Intensive property of matter particle due to

which they experience force of attraction or

repulsion.
S.I. unit of electric charge is Coulomb (C),
which is equivalent to the charge contained in
nearly 6 x 1018 electrons.
Properties Of Charge:

(i) Additive Nature

(ii) Conservation of Charge
(iii) Quantisation of Charge

Electric current is a flow of electric

charge through a medium. This charge is

typically carried by moving in a conductor
such as wire. It can also be carried by ions
in an electrolyte, or by both ions and
electrons in a plasma.
The SI unit for measuring the rate of flow of
electric charge is the ampere, which is
charge flowing through some surface at the
rate of one coulomb per second. Electric
current is measured using an ammeter.

An electric circuit is a closed path for flow of electricity

An through which electricity can be converted into

different forms. An electric circuit basically contains a
source of electricity, a load resistance, a switch or a key
for making the circuit on or off at ones convenience
(which makes or breaks the circuit correspondingly). The
diagrammatic representation of an electric circuit is called
the circuit diagram. Each electric component in a circuit
has a unique symbol through which it is represented in a
circuit diagram. If a circuit is switched off, it is called an
open circuit and if the circuit is switched on it is called a
closed circuit. When two or more resistors are
connected such a way that the terminus of one resistance
is connected to the starting end of the other, such a
combination of resistance is called the series
connection and the circuit is called series circuit.

On the other hand, if the starting ends of two resistors

are joined to a point and the terminal ends of the two are
combined and given connection to a source of electricity,
such a combination is called parallel connection and
the circuit is called parallel circuit. The potential
difference or voltage drop across a resistance is the
cause of electric current through it. For a number of
resistors connected in series, the electric current through
them remains the same and the potential drop across
each of them varies as their resistance. The net
resistance or equivalent resistance of a number of
resistors connected in series is the sum of the individual
resistance. The reciprocal of the net resistance or
equivalent resistance of a number of resistors
connected in parallel is the sum of the reciprocals of the
individual resistances

We define the electric potential difference between two

points in an electric circuit carrying some current as the

work done to move a unit charge from one point to
otherPotential difference (V) between two points = Work done
(W) / Charge (Q)
V = W/Q
The S.I. unit of electric potential difference is Volt (V) .
One volt is the potential difference between two points in
a circuit carrying conductor when 1 Joule of work is done
to move a charge of 1 coulomb from one point to other.
Therefore, 1 volt = 1 joule/1coulomb
1 V = 1 JC

A circuit diagram (also known as an electrical

diagram, elementary diagram, or electronic

schematic) is a simplified conventional graphical
representation of an electrical circuit . A pictorial circuit
diagram uses simple images of components, while a
schematic diagram shows the components of the circuit
as simplified standard symbols; both types show the
connections between the devices, including power and
signal connections. Arrangement of the components
interconnections on the diagram does not correspond to
their physical locations in the finished device.
Circuit diagrams are used for the design (circuit design),
construction (such as PCB layout), and maintenance of
electrical and electronic equipment.

Ohm's law states that the current through a

conductor between two points is directly

proportional to the potential difference across the
two points, and inversely proportional to the
resistance between them.[1]
The mathematical equation that describes this
relationship is
where I is the current through the conductor in units

of amperes, V is the potential difference measured

across the conductor in units of volts, and R is the
resistance of the conductor in units of ohms. More
specifically, Ohm's law states that the R in this
relation is constant, independent of the current. [3]

The law was named after the German physicist

Georg Ohm, who, in a treatise published in 1827,

described measurements of applied voltage and
current through simple electrical circuits containing
various lengths of wire. He presented a slightly
more complex equation than the one above (see
History section below) to explain his experimental
results. The above equation is the modern form of
Ohm's law.

Resistance is the property of a component which

restricts the flow of electric current. Energy is

used up as the voltage across the component
drives the current through it and this energy
appears as heat in the component.
Resistance is measured in ohms, the symbol for
ohm is an omega .
1 is quite small for electronics so resistances are
often given in k and M .
1 k = 1000 1 M = 1000000 .
Resistors used in electronics can have resistances
as low as 0.1 or as high as 10 M .

