Sek Men Sains Muzaffar Syah

7.1
State the relationship between electron and electric
current
Where
does
charge
come
from?

1. Matter is made up of tiny particles called _________.

2. At the center of the atom is the nucleus which is
made up of _________ and __________.
3. Surrounding the nucleus are particles called
_____________.
4. A proton has a __________ charge.
5. An electron has an equal __________ charge while a
neutron is ____________.

Unit of
electric
charge

1.
2.
3.
4.

Electric charge is denoted by the symbol Q.

The unit of electric charge is the _________ , C.
Charge on one electron = - 1.6 x 10-19 C
Charge on one proton = 1.6 x 10-19 C

5. A body is:
(a) _________, if it has equal numbers of positive and
negative charges.
(b) charged _________, if it has more negative than positive charges. (atom gains
electron)
(c) charged _________, if it has more positive than negative charges. (atom losses
electron)
6. The force acting on two bodies of the same net charges will ______ each other.
7. The force acting on two bodies of different net charges will ________ each other.
8. The force causes movement of electrons or flow of charges.

Define
Electric
Current

Electric current is defined as the rate of flow of electric charge.

Current, I = charge, Q
Time, t
The SI unit = ampere, A = C s-1

Q
t

Notes:

If one coulomb of charge flows past in one second, then the current is ____ ampere.
15 amperes means in ______ second, ______ coulomb of charge flow through a cross
section of a conductor.
In a metal wire, the charges are carried by ____________
Each electron carries a charge of ______________ C.
1 C of charge has _____________ electrons. Show your work.

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Activity 1: To investigate the relationship between electric charges and electric current.
Apparatus :Van de Graaff generator, connection wires, microammeter
Procedure
1. Start the motor of a Van de Graaff generator for a
few minutes to produce positive charges on the
metal dome of the generator.
2. Bring your finger close to the dome of the
generator. Observe what happens.
3. Touch the dome of the generator with the free end
of the wire that is connected to the microammeter.
Observe the microammeter needle closely.
4. Switch off the motor of the Van de Graaff
generator.
Observation
1. You will feel a brief _________ shock when your finger is brought close to the dome of the
generator.
2. The microammeter needle is __________ when a wire is connected to the dome of the
generator.
3. You can safely touch the metal dome with your finger.
4. The microammeter needle is returned to its _________ position when the Van de Graaff is
switched off.
Explanation
1. When the motor of the Van de Graaff generator is switched on, it drives the rubber belt. This
cause the rubber belt to rub against the roller and hence becomes _______ charged. The
charge is then carried by the moving belt up to the metal _______ where it is collected. A large
amount of _________ charge is built up on the dome.
2. The electric field around the metal dome of the generator can produced a strong force of
___________ between the opposite charges. ___________ will suddenly accelerate from the
finger to the dome of the generator and causes a spark.
3. When the wire touches the dome, the microammeter needle is deflected. This shows that a
__________ is flowing through the galvanometer.
4. The electric current is produced by the flow of ____________ from earth through the
galvanometer to the metal dome to neutralize the positive charges on its surface.
5. The metal dome can be safely touched with the finger as all the positive charges on it have
been ________________.
Conclusion
A flow of electric charge (electrons) through a conductor produces an __________ _____

Predict what will happen if hair of a student is brought near to the

charged dome. Give reasons for your answer.
The metal dome _________ the hair and the
hair stand ____________

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This is because of each strand of hair
receives
__________
charges
and
__________ each other.
Define an
electric
filed.

How
does an
electric
field is
represented?

An electric field is a region in which an electric charge experiences an

electric force (attraction or repulsion).
An electric field is created from a positively charged sphere in the spaces
surrounding it.
A negative charged body when placed at any point in this region is pulled
towards the charged sphere attractive force
A positively charged body that is placed in the same region is pushed
away repulsive force.

1. An electric field is represented by a series of arrowed lines called electric field

line.
2. The lines indicate both the magnitude and direction of the field.
3. The direction of an electric field is from a positively-charged object to a
negatively-charged object, from a positively-charged object to infinity, or from
infinity to a negatively-charged object.
4. Electric field lines never cross each other.
5. Electric field lines are closer in a strong electric field.

Sketch
electric
field
lines
showin
g the
directio
n of the
field

Activity 2 : To map the electric field around metal electrodes

Apparatus : Extra high tension (EHT) source, metal electrodes, petri dish, semolina grains, castor
oil
Procedure:
1. Two plane electrodes connected to the terminals
of an EHT power supply are dipped into a dish of
castor oil.
2. The EHT is switched on and some semolina grains
is sprinkled on the surface of the oil.
3. The electric field pattern formed by the semolina
particles is observed and noted.

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4. The experiment is repeated using a plane electrode and a cylindrical electrode followed by two
cylindrical electrodes.
Result: Sketch the electric field lines

Discussion
1. Describe the direction of the electric field lines in the experiment?
________________________________________________________________________
2. How is the strength of an electric field indicated with field lines?
_______________________________________________________________________
Conclusion
1. Electric field is ____________________________________________________________
2. Like charges ________ each other but opposite charges __________ each other.
3. An electric field can be represented by a number of lines called __________ ________
________ of force.
4. The lines indicate both the __________ and __________ of the field.
5. The direction of the field lines is from _________ to ___________.

