ELECTRICITY

SELLY PARK SECONDARY SCHOOL

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SYLLABUS

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 REVISION GRADE 10

In grade 10 , you learnt the following definitions and applied them to solve problems.

Potential difference: The work done per unit positive charge.

Current: Rate of flow of charge.

Resistance: A material’s opposition to the flow of electric current.

 POTENTIAL DIFFERENCE:Is the work done per unit positive

charge.

V=

W is the work (or energy) measured in joules(J).

q is the charge measured in Coulombs(C).

 The units of potential difference are the volt (V) which is defined as one joule per coulomb.

• A voltmeter is an instrument for measuring the potential difference between two points in
an electric circuit.

• A voltmeter is connected parallel to the circuit.

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CURRENT:

Is the rate of flow of charge.

I=
Where : I is the current measured in amperes(A).

q is the charge measured in Coulombs.

T is the time measured in seconds.

The ammeter is used to measure current and it is connected in series

in the circuit diagram.

Electrical conductors are able to conduct electricity due to delocalised electrons. Insulators do not
have free electrons or charges that act as energy carriers.

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RESISTANCE:A material’s opposition to the flow of current.
• The unit of resistance is the ohm.

• A number of factors affect resistance:

• (a) An increase in temperature of a conductor increases its resistance.

• (b) the longer the conductor , the higher the resistance.

• (c) As the conductor’s thickness increases, resistance decreases.

• (d) Different materials have different conductivities which affect their uses.

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RESISTORS IN SERIES:

Resistors connected in series are potential difference dividers. The

potential difference is divided in proportion to the size of the
resistors.

The current however is the same throughout.

For example the reading across V1 is X12=3v and the reading across V2=12V-3V=9V

The current throughout the circuit is the same and cane be obtained as follows:

I= = =1A.

The more the resistors added in series, the higher the total resistance and the lower the total
current.

If and additional 4Ω resistor is added to the circuit above , the total resistance(RT) would be equal
to 16Ω and the total current will be less than 1A. Can you calculate the total current?i The correct
answer is 0,75A .

RESISTORS CONNECTED IN PARALLEL

Resistors connected in parallel are current dividers and the potential

difference across resistors in parallel is the same.

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As a result the potential difference across the 3Ω and 9Ω resistors is the same and and is equal to
12V.

Connecting resistors in parallel decreases the total resistance of the circuit.

The total resistance can be calculated as follows:

R P= = =2,25Ω(Compare this value to 12Ω when the same resistors are connected in series)

Current is higher if resistors are connected in parallel as compared to the same resistors connected
in series.

The current recorded on the ammeter(A) can be calculated as follows:

I= = =5,33A(Which is higher than 1A if the same resistors are connected in series)

The current that passes through the 9Ω resistor can be obtained using the ratio method or Ohms
law.

METHOD 1: RATIO

I9Ω= X5,33=1,33A

METHOD 2: USING Ohm’s law:

I= = =1,33A

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If the same resistors are connected in parallel the reading on the ammeter will be higher than 1A .

REVISION EXERCISE

QUESTION 1[10]

Use the diagrams below to answer the questions that follow.

1.1 Which of the following meters will record a higher reading?

1.1.1 A1 or A4. (1)

1.1.2 V1 or V2. (1)

1.1.3 A2 or A3. (1)

1.2 The 2Ω resistor in fig 1 is replaced with a 15Ω resistor. Will the reading on the A1 INCREASE,
DECREASE or REMAIN THE SAME? Give a reason for your answer. (3)

1.3 Draw a circuit diagram that consist of a battery of two cells connected in series , a voltmeter that
measures the terminal potential difference of the battery, two light bulbs connected in parallel
and an open switch connected to one of the bulbs and an ammeter that measures the total
current. (4)

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QUESTION 2[23]

In the circuit diagram below the reading on voltmeter V1 is 12 V .

