CHARGE, CURRENT, VOLTAGE, AND POWER

ELECTRIC CHARGE

 The concept of electric charge is the underlying principle in all electrical

phenomena.
 The most basic quantity in an electric circuit is the “electric charge”.
 Charge is an electrical property of the atomic particles of which matter
consists.
 Charge is measured in Coulombs (C).

The following points should be noted about electric charge:

 The coulomb is a large unit for charges. In 1C of charge, there are

1
 6.24 x1018 electrons. Thus the realistic or laboratory values of
1.602 x10 19
charges are on the order of pC , nC , or  C .
 According to experimental observations, the only charges that occur in nature
are integral multiples of the electronic charge e  1.602 x10 19 C.
 The “Law of conservation of charge” states that charge can neither be
created nor destroyed only transferred. Thus the algebraic sum of the electric
charges in a system does not change.

CURRENT

 Electric Current is the time rate of change of charge. It is measured in

amperes (A).
 Electric current is the rate which charge is being transferred per unit time.
dq Q
i , or I 
dt t
 The charge transferred between t 0 and t is obtained by integrating both sides
of the equation.

t
q   idt , or Q  It
t0

 If the current does not change with time, but remains constant, it is called a
direct current (dc).
 By convention the symbol (uppercase) I, is used to represent such a constant
current.
  A time varying current is represented by the symbol (lower case) i. A common
form of time-varying current is the sinusoidal current or alternating current
(ac).
 An alternating current (ac) is a current that varies sinusoidally with time.
 Such current is used in the household, to run the air-conditioner, refrigerator,
washing machine, and other electric appliances.

TYPES OF CURRENT

a. Direct Current
b. Alternating Current
c. Exponential Current
d. Damped Sinusoidal current

Figure 1.9. Several types of current: (a.) direct current, (b.) sinusoidal current, (c.)
exponential current, (d.) damped sinusoidal current

Solved Problems:

1. The total charge entering a terminal is given by q  5t sin 4 t mC . Calculate the current
at t = 0.5 second.

solution:
dq
i
dt
d
  5t sin 4 t  mC / s
dt
i   5sin 4 t  20 t cos 4 t  mA
at t = 0.5 second
 i  5sin 2  10 cos 2
 0  10
i  31.42mA
2. Determine the total charge entering a terminal between t = 1s and t = 2s if the current
 
passing the terminal is i  3t 2  t A .

solution:
2
q   idt
1

   3t 2  t  dt
2

1
2
 t2 
  t3  
 2 1
 1
  8  2   1  
 2
q  5.5C

VOLTAGE

 Voltage is the work done in moving a unit positive charge through the
element from one terminal to the other.

dw W
v , or V 
dq Q

POWER AND ENERGY

 Power is the rate at which energy is expended or the rate at which the energy
is being delivered.
 Power is the time rate of supplying or receiving work or energy.
 Power is measured in Watts (W)
 Energy is the capacity to do work
 Energy is measured in Joules (J)
 dw
p
dt
 dw   dq 
p  
 dq   dt 
p  vi
w
p
t
w  pdt
Where:
i, I = current, Amperes (A)
Q, q = charge, Coulomb (C)
v =voltage, Volts (V)
p = power, watts (W)
w = work or energy, Joules (J)
t = time, second (s)
 The electric power generated by an active element, or that dissipated or stored by a
passive element, is equal to the product of the voltage across the element and the
current flowing through it.
 The power supplied by an element can either be positive or negative, depending on the
values of the element voltage and current.
 The power received by an element and the power supplied by that same element are
related by

power received   power supplied

PASSIVE SIGN CONVENTION

 Whenever the reference direction for the current in an element is in the direction
of the reference voltage drop across the element, as shown in figure 1.3, use a
positive sign in any expression that relates the voltage to the current. Otherwise,
use a negative sign.
 Passive sign convention is satisfied when the current enters through the positive
terminal of an element and p  vi . If the current enters through the negative
terminal, p  vi .
 Figure 1.10 shows the expression of power with the corresponding polarity
references using the passive sign convention.
 Figure 1.10. Polarity references and the expression for power

Sample Problems:

1. Find the power delivered to an element at t  3 ms if the current entering its positive
di
terminal is i  5 cos 60 t A and the voltage is: (a.) v  3i , (b) v  3 .
dt

Solution:

(a.) The voltage is

v  3i
 3  5 cos 60 t 
v  15 cos 60 t

The power is

p  vi
 15 cos 60 t  5 cos 60 t 
 75 cos2 60 t W

At t  3 ms
 p  75 cos 2 60  3 x10 3 
 75 cos 2 0.18
 53.48 W

(b.) The voltage is

di
v3
dt
d
 3  5 cos 60 t 
dt
 3  60  5 sin 60 t
 900 sin 60 t V

The power is

p  vi
 900 sin 60 t  5 cos 60 t 
 4500 sin 60 t cos 60 t W

at t  3 ms

p  4500 sin 60  3 x103   cos 60  3 x103  

 6.396 kW

2. A certain electrical element draws the current i  t   10 cos 4t A at a voltage

v  t   120 cos 4t V . (a.) Calculate the power absorbed. (b.) Determine the energy
absorbed by the element in 2 second.

Solution:

(a.) The power absorbed by the element

v  120 cos 4t
i  10 cos 4t
p  vi
 120 cos 4t 10 cos 4t 
p  1200 cos 2 4t

(b.) The energy absorbed by the element at t = 2 sec

 t
w   pdt
0
2
  1200 cos 2 4tdt
0
2
w  1200  cos 2 4tdt
0

1
recall: cos 2  1 cos 2 
2
21
w  1200  1 cos 8t  dt
0 2

w  600  1 cos 8t  dt

2

 2 1 2

w  600 t 0    sin 8t  
 8 0 
 1 
w  600  2  0   sin 8  2   sin 0  
 8 
 1 
w  600 2   0.2879  0  
 8 
w  600  2  0.036 
w  1, 221.59 J

3. How much energy does a 100-W electric bulb consume in two hours?

Solution:

W  pt
 100  2 
 200 Wh
 200 Whr  60 min/ hr  60 sec/ min 
 720, 000 J
 720 kJ

4. An energy source forces a constant current of 2 A for 10 seconds to flow through a

lightbulb. If 2.3 kJ is given off in the form of light and heat energy, calculate the voltage
drop across the bulb.

Solution:

The total charge is

q  it
 2 10 
 20C
 The voltage drop is
w
v
q
2.3 x103

20
v  115 V

5. A stove element draws 7 A when connected to a 120-V line. How long does it take to
consume 15 kJ?

p  vi
 120  7 
p  840 W
w
p
t
w
t
p
15, 000 J

840 W
t  17.86 s