CP Workbook
DC Currents
Printer Friendly Version
Water doesn't flow in the pipe when (a) both ends are at the same level. Another way of saying this is that water will not flow in the pipe when both ends have the same potential energy (PE).
Similarly, charge will not flow in a conductor if both ends of the conductor are at the same electric potential.
But tip the water pipe and increase the PE of one side so there is a difference in PE across the ends of the pipe, as in (b), and water will flow.
Similarly, increase the electric potential of one end of an electric conductor so there is a potential difference across the ends, and charge will flow.
The units of electric potential difference are
volts
amperes
ohms
watts
It is common to call electric potential difference
voltage
amperage
wattage
The flow of electric charge is called electric
voltage
current
power
The flow of electric charge is measured in
volts
amperes
ohms
watts
Refer to the following information for the next six questions.
Complete these statements:
A current of 1 ampere is a flow of charge at the rate of ___ coulomb per second.
When a charge of l5 C flows through any area in a circuit each second, the current is ___ A.
One volt is the potential difference between two points if 1 joule of energy is needed to move ___ coulomb of charge between the two points.
When a lamp is plugged into a 120-V socket, each coulomb of charge that flows in the circuit is raised to a potential energy of ___ joules.
Which offers more resistance to water flow?
a wide pipe
a narrow pipe
Similarly, which offers more resistance to the flow of charge?
a thick wire
a thin wire
Related Documents
Lab:
CP -
Series and Parallel Circuits
Labs -
Parallel and Series Circuits
Labs -
RC Time Constants
Labs -
Resistance and Resistivity
Labs -
Resistance, Gauge, and Resistivity of Copper Wires
Labs -
Telegraph Project
Labs -
Terminal Voltage of a Lantern Battery
Labs -
Wheatstone Bridge
Resource Lesson:
RL -
A Comparison of RC and RL Circuits
RL -
Ampere's Law
RL -
An Introduction to DC Circuits
RL -
Capacitors and Dielectrics
RL -
Dielectrics: Beyond the Fundamentals
RL -
Electricity and Magnetism Background
RL -
Filaments
RL -
Kirchhoff's Laws: Analyzing Circuits with Two or More Batteries
RL -
Kirchhoff's Laws: Analyzing DC Circuits with Capacitors
RL -
Magnetic Field Along the Axis of a Current Loop
RL -
Magnetism: Current-Carrying Wires
RL -
Meters: Current-Carrying Coils
RL -
Parallel Plate Capacitors
RL -
RC Time Constants
RL -
Torque on a Current-Carrying Loop
Worksheet:
APP -
The Circuit Rider
APP -
The Cycle Shop
CP -
Electric Power
CP -
Ohm's Law
CP -
Parallel Circuits
CP -
Power Production
CP -
Power Transmission
CP -
RIVP Charts #1
CP -
RIVP Charts #2
CP -
Series Circuits
NT -
Brightness
NT -
Light and Heat
NT -
Parallel Circuit
NT -
Series Circuits
NT -
Shock!
WS -
Capacitors - Connected/Disconnected Batteries
WS -
Combinations of Capacitors
WS -
Introduction to R | I | V | P Charts
WS -
Kirchhoff's Laws: DC Circuits with Capacitors
WS -
Kirchhoff's Laws: Sample Circuit
WS -
Resistance, Wattage, and Brightness
TB -
34A: Electric Current
TB -
35A: Series and Parallel
TB -
Advanced Capacitors
TB -
Basic Capacitors
TB -
Basic DC Circuits
TB -
Multiple-Battery Circuits
TB -
Textbook Set #6: Circuits with Multiple Batteries
Paul G. Hewitt
Copyright © 1984-2005
All rights reserved.
Used with written
permission.
PhysicsLAB
HTML conversion
Copyright © 1997-2023
Catharine H. Colwell
All rights reserved.
Mainland High School
Daytona Beach, FL 32114