2 Define the following term:

2.1.1 Resistance. (2)
2.1.2 Calculate the effective resistance of the two resistors connected in parallel. (4)
2.1.3 Calculate the total resistance of the circuit. (2)
2.2.1 Define the term current. (2)
2.2.2 Calculate the reading on A1. (4)
2.2.3 Calculate the:
2.2.4 Reading on V2 (3)
2.2.5 Amount of charge that flows through ammeter A1 in 120 s (3)
2.3.1 How will the reading on ammeter A1 be affected if the 6 Ω resistor is removed from the
circuit?
Write down only INCREASE, DECREASE or REMAIN THE SAME. (1)

2.3.2 Explain the answer to QUESTION 2.3.1 WITHOUT any calculations. (2)

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QUESTION 3[15]

3.1 John set up the circuit diagram shown below.If each cell on the circuit diagram is 1,5V , what
is the emf of the battery? (1)

3.2 ` The switch of the above circuit is closed and the reading on the voltmeter is now 2,6V.

3.2.1 What is the potential difference of the battery? (1)

3.2.2 Calculate the effective resistance of the circuit. (3)

3.2.3 Calculate the reading on the ammeter shown in the diagram. (3)

3.3 John wants to get the highest current with the same apparatus he has .

3.3.1 Draw a circuit diagram to show his connections. (4)

3.3.2 Hence calculate the total resistance and the total current of the circuit diagram you have
drawn. (4)

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QUESTION 4[31]

Learners in grade 10 construct a circuit diagram consisting of a battery with an emf of 12V,
three resistors, an ammeter and a voltmeter. The circuit is connected as shown in the
diagram below. The internal resistance of the battery and conducting wires is negligible.

Diagram A

4.1.1 Define potential difference. (2)

4.1.2 Determine the reading on V1 and V2. (2)

4.2.1 Define current. (2)

4.2.2 Calculate the current in the 8Ω resistor. (4)

4.3 Calculate the effective resistance of the resistors connected in parallel. (4)

4.4 Calculate the reading on A1. (4)

Switch S1 is now open whilst S2 is closed.

4.5 How does that affect the reading on A1? Choose between INCREASE; DECREASE or
REMAINS THE SAME. Explain your answer. (3)

4.6 Switch S2 is now open whilst switch S1 is closed. What will be the reading on V2? (1)

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4.7 The learners now connect the three resistors series as shown in diagram 2 below

Diagram 2

4.7.1 Calculate the reading on V3. (3)

4.7.2 Hence calculate the charge that passes through the 8Ω resistor in 5 minutes. (5)

Compare the ammeter reading A1 in diagram 1 and A2 in diagram 2.

4.7.3 Which ammeter reading shows a greater reading? (1)

QUESTION 5[20]

Use fig 3 and 4 to answer question 5.1

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Using the ratio method or any other method calculate:

5.1.1 The reading on V1. (3)

5.1.2 The reading on A1 (3)

5.2 Use the circuit diagram below to answer the questions in 9.2.

5.2.1 Calculate the equivalent resistance of the resistors connected in parallel. (4)

5.2.2 Calculate the total resistance of the circuit. (2)

5.3 The reading on ammeter A2 . (3)

5.4 The reading on A1 (3)

5.5 Calculate the charge that pass through the 5Ω resistor in 3 minutes. (3)

GRADE 11 ELECTRICITY
• An important relationship between the current, voltage and resistance in a circuit was
discovered by Georg Simon Ohm and it is called Ohm’s Law.

• Ohmic conductors obey Ohm’s law.

Ohm’s law

Current through a conductor is directly proportional to the

potential difference across the conductor at constant
temperature.

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CIRCUIT DIAGRAM OF APPARATUS TO INVESTIGATE OHM’S
LAW

GRAPH FOR AN OHMIC CONDUCTOR: VOLTAGE IS THE

INDEPENDENT VARIABLE

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CURRENT IS THE INDEPENDENT VARIABLE:

NON OHMIC CONDUCTORS:

Do not obey ohm’s law.

