8 Making use of electricity

8 Making use of electricity

8.1 Conditions necessary for current flow

1 For a current to flow, a complete path and a source of electrical energy are necessary.

2 A complete circuit is called a closed circuit while an incomplete circuit is called an

open circuit.

8.2 Electrical conductors and insulators

1 Materials that conduct current are called electrical conductors. Metals, salt solutions
and graphite are examples.

2 Materials that do not conduct current are called electrical insulators. Wood, cotton and
plastics are examples of electrical insulators.

3 A switch is a device for opening or closing an electric circuit.

8.3 Current, voltage and resistance

1 Matter is made up of atoms.

electron
(carries negative charge) nucleus
(carries positive charge)

 Structure of an atom

Mastering Science Short notes for revision 2

© Oxford University Press 2011 -1-
 8 Making use of electricity

Mastering Science Short notes for revision 2

© Oxford University Press 2011 -2-
 8 Making use of electricity

2 Electrical conductors have a large number of free electrons. Electrical insulators have
very few free electrons.

3 In a closed circuit with an energy source, there is a net flow of free electrons through
the circuit from the negative terminal to the positive terminal.

4 The direction of current is opposite to that of electron flow, i.e. from the positive
terminal of the cell to the negative terminal through the circuit.

current

 Direction of electron flow  Direction of current

5 Analogy of an electric circuit with a water flow model:

Parts in the water flow model pump water flow fan water pipe

Parts in an electric circuit battery current bulb wire

6 The voltage of a cell is a measure of the amount of energy supplied by the cell to the
free electrons in a circuit.

Mastering Science Short notes for revision 2

© Oxford University Press 2011 -3-
 8 Making use of electricity

7 Measuring current and voltage:

Unit Symbol Measured with

Ampere A
Current Milliampere 1 Ammeter
mA (1 mA = A)
1000

Voltage Volt V Voltmeter

8 In circuit A, the more the cells, the larger the current in the circuit and the brighter the bulb.

 Circuit A  Circuit B

9 In circuit B, the more the cells, the higher the voltage across the cells and the larger the
current flowing through the circuit.

10 Resistance is a measure of the opposition of a material to the flow of current. Its unit is the
ohm ().

11 Resistor:
 has a certain value of resistance.
 the higher the resistance of the resistor connected to a circuit, the smaller the
current flowing through the resistor.

 Resistors
Mastering Science Short notes for revision 2
© Oxford University Press 2011 -4-
 8 Making use of electricity

Е 12 Factors affecting the resistance of a wire:

Factor Effect on the resistance of a wire

Material A copper wire has a lower resistance than a nichrome wire of the same
length and thickness.
Length For wires made of the same material, a longer wire has a higher
resistance than a shorter wire of the same thickness.
Thickness For wires made of the same material, a thinner wire has a higher
resistance than a thicker wire of the same length.

13 A rheostat is a resistor that has an adjustable resistance. It can be used to adjust the size of
the current in a circuit.

 A sliding rheostat

 A rotary rheostat

Mastering Science Short notes for revision 2

© Oxford University Press 2011 -5-
 8 Making use of electricity

8.4 Circuit symbols and diagrams

1 The circuit symbols of some common circuit components:

Circuit Circuit
Circuit symbol Circuit symbol
component component

Battery Resistor

Connecting
Rheostat
wire / connector

Switch Ammeter

Bulb Voltmeter

2 An example of a circuit diagram:

Mastering Science Short notes for revision 2

© Oxford University Press 2011 -6-
 8 Making use of electricity

8.5 Series and parallel circuits

Comparing the series circuit and the parallel circuit:

Series circuit Parallel circuit

A1 = A2 = A3 A1 +A2 = A3
Current flows in one path only. Current can flow in more than one path.
Current is the same at different points in the The current in the main loop is equal to the
circuit. sum of the currents in the branches.
Current will not flow in the circuit once it is An open circuit in a branch does not affect
broken at any point. other branches.

