Electric Circuits

Current (I)

Rate at which charge carriers pass through a cross-sectional area of a wire

Drift Velocity

Average velocity of charge carriers due to an electric field

Why do charged particles drift?

Electric Potential difference

Conventional current moves in the _______ flow of the charges.

Positive

Real current follows the flow of ____________ charge carriers.

Negative

Current flows on a _________ _______.

Closed Path

What must be present so current is able to flow?

Potential Difference

Electrical Resistance

Measure of how much an onject resists the flow of charge

Resistivity

Property of a material that describes how much that material resists the flow of electrical charge

What happens to potential difference (V) as current increases?

Increases

What happens to current as resistance increases?

Decreases

What is an ohmic circuit?

It follows Ohm’s Law.

Power

Rate at which work is done

Equations of Power

• P = IV

• P = I² R

• P = V²R

The brighter the light bulb the more ______ is dissipating.

Power; More Power = More Brightness

What remains the same in a series circuit?

Current

When resistors are added to a series circuit, what happens to the resistance of the entire circuit?

Increases

When resistors are added to a parallel circuit, what happens to the resistance of the entire circuit?

Decreases

What remains the same in a parallel circuit?

Voltage

Internal Resistance of a Battery Equation

Voltermeters

Measure the potential difference between any two points in a circuit

How must voltmeters be connected?

In Parallel

Ammeter

Measure the current at a specific point in a circuit

How must voltmeters be connected?

In series with the element of which the current is being measured

Kirchoff’s Loop Rule

The sum of the potential differences across all the circuit elements must be equal to 0

What happens when we are moving in the opposite direction that the current is moving?

Increase in potential difference

Kirchoff’s Junction Rule

After a capacitor has been charging for a long time, what will the potential difference (V) be.

Zero