Circuits and Ohm’s Law

Objectives:

1. To gain an understanding of Ohm’s Law.

2. To compare and contrast the movement of current through a series and parallel circuit based on the circuits power supply and resistance.

Current (I) – the amount of charge that flows by an area in a unit of time Current flows from the positive (+) terminal to the negative (-) terminal of a battery. Electrons flow from – to + Measured in Amperes or

Amps

with an Amp meter

A

Voltage

Voltage (V) - the difference in energy per unit of charge. It is caused by an unbalance of charge, and it is the push that drives electrical current. Without it, electrons will not flow.

Measured in

Volts

(V) with a Voltmeter Symbol V

Resistance

Resistance (R) - Resistance is the value assigned to a specific conductor that indicates its degree of resistance to the passage of a current.

Measured in

Ohms

(Ω) = 1 volt/1 amp Different objects resist the flow of current more or less.

The less resistance, the faster the current will flow.

The more the e current is.

want to flow (voltage), the faster the

Ohm’s Law

The amount of current (speed of charge flow) depends on how badly the e want to get to the other terminal (voltage) and what is in their way to slow them down (resistance).

This concept is better known as Ohm’s law.

I = V/R or V = IR

S-e-r-i-e-s C-i-r-c-u-i-t-s

When circuit elements are arranged in such a way that there is no branching, as in the next slide, the various devices are said to be connected in series.

The basic property of this type of circuit is that the current is the same in all parts of the circuit. I T = I 1 = I 2 = I 3 = ….

• • • • • All electricity must go thru all three resistors.

If one resistor is turned off, all electricity is off.

The more resistors, the higher the total resistance.

Each resistor uses some of the total voltage of the power source.

Each resistor affects the others.

R= 50Ω R= 50Ω R= 50Ω 150 Volts

• • Each resistor slows down the electricity (current).

Thus, the resistance total equals the sum of all resistors.

R T = R 1 + R 2 + R 3 …. = 50Ω + 50Ω + 50Ω = 150Ω I T = I 1 =I 2 =I 3 circuit …. I = V T /R T = 150V/150Ω = 1 Amp through out the V T = V 1 + V 2 + V 3 … V 1 = I 1 R 1 = 1 Amp x 50Ω = 50V Therefore, V T = 50V + 50V + 50V = 150V, which is the voltage the battery can provide.

Parallel Circuits

A circuit of this type, where the current divides into two or more branches, is called a parallel circuit. The total current is the sum of the currents through the individual components.



V T =



V 1 =



V 2

=



V 3

= ……

• • • • • Electricity may go thru any of the three resistors.

If one resistor is turned off, the others still work.

The more resistors (branches) that are on, the lower the total resistance.

Each resistor has the total voltage of the power source.

Each resistor has its own circuit.

R= 50Ω R= 50Ω R= 50Ω V=150V

• Current is given three different routes to take (Thus, R

T the individual resistances.) is less than

1/R T = 1/R 1 16.7Ω + 1/R 2 + 1/R 3 + ….. 1/50Ω + 1/50Ω + 1/50Ω = 3/50Ω ; R T = V T = V 1 = V 2 = V 3 = ….. 150V I T = I 1 + I 2 + I 3 + ……. I 1 = V 1 /R 1 3Amps + 3 Amps = 9 Amps = I T = 150V/50Ω = 3 Amps ; 3Amps +

Ohm’s Law Practice

1.

Complete the Ohm’s Law Practice handout 2.

Use your notes.

3.

Show your work.