8.6 The heating effect of current and its potential

hazards
1 Heat energy is given out when a current passes through a conductor. The heating effect
becomes greater as the current increases.

2 Applications of the heating effect of current:

 Electric kettles, heaters and hair dryers

Mastering Science Short notes for revision 2

© Oxford University Press 2011 -7-
 8 Making use of electricity

The resistive wires give out a large amount of heat

when a current passes through them.

 Incandescent bulbs

The filament becomes very hot and glows when a

current passes through it.

3 The fuse and the circuit breaker are the safety devices for preventing the current in a
circuit from becoming too large.

 The fuse
 It consists of a metal wire with a low melting point.
 The fuse rating shows the maximum current the fuse can withstand without
melting.
 In electrical appliances, the fuse installed should have a rating slightly higher than
the current passing through the appliances under normal operation.

 Circuit symbol for a fuse  Fuses of different fuse ratings

 The circuit breaker

 It automatically ‘switches off’ if the current in a circuit exceeds its rating.
 We can reset the circuit breaker by switching it back on.

Mastering Science Short notes for revision 2

© Oxford University Press 2011 -8-
 8 Making use of electricity

8.7 Household electricity

1 In Hong Kong, the mains voltage is 220 V.

Mastering Science Short notes for revision 2

© Oxford University Press 2011 -9-
 8 Making use of electricity

2 The parts in a three-pin plug and a mains socket:

 A three-pin plug  A mains socket

3 Internal parts of a three-pin plug:

earth wire fuse

(green and yellow) (installed in the live wire)

neutral wire live wire

(blue) (brown)

4 The importance of earthing:

The earth wire connects the metal case of an appliance to the earth.

If a damaged live wire touches the metal case of the appliance, the
earth wire completes the circuit.

A large current flows to the earth and blows the fuse in the live wire.

This cuts off the current from the mains

and protects us from an electric shock.

Mastering Science Short notes for revision 2

© Oxford University Press 2011 - 10 -
 8 Making use of electricity

5 Ring circuit
 The mains sockets in each room at home are connected to the ring circuit. The sockets
are connected in parallel.
 Advantages:
 The load on the wires in each path is reduced. The wires can be thinner and hence
cheaper.
 If one of the two paths is damaged and broken, current can still flow to the sockets
along the other path.

6 Overloading occurs when too many electrical appliances are connected to a single
mains socket. It can cause electricity failure or even a fire.

7 Short circuits

bulb does not light up

connecting wire
thin nichrome wire

The connecting wire A large current flows The nichrome wire heats
provides a path with a through the nichrome up and glows (overheating
very low resistance. wire. of the circuit).

The current flowing through the bulb reduces

to nearly zero. (The bulb is short-circuited.)

8 Connecting an appliance with a fuse or a circuit breaker can reduce the danger of
short circuits. They can cut off the current from the mains in case a short circuit occurs.

Mastering Science Short notes for revision 2

© Oxford University Press 2011 - 11 -
 8 Making use of electricity

8.8 Electrical power

Е 1 Electrical power is a measure of the amount of electrical energy consumed by an

appliance in one second.
Е 2 The unit of power is the watt (W) or the kilowatt (kW).
Е 3 1 kW = 1000 W

Е power (W)
Current (A) =
4 voltage (V)

Е
5 Electrical energy consumed (kW h) = power (kW)  time (h)
Е
6 The electrical energy consumed can be measured by a kilowatt-hour meter.

8.9 The magnetic effect of current

Е  When a current passes through a

coil
of wire, the coil becomes an
electromagnet.
 The magnetic effect becomes
stronger if the coil is wound around an
iron core.

 When a current-carrying conductor

is placed near a magnet, there will be a
force acting on the conductor and it
causes the conductor to move.

3 The magnetic effect of current is applied in many devices such as electric motors, electric
bells and loudspeakers.
Mastering Science Short notes for revision 2
© Oxford University Press 2011 - 12 -
Е