Electric Power

Physics
Mrs. Coyle

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Part I
Electrical Power
Joules Law
Thermal Energy Expended by a Resistor

Wind Generator

Generator

Generator

Niagara Falls Hydroelectric Plant

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Hydroelectric Power Plant

Remember:
P= W / t
(Power=Work/time)
Remember: W= Vq and I = q/t
So: P= I V

Electric Power, P= I V
Known as Joules Law
P: is the power consumed by a resistor, R.

Unit: Joule/s= Watt

Derive the following using P=IV

and Ohms Law:
P=V2/R

P=I2R

Problem 1
The current through a car motor is
150A. The battery used is 12V. How
much energy is supplied by the
battery in 5s?

Answer: 9,000J

kWh
kiloWatt hour
What does the kWh measure,
a) Energy or b) Power ?

Problem 2
A small desktop radio has a resistance
of 8,000 . The voltage is 120V.
a)How much current does it draw?
b)How much power does it use?
c)How much does it cost to run the radio
for 12 hours, if 1kWh costs $0.15?
Answers:
a)0.015A, b)1.8W, c) $0.00324

Resistors Expend Thermal Energy

Wasted heat energy is
called Joule Heating
or I2 R loss.

Why is long distance power

transmitted at high voltages?
Hint: P = I V
Answer:
For a given P,
keep the current, I, low to
minimize I2 R loss in
the transmitting wires, so
increase V.

Electric heaters(Coil Heaters)

P= V2/R
The lower the R
the greater the
heat given off by
the resistor for a
given voltage.

Problem 3
An electric heating element has a
resistance of 9 . The voltage is 120V.
a)Calculate the current through the element.
b)Calculate the thermal energy supplied by
the element in 10min.
Answer:
a)13.3A, b) 9.6x105 J

Part II
Brightness of a Lightbulb
Some Safety Issues

Light Bulb

Brightness of a Light bulb and

Power
The greater the power actually used
by a light bulb, the greater the
brightness.
Note: the power rating of a light bulb is
indicated for a given voltage and the
bulb may be in a circuit that does not
have that voltage.

Wattage and Thickness of Filament

For a given V, (P = IV) the higher the
wattage of a light bulb, the larger the
current and therefore the smaller the
resistance of the filament (V=I R).
Thus, the higher wattage bulb will have
a filament of lower resistance and
therefore a larger cross-sectional area
(R= L / A).

Question
Which light bulb has a thicker filament,
60W or 75W?

Answer: 75W

Problem 4
A 60W light bulb is 22% efficient. How
much energy is lost to heat in 5min?

Answer: 1.4x104 J

Safety Issues
Why is it not safe to handle electric
appliances with wet hands?
Hint:
A current of 15mA can cause serious
injury.
The resistance of a dry human body is
in the range of 100,000. The
resistance of a wet person can drop to
the range of 5,000.

Problem 5
A current of 1mA can be felt by a person.
Will a person feel the current if the person
has dry hands (a resistance of 100,000 )
and touches a 9V batterys terminals?

Answer: I=0.09mA, No.

Problem 6
The same 9V battery is touched by a
person with wet hands. Will this person feel
the current if the resistance is 5,000 and
the person touches the batterys terminals?

Answer: I=1.8mA, Yes