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 PRACTISE QUESTIONS:

QUESTION 1

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EXERCISE 1

QUESTION 1

The circuit diagram below was used by grade 11 learners to verify Ohm’s law.

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The table below was obtained by changing the current flowing through the resistor and measuring
the potential difference across the resistor(conductor) at constant temperature.

Current(A) O,5 1,0 2,0 3,0 4,0

Potential difference(V) 1,6 3,4 6,7 10,2 13,2

1.1 Draw a graph of potential difference against current on the graph paper provided. The potential
difference must be plotted on the x- axis. (6)

1.2 What is the relationship between current and potential difference? Give a reason for your
answer. (4)

1.3 Use the graph to calculate the gradient of the graph and show the units of the gradient .Use
the result to determine the resistance the resistor that was used during the experiment. (5)

QUESTION 2

Learners want to determine the resistance of two wires, A and B of different resistances.
They conduct experiments and draw the graphs as shown below.

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2.1 State Ohm’s law in words. (2)

2.2 Apart from temperature, write down TWO other factors that the learners should
consider to ensure a fair test when choosing which wire to use.

2.3 Assuming all other factors are kept constant, Use the graph to determine the
resistance of the wires A and B.
(6)

POWER IN A CIRCUIT
• Electrical energy is useful because it can be converted to other forms of energy.

• The rate at which electrical energy is converted to other forms of energy such as heat is
referred to as power.

• Power is a scalar quantity .

• The power of a device or appliance is the rate at which electrical energy is converted.

• Power is measured in watts(W).

• The formulas below are used to calculate power.

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RESISTORS IN SERIES RESISTORS IN PARALLEL
 Since current is the same  Since potential difference is the same
throughout(constant), the power of throughout(constant), power is inversely
resistors is directly proportional to the proportional to resistance according to
size of the resistance. the equation P= for constant I.
 The higher the resistance the higher the
 The lower the resistance , the higher the
power of the resistor according to P=I2R
power of the resistor.
for constant I.
 For resistors in parallel , the resistor
 For resistors in series, the resistor with
with the lowest resistance will have the
the higher resistance will also have a
highest current and according to the
higher potential difference and power
equation P=VI for constant V, the higher
according to the equation P=VI for
the current the higher the power.
constant I.

ELECTRICAL ENERGY
The definition of power makes it possible to calculate the
energy transfered, by making energy the subject of the
equation:
P= , W=Pt
Where :W=energy measured in Joules and
t=time measured in seconds and
P=power measured in watts(W)
By replacing P with the three equations of power, the following
equations are derived that can be used to calculate the energy
dissipated:
W=VIt
W=I2Rt

W=

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EXAMPLE

QUESTION 1

1.1 When switch s is closed the reading on A is 0,33A. Calculate the power of Q. (3)

1.2 Calculate the reading on V.. (4)

1.3 Use your answer from question 1.2 to calculate the energy that is used by Resistor R in 5
minutes. (3)

1.4 Explain using the relevant formula which of the resistors P and R converts electrical energy
to heat energy faster?

PRACTISE QUESTIONS

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QUESTION 1
1.1 A battery of an unknown emf and an internal resistance of 0,5 Ω is connected
to three resistors, a high-resistance voltmeter and an ammeter of negligible
resistance, as shown below. The reading on the ammeter is 0,2 A.

