chapter 8 & 9 Flashcards
define current
the rate of flow of charged particles
I = Q/t
how is current measured?
ammeter in series,
lowest resistance as possible to not affect readings
what is 1 ampere?
1 ccoulumb of charge flowing throw a point at 1 second
what is a charge carrier?
any partcle with an electrical charge
* electrons
* ions
what is current in
* metals
* electrolytes?
- electrolytes: movement of ions
- metals - movement of delocalised electrons
what is the elementary charge?
e
the charge of an electron
-1.6 * 10 ^-19
describe charge
A property of matter : quanitised by electrons
what is kirchoff’s law?
Σ I in= Σ I out
conservation of charge
what is the ‘number density’?
the number of free charge carriers per unit of volume
how does the number denisty impact a material?
the greater the number density, the better the electrical conductor
what are the 3 groups of materials?
- conductors (10^28)
- semi conductors (10^17)
- insulators
what is the formula for current?
I= Anev
* A= area of cross section
* n= number density
* e= elementary charge
* v= mean drift velocity
derive the Anev equation
what is drift velocity?
the average velocity of the charges moving along a conductor
not uniform journey as collides with positive metal ions
what is the realtionship between the cros sectional area and the mean drift velocity?
inversley proprtional
* as the area increases the number of positive metal ion and distrubance for electrons increases and so the mean drift veloity would be smaller
what is the direction of conventional current
positive- negitive : used for all diagrams
electron flow : negative - positive
explain the term mean drift velocity of electrons in a metal wire
- free electrons make collisions with metal ions to give them a random velocity
- the free electrons drift towards the positive end the supply along the wire
- the distance travelled per unit time along the length of wire is called the mean drift velocity of the electrons
draw the symbols for the following:
* cell
* battery
* lamp
* resistor
* variable resistor
* thermistor
* LDR
* diode
* LED (light emitting diode)
* ammeter
* voltmeter
what is the nragtive and positive side of the terminal?
positive: long
negative: short
what is potnetial difference defined as?
the change in potential energy per unit chrage between two points, due to charge doing work on the circuit components, causing electrical potential energy to decrease
work done per charge carrier
what is the equation for potential difference?
V = W/Q
* V= potential difference
* W= difference between electrical energy
* Q= per unit charge
what is the difference of 1 volt?
the potential difference between two points when a charge of 1 coulumb passing through the two points experiences a change in electric potential energy (1J)
what do voltmeters measure?
the difference in electric potenteial energy per harge