can take

• The sum of the current in the individual branches is equal to the total current before (and after)
the branches
Current splits at a junction into individual branches

Why is current conserved at a junction in a circuit?

• At a junction, the current is always conserved

o This means the amount of current flowing into the junction is equal to the amount of
current flowing out of it

o This is because the charge is conserved

• Current does not always split equally – often there will be more current in some branches than
in others

o The current in each branch will only be identical if the resistance of the components
along each branch is identical

• Current behaves in this way because it is the flow of electrons:

o Electrons, or any charge, cannot be created or destroyed

o This means the total number of electrons (and hence current) going around a circuit
must remain the same

o When the electrons reach a junction, however, some of them will go one way and the
rest will go the other

Voltage in series & parallel

Voltage in series

• In a series circuit, the total voltage of a power supply is shared between the components

Lamps connected in a series circuit share the potential difference from the battery

• For two identical components (with equal resistance), the voltage across them will be:

o the same

o equal to half the total voltage of the power supply

• For two non-identical components (with different values of resistance), the voltage will be:

o higher across the component with the higher resistance

o lower across the component with lower resistance

Voltage in parallel

• In a parallel circuit, the total voltage across each branch is the same as the voltage of the power
supply
Lamps connected in a parallel circuit all have the same voltage across them

Advantages & disadvantages

Advantages and disadvantages of a series circuit

• A series circuit consists of a string of two or more components connected in a loop

In a series circuit, only one switch is needed to control all of the lamps. This can be seen as an
advantage or as a disadvantage

Advantages of a series circuit

• All of the components are controlled by a single switch

• Fewer wires are required

Disadvantages of a series circuit

• The components cannot be controlled separately

• If one component breaks, all other components stop working

Advantages and disadvantages of parallel circuits

• A parallel circuit consists of two or more components attached across different branches of the
circuit

In a parallel circuit, the lamps are connected in parallel and can be switched on and off by their own
switches

Advantages of a parallel circuit

• The components can be individually controlled using their own switches

• If one component breaks, then the others will continue to function

Disadvantages of a parallel circuit

• Many more wires are involved which can be more complicated to set up

• All branches have the same voltage as the supply making it more difficult to control the voltage
across individual components
 Resistors in series
• When two or more resistors are connected in series, the total resistance is equal to the sum of
their individual resistances

• For two resistors of resistance R1 and R2, the total resistance can be calculated using the
equation:

R= R1+R2

• Where:

o R is the total resistance, in ohms (Ω)

• Increasing the number of resistors increases the overall resistance

o The charge now has more resistors to pass through

• The total voltage is also the sum of the voltages across each of the individual resistors

Three resistors connected in series. The total voltage is the sum of the individual voltages, and the
total resistance is the sum of the three individual resistances

Summary of series and parallel circuits

• For components connected in series:

o the current is the same at all points and in each component

 o the voltage of the power supply is shared between the components

o the total resistance is the sum of the resistances of each component

• For components connected in parallel:

o the current from the supply splits in the branches

o the voltage across each branch is the same

o the total resistance is less than that of each component

Calculating current, resistance & potential difference

• Resistance is defined as

The opposition of a component to the flow of electric current through it

• Resistance is measured in units of ohms (Ω)

o A resistance of 1 Ω is equivalent to a voltage across a component of 1 V which produces

a current of 1 A through it

• The resistance of a component controls the size of the current in a circuit

• For a given voltage across a component:

o The higher the resistance, the lower the current that can flow

o The lower the resistance, the higher the current that can flow

• All electrical components, including wires, have some value of resistance

• Wires are often made from copper because it has a low electrical resistance

o This is why it is known as a good conductor

Comparing current and resistance

A greater resistance means there is a lower current and vice versa

• The current, resistance and potential difference of a component in a circuit are calculated using
the equation:

voltage = current × resistance

V= IR
• Where:

o V = voltage, measured in volts (V)

o I = current, measured in amps (A)

o R = resistance, measured in ohms (Ω)

• This equation can be rearranged with the help of the following formula triangle:

Voltage current resistance formula triangle

Worked Example

Calculate the voltage across a resistor of resistance 10 Ω if there is a current of 0.3 A through it.

Answer:

Step 1: List the known quantities

• Resistance, R = 10 Ω

• Current, I = 0.3 A

Step 2: Write the equation relating resistance, potential difference and current

Step 3: Substitute in the values

V = 0.3 × 10 = 3 V

Examiner Tips and Tricks

In exam questions, the resistance of the wires, batteries, ammeters and voltmeters are always assumed
to be zero (in the case of voltmeters, they have extremely high resistances so that current does not flow
through them, and this has a negligible effect on the overall resistance of the circuit)