Electricity Ut 4

ELECTRICITY
FACTORS ON WHICH THE RESISTANCE OF A CONDUCTOR DEPENDS:

Note the ammeter reading in an electric circuit with
1. A nichrome wire of length /. Assume the reading = 1 A.

2. Nichrome wire of twice the length (21). Here, ammeter reading decreases to one-
half (0.5 A).
3. A thicker (larger cross-sectional area) nichrome wire of the same length /. Here,
reading is increased. If the area is doubled, reading is also doubled (2A).
4. A copper wire of same length and cross-sectional area as that of first nichrome
wire. Here, reading is changed.
Thus, resistance of a conductor depends on

i. Its length
ii. Its area of cross-section
iii. Nature of material.
 Resistance of a uniform metallic conductor is directly proportional to its length
(R xl) and inversely proportional to the area of cross-section (R x1/A). i.e.,
 Where p (rho) is a constant of proportionality and is called electrical resistivity
of the material of conductor. It is a characteristic property of the material.
 Sl unit of resistivity is m.
 Resistivity of metals & alloys is very low (10-8 to 10-6 Ω m). They are good
conductors of electricity.
 Resistivity of insulators (rubber, glass etc.) is very high (1012 to 1017 Ω m).
 Resistance and resistivity vary with temperature.
 Resistivity of an alloy is generally higher than that of its constituent metals.
Alloys do not oxidise (burn) readily at high temperatures. So, they are used in
electrical heating devices like electric iron, toasters etc.
 Tungsten is used for filaments of electric bulbs. Copper & aluminium are used
for electrical transmission lines.
RESISTANCE OF A SYSTEM OF RESISTORS:

 In electrical gadgets, resistors are used in various combinations based on
Ohm's law.
 There are 2 methods of joining the resistors: Resistors in series & Resistors in
parallel
RESISTOR IN SERIES
 Join three resistors having resistances R1, R2 & R3 (e.g. 1 Ω, 2 Ω, 3

Ω) in series.
 Connect them with a 6 V battery, an ammeter and a plug key. Note
the ammeter reading.
 Change the position of ammeter in between the resistors. The value
is
 same.
 i.e., in a series combination of resistors, the current is the same in
every part of the circuit or the same current through each resistor.
 Insert a voltmeter across the ends X and Y of the series combination

of three resistors. Note the potential difference (V). Now measure
the potential difference across the two terminals of the battery.
Compare the two values.
 Now measure the potential differences V₁, V₂ and V31 across the
first, second and third resistors separately.
 The total potential difference V across a combination of resistors in
series is equal to the sum of potential differences across the
individual resistors.
 i.e., V = V1 + V2 + V3
 Let / be the current through this electric circuit. The current through
each resistor is also I.
 The three resistors can be replaced by an equivalent single resistor
of resistance R, such that the potential difference and the current
remains the same.
 Applying the Ohm's law to the entire circuit, V = IR
 Applying Ohm's law to the three resistors separately,
 V3=1R1 V2=IR2 V3=IR3
 I R=IR1+IR2+IR3 (OR) Rs=R1+R2+R3
 When several resistors are joined in series, resistance of the
combination Rs equals the sum of their individual resistances
R1,R2,R3
RESISTORS IN PARALLEL :
 Make a parallel combination, XY, of three resistors having

resistances R1,R2,R3 in an electric circuit. Connect a voltmeter in
parallel with the resistors.
 Note the ammeter reading (/) and the voltmeter reading.
 Voltmeter shows the potential difference V, across the combination.
The potential difference across each resistor is also V. This can be
checked by connecting the voltmeter across each individual resistor.
 Insert the ammeter in series with the resistor R1. Note the ammeter
reading, /1Similarly, measure the currents /2 ,/3 through R2 & R3
respectively.
 The total current /, is equal to the sum of the separate currents
through each branch.
 I = /1 + I/2 + /3
 Let Rp be the equivalent resistance of the parallel combination of
resistors.
 Hence, I = V / Rp
 Applying Ohm's law to each resistor
 Thus, the reciprocal of the equivalent resistance of a group of

resistances joined in parallel is equal to the sum of the reciprocals of
the individual resistances
Disadvantages of Series Circuit:
 The current is constant throughout the electric circuit. So, it is impracticable to

connect an electric bulb and an electric heater in series, because they need currents of
different values.
 When one component fails, the circuit is broken and none of the components works.
E.g. it is very difficult to locate the dead bulb in fairy lights.
Advantages of Parallel Circuit:
 It divides the current through the electrical gadgets.

 The total resistance is decreased. This is helpful when each gadget has different
resistance and requires different current to operate properly.
HEATING EFFECT OF ELECTRIC CURRENT:
 A battery or a cell is a source of electrical energy. It generates potential

difference that sets the electrons in motion to flow the current through a
resistor or a system of resistors.
 A part of the source energy may be consumed into useful work (e.g. rotation
of an electric fan). Rest of the energy is lost as heat. E.g., an electric fan
becomes warm if used for longer time.
 If an electric circuit is purely resistive (i.e. a configuration of resistors only
connected to a battery), the source energy is dissipated entirely as heat. This
is called heating effect of electric current. ↑
 Consider a current / flowing through a resistor of resistance R. Let the
potential difference across it be V and t is the time during which a charge Q
flows across.
 The work done in moving the charge Q through a potential difference Vis VQ.
Therefore, the source must supply energy equal to VQ in time t. Hence the
power input to the circuit by the source is
 Or the energy supplied to the circuit by the source in time t is Pt i.e., Vlt. This
energy is dissipated in the resistor as heat (H). Therefore, H = VIt
 Applying Ohm's law (V = IR) H = I ^ 2 * Rt
 This is called Joule's law of heating. It implies that heat produced in a resistor
is directly proportional to
➤ The square of current for a given resistance.
➤ Resistance for a given current.
➤ The time for which current flows through resistor.
 In practical situations, when an electric appliance is connected to a voltage

source, Eq. H = I ^ 2 * Rt is used after calculating the current using the
relation I = V / R
Due to heating effect, electrical energy is lost as heat. Also, it alters the
properties of components in electric circuits. But heating effect (Joule's
heating) has many applications:
a. To make devices such as electric laundry iron, electric toaster, electric oven,
electric kettle & electric heater.
b. To produce light in electric bulb. Here, the filament made of metals with high
melting point can retain much heat. So it gets very hot and emits light.
E.g. tungsten (melting point 3380°C) is used to make filaments. Filament should be
thermally isolated, using insulating support. The bulbs are filled with chemically
inactive nitrogen and argon gases to prolong the life of filament. Most of the power
consumed by the filament appears as heat, but a small part is radiated as light.
c.To make fuse used in electric circuits.

It protects circuits and appliances by stopping the overflow of electric current. The
fuse is placed in series with the device. It consists of a piece of wire made of a metal
or an alloy of suitable melting point (aluminium, copper, iron, lead etc.). During the
overflow of the current, temperature of the fuse wire increases. It melts the fuse wire
and breaks the circuit.
The fuse wire is encased in a cartridge of porcelain or similar material with metal
ends.
The fuses used for domestic purposes are rated as 1A, 2A, 3A, 5A, 10A, etc. E.g.
when an electric iron which consumes 1 kW electric power is'operated at 220 V, 4.54
A current (1000/220) flows in the circuit. In this case, a 5 A fuse must be used.
ELECTRIC POWER:
 Power is the rate of doing work or rate of consumption of energy.

 Equation H = I2Rt gives the rate at which electric energy is dissipated or
consumed in an electric circuit. This is also termed as electric power. The
power P is given by P = VI P = I2R = V2/R Or ology
 The Sl unit of electric power is watt (W). It is the power consumed by a device
that carries 1 A of current when operated at a potential difference of 1 V.
Thus, 1 W = 1 volt x 1 ampere = 1 V A
 Watt is a very small unit. So, practically a much larger unit called kilowatt
(1000 watts) is used.
 Electrical energy is the product of power and time. Its unit is watt hour (Wh).
 One watt hour is the energy consumed when 1 watt of power is used for 1
hour.
 The commercial unit of electric energy is kilowatt hour (kWh), commonly
known as 'unit',
 1 kWh = 1000 watt x 3600 second
 3.6 x 10 watt second = 3.6 x 10° joule (J)
 In an electric circuit, electrons are not consumed.
 We pay for energy to move electrons through electric gadgets.

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ELECTRICITY

FACTORS ON WHICH THE RESISTANCE OF A CONDUCTOR DEPENDS:

1. A nichrome wire of length /. Assume the reading = 1 A.

Thus, resistance of a conductor depends on

RESISTANCE OF A SYSTEM OF RESISTORS:

 Join three resistors having resistances R1, R2 & R3 (e.g. 1 Ω, 2 Ω, 3

 Insert a voltmeter across the ends X and Y of the series combination

 Make a parallel combination, XY, of three resistors having

 Thus, the reciprocal of the equivalent resistance of a group of

Disadvantages of Series Circuit:

 The current is constant throughout the electric circuit. So, it is impracticable to

Advantages of Parallel Circuit:

 It divides the current through the electrical gadgets.

HEATING EFFECT OF ELECTRIC CURRENT:

 A battery or a cell is a source of electrical energy. It generates potential

➤ The square of current for a given resistance.

➤ Resistance for a given current.

➤ The time for which current flows through resistor.

 In practical situations, when an electric appliance is connected to a voltage

c.To make fuse used in electric circuits.

 Power is the rate of doing work or rate of consumption of energy.

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