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Activity 3 To describe the effect of an electric field on a charge

I.

A charged ball in an electric field

Switch on the EHT

power supply and
charge the ping-pong
ball by contact with one
of the electrodes.
Observe what happen to
the movement of the
ping pong ball.

Observation & Discussion

1. When the EHT power supply is switched on, plate X is _________ charged and plate Y is
_________ charged. Since the ping-pong ball is _________, it remains at the centre as the
electric forces acting on it are ____________.
2. When the ping-pong ball touches the positively charged plate X, the ball receives __________
charges from the plate and experiences a __________ force. The ball will then ___________ to
the negatively charged plate Y.
3. When the ball touches plate Y, the positive charges are ____________ by the negative charges.
The ball then receives __________ charged and repels toward plate X. The process is
repeated and the ball __________ to and fro between the two metal plates X and Y.
4. The rate of oscillation of the ping-pong ball can be increased by ___________ the voltage of
the EHT power supply and ___________ the distance between the two plates X and Y.
II. The effect of an Electric field on a Candle Flame

The ping-pong ball is replaced with a

candle.
The shape of the candle flame is observed.

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Observation

When the EHT power supply is

switched on, the candle flame
___________ into two portions
in opposite directions.
The portion that is attracted to
the negative plate P is very
much _________ than the
portion that is attracted to the
positive plate Q.

Switched off

switched on

Explain the observation

The hot flame of the candle ____________ the air molecules in its surrounding into positive
and negative ions.
The ___________ ions are attracted towards the negative plate P. At the same time, the
negative ions are attracted to the positive plate Q.
The movement of the ions towards the plated P and Q caused the candle flame to spread out.
Explain why the flame is not symmetrical
The bigger portion of the flame is attracted towards the negative plate as the _______ of the
positive ions is larger than of the negative ions.
Solving problems involving electric charge and current
Example 1
The current flows in a light bulb is 0.5 A.
(b) Calculate the amount of electric charge that flows through the bulb in 2 hours.
If one electron carries a charge of 1.6 x 10-19 C, find the number of electrons transferred through
the bulb in 2 hours.

Example 2
Electric charges flow through a light bulb at the rate of 20 C every 50 seconds. What is the
electric current shown on the ammeter?

Example 3
When lightning strikes between two charged clouds, an electric current of 400 A flows for 0.05 s.
What is the quantity of charge transferred?

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TUTORIAL 7.1
1. Which of the following diagrams shows

D. 14 400 C

the correct electric field? (2003)

5. Figure 1 shows a candle flame split into

two directions when it is placed in the
space between two charged metal plates
P and Q.

2. When the switch is on, the current that

flows in an electronic advertisement
board is 3.0 x 10-5 A. What is number of
electrons flowing in the advertisement
board when it is switched on for 2 hours?
[charge of electron = 1.6 x 10-19 C] (2004)
A. 3.84 x 1011
B. 1.67 x 1014
C. 1.35 x 1018
D. 4.17 x 1023
E. 1.50 x 1027

3. The following statements about the

electric current are true except
A. an electric current is a flow of electric
charge.
B. The flow of current through a
conductor is directly proportional to
the potential difference across the
conductor.
C. Heat and magnetism are effects of
the flow of a current
D. An electric current can be produced
only by the flow of electrons.

Which statement below explains why the

candle flame has a greater tendency to
spread towards plate Q than towards
plate P?
A. The electric field closer to plate Q is
stronger.
B. Negative ions move faster towards
plate Q.
C. Positive ions are heavier and move
slower towards plate Q.
D. The candle flame is attracted by a
stronger magnetic force towards
plate Q

6. Figure 2 shows a light sphere S, which is

charged and suspended by a light nylon
string between two charged plated P and
Q.

4. An electric appliance has been switched

on for 2 hours. Calculate the quantity of
electric charge passing through the
circuit in this time if the current is 2 A.
(2007)
A. 4 C
B. 120 C
C. 240 C

Which statement about the arrangement

shown is not true?
A. Sphere S is negatively charged

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B. Sphere S is attracted by an electric
force towards plate P.
C. The angle of deflection will decrease
if the separation between plates P
and Q is increased.

7. (a) Plate P is connected to the positive

terminal of an EHT power supply, while
plate Q is connected to its negative
terminal. A ping-pong ball coated with
conducting paint is suspended between
the two plates as shown figure below.

(i)

(iii)

Explain what causes the

shape of the flame you have drawn in
(b)(i)

What will happen to the ping-pong

ball when the EHT is turned on?

(ii) Explain the reason for your answer

in (a).

(iii) State two ways to increase the

velocity of the oscillating ball.

(iv) Why we use the nylon thread?

(b)The ping-pong ball is replaced with a

lighted candle.

(ii) In figure below, draw the shape of the

flame when the EHT power supply is
turned on.

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