Physics (IGCSE)

Static electricity It is a collection of charges in insulators. There are 2 ways to charge an object: - charging by induction - charging by friction

Charging by induction 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
The two metal spheres which are together are neutral. Imagine that these metal spheres are just one metal sphere. A negatively charged object is brought close to the metal spheres. The electrons from the negatively charged object repel most of the electrons to the furthest sphere. The metal sphere that is more closer to the negatively charged object has lost most of its electrons and the metal sphere that is further from the negatively charged object has gained more electrons. The negatively charged object is taken away and the two metal spheres are separated. The metal sphere which had lost most of its electrons is considered to be positively charged due to the lack of electrons. The metal sphere which gained a lot of electrons is considered to be negatively charged due to the excess number of electrons.

Charging by friction Triboelectric series

Most likely to gain electrons Celluloid Sulfur Rubber Copper, Brass Amber Wood Cotton Human skin Silk Cat fur Wool Glass Rabbit fur Asbestos

Least likely to gain electrons

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Gold-leaf electroscope The leaf closes when the different charged object is brought near to the electroscope but the leaf opens when the equally charged object is brought near to the electroscope. Note: When a negatively charged object gets to contact with a positively charged object, the electrons move from its original place to the positively charged object. The positive charges (protons) can NEVER move.

Current (A or I) It is caused by the movement of electrons. The current moves from the positive to the negative. The electrons move from the negative to positive. Current (A) = Charges (C) / Time (S) I=Q/t

Voltage (V) It talks about the energy transferred through the circuit. Charges gain energy through the cell and pass it onto the components. Energy gained by 1 coulomb of charge as it passes through a source is called the Electro Motive Force (e.m.f.) of the cell. This is measured in volts. Energy lost by 1C of charge as it passes through a component is called the Potential Difference across the component. This is also measured in volts. Series circuits the voltage is shared among the components. Therefore, each bulb would receive less energy and get dimmer. Parallel circuits each branch is given the e.m.f. of the cell so the bulbs will have the full brightness.

Resistance (R = Ohms) This talks about how much of the current is being blocked by components. Resistance = Voltage difference (V) / Current (A) R=V/I

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Ohms law (Gradient of a voltage) - (Current graph) = Resistance The resistance increases with temperature.

Combined resistance (Rcom) It is the overall effect of resistance. Series Rcom = R1+R2+R3+ Parallel 1/ Rcom = 1/ R1+1/ R2+1/ R3+ When more components are added in parallel, the combined resistance decreases, thereby the current will increase. This is why when more bulbs are added in parallel, the brightness of the bulb will remain the same.

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