If the resistance is constant over a considerable

range of voltage, then Ohm's law, I = V/R, can be

used to predict the behavior of the material.
Although the definition above involves DC current
and voltage, the same definition holds for the AC a
Whether or not a material obeys Ohm's law, its
resistance can be described in terms of its bulk
resistivity. The resistivity, and thus the resistance,
is temperature dependent. Over sizable ranges of
temperature, this temperature dependence can be
predicted from a temperature coefficient of
resistance pplication of resistors.

The electrical resistance of a wire would be

expected to be greater for a longer wire, less for a

wire of larger cross sectional area, and would be
expected to depend upon the material out of which
the wire is made. Experimentally, the dependence
upon these properties is a straightforward one for a
wide range of conditions, and the resistance of a
wire can be expressed as

The factor in the resistance which takes into

account the nature of the material is the resistivity .

Although it is temperature dependent, it can be
used at a given temperature to calculate the
resistance of a wire of given geometry.
The inverse of resistivity is called conductivity.
There are contexts where the use of conductivity is
more convenient.
Electrical conductivity = = 1/

resistors
The combination rules for any number of resistors

in series or parallel can be derived with the use of

Ohm's Law, the voltage law, and the current law.
Resistors connected in Series:
When resistors are connected in series their
combined resistance is equal to the individual
resistances added together. For example if resistors
R1 and R2 are connected in series their combined
resistance, R, is given by:
Combined resistance in series: R = R1 + R2
This can be extended for more resistors:
R=R1+R2+R3+R4+...

Resistors connected in Parallel:

When resistors are connected in parallel their

combined resistance is less than any of the

individual resistances. There is a special equation
for the combined resistance of two resistors R1 and
R2:
Combined resistance of
two resistors in parallel:
R =
R1 R2
R1 + R2
For more than two resistors connected in parallel a
more difficult equation must be used.

This adds up the reciprocal ("one over") of

each resistance to give the reciprocal of the

combined resistance.
The simpler equation for two resistors in
parallel is
much easier to use!

Heating effect of electricity is one of the widely

used effects in the world. When electric current is

passed through a conductor, it generates heat due to
the resistance it offers to the current flow. The work
done in overcoming the resistance is generated as
heat. This is studied by James Prescott Joule and he
enunciated various factors that affect the heat
generated. The heat produced by a heating element is
directly proportional to the square of the electric
current (I) passing through the conductor, directly
proportional to the resistance (R) of the conductor,
time (t) for which current passes through the
conductor. It is given by the expression H = I2Rt and is
well known as Joules Law.

Applications of the heating effect of electric current

include appliances like electric immersion water

heater, electric iron box, etc. All of these have a
heating element in it. Heating elements are
generally made of specific alloys like, nichrome,
manganin, constantan etc. A good heating
element has high resistivity and high melting
point. An electric fuse is an example for the
application of heating effect of electric current. The
rating of 3 A of an electric fuse implies the
maximum current it can sustain is three ampere.

Electric power is the rate at which electric energy is

transferred by an electric circuit. The SI unit of power is

the watt.
When electric current flows in a circuit, it can transfer
energy to do mechanical or thermodynamic work.
Devices convert electrical energy into many useful
forms, such as heat (electric heaters), light (light bulbs
), motion (electric motors), sound (loudspeaker),
information technological processes (computers), or
even chemical changes. Electricity can be produced
mechanically by generation, or chemically, or by direct
conversion from light in photovoltaic cells, also it can
be stored chemically in batteries.

Electric power, like mechanical power, is

represented by the letter P in electrical equations.

The term wattage is used colloquially to mean
"electric power in watts."
In direct current resistive circuits, electrical power
is calculated using Joule's law:
where P is the electric power, V the potential

difference, and I the electric current.

In the case of resistive (Ohmic, or linear) loads,
Joule's law can be combined with Ohm's law (I =
V/R) to produce alternative expressions for the
dissipated power: