charge and current.

Question 1

define current (measured in amps)?

Answer 1

it is the flow of charge measured in coulombs (C) (charge per second)

Question 2

state the direction of a current in a circuit.

Answer 2

current always goes from positive to negative.

Question 3

state the equation linking charge, current and time.

Answer 3

charge (Q) = current (I) x time (t)

Question 4

what is a current caused by in metals?

Answer 4

its caused by a flow of free (delocalised) electrons.

Question 5

define current in a series circuit.

Answer 5

in a series circuit the current is the same at all points.

Question 6

define current in a parallel circuit.

Answer 6

in a parallel circuit the current splits up into smaller currents.

Question 7

the current will only split exactly in half if the components along each parallel branch have the same ——?

Answer 7

the current will only split exactly in half if the components along each parallel branch have the same resistance.

Question 8

why does current in series and parallel circuits behave this way?

Answer 8

because electrons cannot be created or destroyed
this means the total number of electrons (and hence current) going around a circuit must remain the same.
When the electrons reach a junction, however, some of them will go one way and the rest will go the other.