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No
What does Charge mean?
Electric charge Q is a property that some particles in nature have.
Most large objects are electrically neutral since they have just as many + charges as
they have - charges.
If an object loses some electrons the object will be + charged. If an object has too many
electrons the object will be - charged.
Electric charge is conserved in all processes. So the net charge always stays the same.
I =Q/t
I = Electrical Current
Q = positive charge passing point P
t = time it took for the charge Q to pass point P
Example Question:
Question: A current of 3A flows in a circuit. How much charge passes by a certain point
in the wire in 5 minutes?
A. 15 C
B. 30 C
C. 300 C
D. 900 C
Resistance (R) S.I. Unit: Ohms (Ω) Vector? No
What does Resistance mean?
Resistance measures how much a resistor restricts the flow of current. The definition of
resistance is given by Ohm’s Law. Ohm’s Law says that the amount of current is
proportional to the voltage and inversely proportional to the resistance.
You can also determine how much resistance a resistor will offer based on the
dimensions of the resistor.
Example Question:
Question: When a battery of voltage V is hooked up to a single cylindrical resistor of
length L and radius r a I current flows through the battery. What is the resistivity of the
resistor?
V
A.
r
V IL
B.
πr2
V πr2
C.
IL
V Lπr2
D.
I
Electrical Power (P) S.I. Unit: Watts (W) or Joules/second Vector? No
What does Electrical power mean?
When current runs through a resistor, the electrons turn their electrical potential energy
into energies like heat, light, sound, etc. The rate at which the electrons are turning their
energy into other forms is the electrical power.
Light bulbs with higher power will be brighter.
Example Question:
Question: A light bulb of resistance R is hooked up to a source of voltage V. A second
light bulb of resistance 2R is hooked up to a source of voltage 2V. How does the power
used by the second light bulb compare to the power used by the first lightbulb?
A. The light bulb of resistance 2R has twice the power
B. The light bulb of resistance 2R has four times the power
C. The light bulb of resistance 2R has half the power
D. The light bulb of resistance 2R has one fourth the power
Kirchhoff’s Rules
What do Kirchhoff’s Rules mean?
Junction rule: All the current entering a junction equals all the current exiting a junction.
(this is just a result of conservation of charge)
Loop Rule: If you add up all the changes in electric potential (“voltages”) around any
closed loop in a circuit the result will be zero. (this is just a result of conservation of
energy)
Example Question:
Question: Consider the circuit shown below. Assume each resistor is an ideal light bulb
that does not change its resistance if the current through it is changed. If the 12Ω light
bulb is removed from the circuit, but everything else is left the same, what happens to
the voltage across the 6Ω light bulb?
A. Voltage across 6Ω light bulb decreases
B. Voltage across 6Ω light bulb increases
C. Voltage across 6Ω light bulb remains constant
D. The resistance R is required to say
Combining Resistors in Series and Parallel
What does combining Resistors in Series and Parallel mean?
When dealing with a complicated circuit with many resistors, it is often useful to reduce
it to a circuit with less resistors, or only one equivalent resistor. The equivalent resistor is
defined to be the resistor you could replace a set of resistors with and still get the same
current through that section.
Resistors in series have the same current passing through them (the same value of
current passses through one resistor and then right through the other resistor)
Resistors in parallel have the same voltage across them (current breaks into two
pieces, goes through each resistor, then recombines before passing through anything
else)
Example Question:
Question: Consider the circuit shown below. What is the voltage across the 6Ω resistor?
A. 4 V
B. 8 V
C. 12 V
D. 16 V
Voltmeters and Ammeters
What are Voltmeters and Ammeters and what do they do?
Voltmeters are devices that measure the voltage between two points. Voltmeters
should be hooked up in Parallel with the two points so the voltmeter can measure the
voltage across the two points.
Ammeters are devices that measure the current passing through a point in a circuit.
Ammeters should be hooked up in series with the two points so the current can pass
right through the ammeter.
Note: Ammeters should have almost zero internal resistance, and Voltmeters should have
almost infinite internal resistance. Otherwise they would drastically change the values they
are measuring.
Example Question:
Question: Consider the circuit shown below. If the numbered circles are voltmeters,
which ones would give you the correct voltage across the 8Ω resistor? Select TWO
correct choices.
A. 1
B. 2
C. 3
D. 4