1.1.1 Calculate the power of the 4Ω resistor. (3)

1.1.2 Calculate the reading on the voltmeter. (4)
1.1.3 Calculate the rate at which energy is dissipated by the 2Ω resistor. (3)
1.1.4 Consider the 4Ω resistor and the 8Ω resistor. Using a suitable formula
explain why the power of the 8Ω resistor is greater than that of the 4Ω
resistor. (2)

1.2 The diagram shows an electric light bulb and one resistor in series. The circuit
is switched on for 25 minutes.

1.2.1 Calculate the amount of electrical energy used by the light bulb. (3)

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1.2.2 What kind of energy change takes place in the light bulb? (1)

1.2.3 Calculate the amount of electrical energy converted to heat energy in the
resistor. (5)

QUESTION 2

2.1 Calculate the resistance of the 4 W bulb. (3)

2.2 How will the equivalent resistance of the circuit change if the 6 W bulb burns
out? Write down only INCREASES, DECREASES or NO CHANGE.
(1)

2.3 How will the power dissipated by the 10 W bulb change if the 6 W bulb burns
out? Write down only INCREASES, DECREASES or NO CHANGE. Give a reason
for the answer. (2)

QUESTION 3

Mavis carries out an experiment to determine the relationship between voltage and power.
She connects a cell to a resistor and measures the potential difference across the resistor
and the current through it. She repeats the experiment by adding different cells in series and
records the results . Figure 2 shows the circuit diagram used in her experiment and the
graph she obtained for the relationship between voltage and power.

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 Mavis decides to plot a graph of power versus potential difference squared(V2).The results
she used to plot the graph above and the ones she needs to plot her second graph are
shown below .

POWER(W) Potential difference(v) Potential difference

squared(V2)
1.00 2 4
4.00 4 16
9.00 6 36
12.25 7 3.1.1
16.00 8 3.1.2
20.25 9 3.1.3

3.1 Complete the table in your answer sheet provided. (2)

3.2 Use the data in the table to plot a graph of Power ( -axis) vs potential difference squared ( -
axis) on the graph paper provided on the Answer Sheet. (6)

3.3 What is the relationship between Power and the potential difference squared? (2)

3.4 Calculate the gradient of the graph. Indicate the values you used for this calculation on your
graph and deduce the units for the gradient. (5)

3.5 Hence or otherwise use your answer in 1.4 to calculate the resistance R. (2)

QUESTION 4

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QUESTION 5
Thembi wants to listen to her radio which is rated 6 V, 3 W. The only battery which is
available is a 24 V battery. She decides to use an appropriate resistor to get the
correct voltage for her radio.

5.1 In which one of the two circuits below is resistor R connected in the correct
way for Thembi's purpose? Write down only Circuit X or Circuit Y

5.2 Calculate the maximum current which the radio draws from a 6 V battery. (4)

5.3 Calculate the resistance of the radio. (4)

5.4 Hence calculate the resistance of resistor R, which Thembi has to use.Ignore
the internal resistance of the battery. (4)

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QUESTION 6

6.2

BATTERIES AND INTERNAL RESISTANCE

EMF

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 For example the voltmeter reading(emf)=3V.
• Electromotive force(EMF):Defined as:
• The total energy supplied per coulomb of charge by the cell.
• Is obtained by measuring the voltmeter across the terminals of a cell (or
battery) when no current is flowing through the cell(or battery).
• The emf of a cell is constant since it depends on the materials that make up
the cell. It does not depend on how the cell is connected in the circuit.
 If the switch is closed , the reading on the voltmeter decreases.
 Reading across the terminals of the cell when current is flowing through the
circuit is terminal potential difference.
 The terminal potential difference is less than the emf of the cell.

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 • The terminal voltage is measured across the terminals of a cell(or battery)
when current is flowing through the battery.
• Although this is measured in volts it is not identical to the emf. The difference
will be the work done to drive charge through the battery(Vlost).Where
Vlost=emf-Vext ( e.g . 3,0-2.8=0,2V)
• The internal resistance of the battery or cells contribute to lost volts where
Vlost =Ir
The internal resistance of the battery is a constant since it depends on
the materials making up the battery.
 The interal resistance of a battery is treated as another resistor in series with
the external resistance (Rext)
LOAD(Rext)
• The external resistance in the circuit is referred to as the load.
This leads to the following equations:
• Vload = IRext
• Emf = Vload + Vlost
• Emf=IRex +Ir (Since Vlost=Ir)
• Emf=Voad +Ir
• Emf=I(Rext +Ir)
Where:
Vload=voltage across the battery if current is flowing through the battery.
Rext=external resistance
r=internal resistance of the battery.
I=total current.

