CHAPTER -12

ELECTRICITY
 Road Map

 Electric current
 Electric Potential and potential difference
 Ohm’s Law
 Factors affecting the resistance of a conductor
 Combination of resistors [ Series and parallel]
 Electrical Energy and Power
 Heating effect of electric current
 Practical applications of heating effect of electric
circuit
 Pre Test
1)A simple device that opens and closes an electrical unit is _____

2) Materials through which electricity can easily pass through ______

3)  A combination of two or more electric cells is called___________.

     (a) Electric circuit (b) Battery (c) Terminals (d) None of these

4)  Electric energy is produced from the____________ within the cell.

     (a) Chemicals (b) Metals (c) Terminals (d) None of these

5) Is distilled water a conductor of electricity? Why?

Electric Charge - The property of matter that is
responsible for electrical phenomena is called charge.

SI unit – coulomb(c)

● 
Properties of Electric Charges
● Conservation of charge
● Additive property – total charge on a system is equal to
algebraic sum of charges (Q = q1 + q2 +(-q3))
● Like charge repel while unlike charges attract each
other.
● Quantisation of charge- total charge on a body is integral
multiple of fundamental charge “e”.
Q = ne where e = 1.6 x C , n= …
The SI unit of electric charge is coulomb (C).
It is the charge contained in 6x10 18 electrons.
1) Electric current :-
Electric current :- is the flow of electrons through a conductor.
The device which causes the flow of electrons through a conductor is
called a cell.
Electrons flow from the negative terminal to the positive terminal.
Electric current flows from the positive terminal to the negative terminal.
This is called conventional current.
Electric current is expressed as :- The rate of flow of charges through a
conductor or the quantity of charges flowing through a conductor in
unit time. Q
I = I – current
t Q – quantity of charge

t – time
The SI unit of electric charge is coulomb (C). It is the charge contained
in 6x10 18 electrons.
The SI unit of current is called ampere (A).
One ampere is the current flowing through a conductor if I coulomb of
charge flows through it in 1 second.
1coulomb
1ampere =
1 second
Electric Current is measured by an ammeter. It is always connected in series
in a circuit.
Small quantities of current are expressed as
1 milliampere(mA) =
1 microampere (=
● 

1. Find the amount of electric charge flowing through the

circuit if an electric current of 3 A is drawn by an electric
appliance for 3 minute.
2. If a current of 1.5ampere is drawn for 1 hour through the
filament of a bulb, find the amount of electric charge flowing
through the circuit.
3.  If an electric charge of 100C flows through an electric
bulb for 15 minutes , find the electric current drawn by the
filament.
Electric field:
The region or space surrounding the charge where another
charge experiences a force of attraction or repulsion
depending upon the nature of charge is called electrostatic
field or electric field around that charge.
2) Electric potential and Potential difference :-
Electric current will flow through a conductor only if there is a difference in
the electric potential between the two ends of the conductor. This difference in
electric potential between the two ends of a conductor is called potential
difference.
The potential difference in a circuit is provided by a cell or battery. The
chemical reaction in the cell produces a potential difference between the two
terminals and sets the electrons in motion and produces electric current.
Potential difference :- between two points A and B of a conductor is the
amount of work done to move a unit charge from A to B.

Work done W
Potential difference = or V =
Charge Q
The SI unit of potential difference is volt (V).
One volt is the potential difference when 1 joule of work is done to move a
charge of 1 coulomb from one point to the other.
1 joule 1J
1 volt = or 1 V =
1 coulomb 1C
Potential difference is measured by a voltmeter. It is always connected in
parallel across the two point between which the potential difference is to be
measured.
 Quick Check
1. By what other name is the unit Joule/
Coulomb called.
2. What do the letters p.d stands for?
3. Which device is used to measure p.d?
4. What is the SI unit of p.d
5. How much work is done in moving a
charge of 2C across two points having a
p.d of 12V?
 HW
● 
1.What is meant by saying that the potential
difference between two points is 1V?
2. How much work is done in moving a charge
of 2C from a point at 118V to the point at 128V?
3. How much energy is given to each coulomb of
charge passing through a 6V battery.
4.When a particle carrying a charge of 10x
Coulombs is brought from infinity to a point P,
2x Joules of work is done. What is the potential
at the point P.
3a) Electric circuit :-
Electric circuit :- is a continuous and closed path for
the flow of electric current.
A schematic diagram of an electric circuit comprising
of a cell, electric bulb, ammeter and plug key.

bulb
cell
- +

A ammeter

-
plug key
Symbols of components used in electric circuits :-
4) Ohm’s law :-
Ohms law is a relationship between the potential difference across a
conductor and the current flowing through it.
Ohm’s law states that :-
‘The current flowing through a conductor is directly proportional to the
potential difference between its ends provided its temperature remains
constant.’ V V
I α V or V α I or = constant or =R
I I
Where R is a constant called resistance for a given metallic wire at a
given temperature.

