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Electric Charge (Q)  S.I. Unit: ​Coulombs Vector?

​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. 

Q​total initial =​ Q​total final 


 
Charged particles come in integer units of the elementary charge  

e = 1.6 x 10​-19​ C  


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Example Question: 
Question: Three identically sized metal spheres start with the charges shown below. If 
you touch sphere X to sphere Y and separate them, then touch sphere Y to sphere Z 
and separate them, what will be the final charge on each sphere? 
 
​X ​Y ​Z 
A.  +8Q +3Q zero 
B.  +4Q +Q/2 +Q/2 
C.  +4Q +Q +Q 
D. +8Q +Q +Q 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Coulomb’s Law   
What does Coulomb’s Law mean?          
Opposite charges attract and like charges repel. Coulomb’s Law gives you the value of 
the electric force between two charges. 
 

F​ is the magnitude of the electric force between the two charges 


k = 9x10​9​ N m​2​/C​2 (it is a constant of nature) 
q​1​ is the magnitude of the charge in Coulombs of one of the interacting charges 
q​2​ is the magnitude of the charge in Coulombs of one of the interacting charges 
d​ is the center to center distance between the two charges (don’t call it the “radius”!) 
 
 
Warning​:  
1. Don’t forget to square the distance between the charges. 
2. Don’t call d the radius since there might not even be a circle involved in the 
problem 
3. Don’t plug in negative signs for the charges even if they are negative, determine 
the direction of the force using “likes repel” and “opposites attract” 
 
Example Question: 
Question: Two charges exert an electric force of magnitude F on each other. What 
would be the magnitude of the new force if the distance between the charges is tripled 
and the magnitude of one of the charges is doubled? 
A. 2F/3 
B. 2F/9 
C. 4F/3 
D. 4F/9 
 
 
 
 
Electrical Current​ (​I​)   S.I. Unit: ​ Amperes (A)​ ​or ​Coulombs/second Vector? ​No 
What does ​Electrical Current​ mean?          
Electric current is the movement of electric charge. The value of the electrical current is 
the amount of coulombs of charge that passes a point in a wire per second. 
 
“Conventional direction of current” ​is the direction that positive charges flow, even 
though in nature it is almost always the negative charges that move. But if negative 
charges are moving left, we say the “conventional direction of the current” is to the right. 
 

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.
 

Ohm’s Law Resistance of cylindrical resistor 


I​=​ΔV​/​R R = ⍴​L/​ ​A  
I​ ​= Electrical current through a particular resistor R​ = resistance of a cylindrical resistor 
ΔV​ = Voltage across the particular resistor ⍴ ​= resistivity of resistor material 
(remember: ​voltage​ = change in electric potential) L​ = length of the resistor 
R​ = resistance of the particular resistor A ​= cross sectional area 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.  
 

P​ ​=​ ​I​ΔV ​= ​I2​​ R​ ​= ​ΔV​2​/​R  


 
P​ = electrical power used by the resistor R (or delivered by a battery) 
I​ =​ electrical current through the resistor (or battery)  
V​ = voltage across the resistor R (or across the battery)  
R​ = the resistance of the resistor R  
 
Remember the definition of power: ​Power = Energy/time
 

 
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) 
 

Junction Rule Loop Rule 


Σ​I​in​ = Σ​I​out  Σ​ΔV ​= 0 (around a complete loop)  
I​in ​= current entering junction ΔV​ = change in electric potential across a circuit element 
I​out =​ current exiting junction
 

 
 
 
 
 
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​)
 

Resistors in Series Resistors in Parallel 


1 1 1
R​equivalent​ = ​R​1​ + ​R​2​ + ...  Req = R + R + ... 
1 1
 
R​eq​= the equivalent or total resistance of a set of resistors 
R​1​ = the resistance of resistor 1 
R​2​ ​= the resistance of resistor 2 
 

 
 
 
 
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 
 
 

 
 
 

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