• The= emf of a battery is essentially constant because it only depends on the

chemical reaction (that converts chemical energy into electrical energy) going
on inside the battery.
• Therefore, we can see that the potential difference across the terminals of
the battery is dependent on the current drawn by the load.
• The higher the current, the lower the potential difference across the
terminals, because the emf is constant .
• RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN POTENTIAL DIFFERENCE AND CURRENT FOR A
CELL WITH INTERNAL RESISTANCE:
• If current is recorded against potential difference across a battery whereby the circuit
diagram is set as shown below:

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• The following graph is obtained:

•
• Where the y-intercept is the Emf and the magnitude of the gradient is the internal
resistance(r).

•
• Where the y –intercept is the Emf.
• The independent variable is current.
• The dependent variable is potential difference
• Gradient is –r, where the magnitude of the gradient is the internal
resistance.

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INCREASING THE EXTERNAL RESISTANCE

• If the resistance of the external circuit is increased by adding another

resistor in series:
• This will result in decrease in current.
• If current decreases , the potential difference across internal resistance(lost
volts) will also decrease.
• V internal resistance=Ir
• This will increase the load (terminal potential difference)
• Therefore the voltmeter reading increases.(lost volts decrease)
•
DECREASING THE EXTERNAL RESISTANCE

• If resistance in a circuit is decreased by connecting another resistor in

parallel:
• This increases current and lost volts(Ir).
• This decreases the terminal potential difference.
• Vload=E-Vinternal resistance
• Therefore the voltmeter reading decreases if the resistance in the external
• circuit decreases.

PRACTISE QUESTIONS

QUESTION 5

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 ELECTRICITY : COSTING

• Energy is measured in Joules and 1J=1W.s

• The Joule is a very small unit of energy and since we use a lot of
electricity, a bigger unit of energy is used to measure our
electrical consumption.
• This bigger unit of energy is called the kilowatt-hour(kWh).
1 kWhr=1kWx1hr=1000Wx3600s=3,6x106J
Thus cost of electricity =amount(kWh)xtariff(price)

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Example: An air conditioner draws a current of 12A when
connected to a 220V power supply. If the air-conditioner
works for 8hrs per day, what is the cost of running it for a
month of 30 days? The local tariff is R0,92 per kilowhatt-hour.

EXERCISE

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 PRACTISE QUESTIONS: CIRCUIT DIAGRAMS GRADE 11 AND 12

ACTIVITY 1

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ACTIVITY 2

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ACTIVITY 3

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ACTIVITY 4

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ACTIVITY 5

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ACTIVITY 6

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ACTIVITY 7
QUESTION 5[26]

A battery with an emf of 20 V and an internal resistance of 1 Ω is connected to three

resistors, as shown in the circuit below.

5.1.1 Define resistance. (2)

Calculate:

5.1.2 the external resistance of the circuit. (4)

5.1.3 current in the 8Ω resistor. (3)

5.1.4 heat dissipated in the external circuit in 4seconds. (3)

5.1.5 potential difference across the 5Ω resistor. (4)

5.1.6 total power supplied by the battery. (3)

5.2 Switch S is now open. How will the following voltmeter readings be
affected?(Choose between INCREASE , DECREASE or REMAIN THE SAME)

5.2.1 V1 (1)

5.2.2 V2 (1)

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5.3 Explain your answer to Question 5.2.1 with reference to one or more suitable
formulae. (2)

5.4 Explain your answer to Question 5.2.2 with reference to one or more suitable
formulae. (3)

ACTIVITY 8

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ACTIVITY 9

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ACTIVITY 10

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