Verification of Ohm’s law :-

+ -
K
( )

R
A B -
+ A

+
V -
 Set up the circuit as shown in the circuit diagram. First use one cell
and note the current (I) in the ammeter and the potential difference (V)
in the voltmeter across the nichrome wire AB. Repeat by using two
cells, three cells and four cells and note the readings in the ammeter
and voltmeter. Then plot a graph between the current (I) and potential
difference (V). The graph will be a straight line.
This shows that the current flowing through a conductor is directly
proportional to the potential difference across its ends.
V
I α V or V α I or = R
I
where R is a constant called resistance of the conductor.

Slope = V/I = R
Potential difference ( V )

Current ( I )
5a) Resistance :-
Resistance is the property of a conductor to resist the
flow of current through it.
V
According to Ohm’s law R =
I
The SI unit of resistance is ohm (Ω).
If the potential difference across the two ends of a wire
is 1 V and the current flowing through it is 1 A then the
resistance R of the conductor is 1 ohm (1 Ω ).
V
Since I =
R
The current flowing through a resistor is inversely
proportional to the resistance.
So if the resistance is doubled, then the current gets
halved.
b) Factors on which the resistance of a conductor
depends :-
The resistance of a conductor depends upon its:-
    i) Length  
ii) Area of cross section
  iii) Material of the conductor.     (iv) Temperature of conductor
Resistance is directly proportional to the length of the conductor
and inversely proportional to the area of cross section of the
conductor.
RαL

R α I /A

or R α L
A
or R = ρ L
A

Where ρ (rho) is a constant of proportionality called Resistivity of

the
material of the conductor.
Other equations for Resistance
Resistivity – it is the property of a conductor due to which it offers
resistance to flow of current. It depends only on nature of material and
temperature.

ρ = RA / L

SI UNIT - ohm meter ( Ωm).

• Resistivity of an alloy is
generally higher than that of
its constituent metals.
• Alloys do not oxidise (burn)
readily at high temperatures
and have high resistivity. For
this reason, they are
commonly used in electrical
heating devices, like electric
iron, toasters etc.
• Tungsten (high resistivity) is
used almost exclusively for
filaments of electric bulbs.
• Copper and aluminium are
● Conductors like metals and alloys have low
generally used for electrical
resistivity 10 Ωm to 10-6 Ωm.
-8
transmission lines. (low
resistivity)
Insulators like rubber, glass etc. have high
resistivity 1012 Ωm to 1017 Ωm.
 Numericals
1) (a) How much current will an electric bulb draw from a 220 V source, if
the resistance of the bulb filament is 1200 Ω? (b) How much current will
an electric heater coil draw from a 220 V source, if the resistance of the
heater coil is 100 Ω?
2) Nichrome wire of length L and radius R has resistance of 10Ω. How would
the resistance of the wire change when :
a) only length of the wire is doubled? (b)Only diameter of the wire is
doubled? Justify your answer
3) A 5 Ω resistance wire is stretched so that its length is doubled. Calculate
the new resistance of the wire
4) A 4 Ω resistance wire is doubled on it. Calculate the new resistance of the
wire
5) The figure below shows three cylindrical copper conductors along with their
face areas and lengths. Compare the resistance and the resistivity of the three
conductors. Justify your answer.
6a) Resistors in series :-
R1 R2 R3
A B
V1 V2 V3
V
+ -
( A
+ - - +
)
   
    When three resistors  R1, R2 and R3 are connected in series across AB
  i)  The current in all the resistors is the same.
 ii)  The total voltage (PD) across the resistors is equal to the sum of the  
      voltage across each resistor. 
                  V = V1 + V2 + V3
iii)  The equivalent resistance is the sum of the resistances of each 
      resistor.
                  RS = R1 +  R2 +  R3
b) Resistors in parallel :-
R1
I1
R2
A I2 B
R3
I3

V
+ -

+ - ( - A
+
)
When three resistors R1, R2 and R3 are connected in parallel across AB,
i) The voltage (PD) in all the resistors is the same.
ii) The total current in all the resistors is the sum of the current in each
resistor. I = I1 + I2 + I3
iii) The reciprocal of the equivalent resistance is the sum of the
reciprocals of each resistance.
1 1 1 1
= + +
Rp R1 R2 R3
7) Electrical energy and Electric power :-
i) Electrical energy :- is the work done to maintain the flow of
current in a conductor.
W=QXV I=Q/t Q=IXt
W = I X t x V V = IR
W = I2Rt
The unit of electrical energy is joule (J).

ii) Electric power :- is the rate at which electric current is used.

Power = Work done P=W W = I2Rt = I2Rt
Time t t
Power = I2R R = V = I2 X V = I X V
I I
or Power = I X V
The SI unit of power is watt (W).
One watt is the power when 1A of current flows across a potential
difference of 1V.
1000 W = 1kW 1kWh = 1000 watt x 3600 seconds = 3.6 x 106 joules
The commercial unit of power is watt hour (Wh) or kilo watt hour (kWh).
One kWh is the power consumed when 1W of power is used for 1 hour.
8) Heating effect of electric current :-
R
A B

I + V - I

+ - ( - A +
)
If a current I flows through a resistor of resistance R and t be
the time for which a charge Q flows through it, then the work done
to move the charge through potential difference V
W=QXV
P =W = QXV Q = I or P = V X I
t t t
or Heat energy supplied = P X t = V X I X t
According to Ohm’s law V = IR
Heat produced H = I2Rt