Republic of the Philippines

UNIVERSITY OF EASTERN PHILIPPINES

University Town, Catarman, Northern Samar

COLLEGE OF EDUCATION

Secondary Teacher Education Department

2nd Semester SY: 2022-2023

ELECTRIC CURRENT
(Ohm’s law & Factors Affecting Electric Current)

Prepared by:

Aderenio, Brian Mike & Maninggo, Aluna S.

BSED-SCIENCE SPECIALIZER

SUBJECT TEACHER IN ELECTRICITY & MAGNETISM

Ma’am Fe Castillo Andarino

Overview
In this module, we will be dealing with the electric current and factors that can affect it. We will also be
dealing with Ohm's law and some problems regarding the topics. A deep understanding and memorization
are required to master the lesson. So, brace yourself, because we will dive into the world of electric
current and problem solving.

Learning Objectives:
At the end of the lesson, you should be able to:

• Define Electric Current.

• Determine the factors affecting the electric current.
• Memorize and Use Ohm's law in solving problems.

Electric Current
Electric Current is a flow of electric charge in a circuit. More specifically, the electric current is the rate
of charge flow past a given point in an electric circuit. Rate of flow means the amount of charge flowing
through a particular area in one second.

It has a formula of, I = Q/t where the I is the current, Q is the Charges and t is the time.

If n electrons pass through the cross section of a conductor in time t, then total charge passed through the
conductor is Q = ne.

1e=1.6x10-¹⁹C

A common unit of electric current is the ampere, which is defined as a flow of one coulomb of charge per
second.

Example:

If 10×10¹⁹ electrons pass through a conductor in 4s. Calculate the flow of electric Current.

Solution:

Given: no. of e = 10×10¹⁹; t=4s; Q =? I=?

First, we need to convert the given no. of electrons in Coulombs by using this formula, Q=ne where in, n
is the no. of electrons and e is the charge per electron.

Q = ne

=10×10¹⁹×1.6×10-¹⁹
Q=16 C

Now that we have our Q, let's find the I.

I = Q/t

=16c/4s

1=4 C/s or 4 A

Factors affecting electric Current

There are factors affecting electric Current:

• Potential difference between ends: Negatively- charged electrons are removed from atoms, the
atoms being left as positive ions. The potential difference between the two causes the electrons to
be attracted back, producing a flow of electric charge: current electricity.

• Temperature: affects how electricity flows through an electrical circuit by changing the speed at
which the electrons travel. This is due to an increase in resistance of the circuit that results from
an increase in temperature. Likewise, resistance is decreased with decreasing temperatures.

• Materials of wire: Materials such as plastics have high resistance to electric current. They are
called electric insulators. Materials such as metals have a low resistance to electric current. They
are called electric conductors.

• Length of wire: A longer wire has more resistance than a shorter wire. Current must travel
farther through a longer wire, so there are more chances for it to collide with particles of matter.
A cooler wire has less resistance than a warmer wire. Cooler particles have less kinetic energy, so
they move more slowly

• Area of cross section: More electrons result in more charge crossing the cross section, thus more
current. Thus, if you increase the area of cross section then resistance of the wire (keeping length
and resistivity same) will decrease.
Ohm's law
One of the most basic and important laws of electric circuits is Ohm's law.

Ohm’s Law states that electric current is proportional to voltage and inversely proportional to resistance.

Mathematically, the law states that V = IR, where V is the voltage difference, I is the current in amperes,
and R is the resistance in ohms.

Who Invented Ohm’s Law?

Ohm’s Law is Named after the Great German Physicist and
Mathematician – Georg Simon Ohm. He was born on March 16, 1789
and died on July 6, 1854.

Georg Simon Ohm did a research on the Battery Invented by the Italian
scientist Alessandro Volta.

He concluded his research with a Formula which states that the current flow through a conductor is
directly proportional to the potential difference (voltage) and inversely proportional to the resistance. This
relationship is known as Ohm’s law.

Ohm’s Law Formula

The Ohm’s law formula helps to calculate voltage, current and resistance.

I = V / R; where

I = Electrical Current Flowing through the Resistor

V = Voltage Drop of the Resistor

R = R is the resistance of the resistor, measured in Ohms (Ω)

Three formulas denote this law:

• V=IR

• I=V/R

• R= V/I

You need only to remember the first of these formulas in order to derive the others. The easiest way to
remember it is to learn the abbreviations V for voltage, I for current, and R for resistance. Sometimes the
three symbols are arranged in the so-called Ohm's Law triangle,
 The Ohm's Law triangle. The voltage is V, the current is I, and the
resistance is R. These quantities are expressed in volts (V) amperes
(Amps) , and ohms (Ω), respectively.

Take note:

Remember that you must use units of volts, amperes, and ohms for the Ohm's Law formulas to yield a
meaningful result! If the initial quantities are given in units other than volts, amperes, and ohms, convert
to these units, and then calculate. After that, you can convert the calculated current, voltage, or resistance
value to whatever size unit you want.
Current Calculations
Figure 1.

The first way to use Ohm's Law is to determine current in de circuits in order to find the current. you must
know the voltage and the resistance, or be able to deduce them. Refer to the schematic diagram of Fig 1.
It consists of a dc voltage source, a voltmeter, some wire, an ammeter, and a calibrated, wide-range
potentiometer.

Problem 1

Suppose that the dc generator in Fig. 1 produces 10 V and the potentiometer is set to a value of 10Ω.
What is the current?

This is solved by the formula I= V/R. Plug in the values for V and R: they are both 10, because the units
are given in volts and ohms. Then I = 10/10 = 1 A.

Problem 2

Suppose that dc generator in Fig. 1 is set to provide 88.5 V, and the potentiometer is set to 477 MΩ. What
is the current?

This problem involves numbers that aren't exactly round, and one of them is huge. But you can use a
calculator. First, change the resistance value to ohms, so you get 477,000,000 Ω. Then plug into the
Ohm's Law formula: I = V/R = 88.5/477,000,000 = 0.000000186 A. It is more reasonable to express this
as 0.186 µA or 186 mA.
Voltage Calculation
The second application of Ohm's Law is to find unknown dc voltages when the current and the resistance
are known, Let's work out some problems of this kind.

Problem 1

Suppose the potentiometer in Fig. 1 is set to 100 Ω, and the measured current is 10 mA. What is the dc
voltage?

Use the formula V=IR. First, convert the current to amperes: 10 mA = 0.01 A. Then multiply: V=0.01 x
100 = 1.0 V. That's a little less than the voltage produced by a flashlight cell.

Problem 2

Adjust the potentiometer in Fig. 1 to a value of 157 kΩ, and suppose the current reading is 17.0 mA.
What is the voltage of the source?

First, you must convert both the resistance and the current values to their proper units. A resistance of 157
kΩ is 157,000 Ω, and a current of 17.0 mA is 0.0170 A. Then V = IR =0.017 × 157,000 = 2669 V = 2.669
kV. You should round this off to 2.67 kV.

Resistance Calculations
Ohms Law can be used to find a resistance between two points in a de circuit when the voltage and the
current are known.

Problem 1

If the voltmeter in Fig. 1 reads 24 V and the ammeter shows 3.0 A, what is the resistance of the
potentiometer?

Use the formula R= V/I, and plug in the values directly, because they are expressed in volts and amperes:
R= 24/3.0 = 8.0 Ω. Note that you can specify this value to two significant figures, the 8 and the 0. rather
than saying simply 8 2. This is because you are given both the voltage and the current to two significant
figures. If the ammeter reading had been given as 3 A, you would only be entitled to express the answer
as 8 Ω, to one significant digit. The digit 0 can be, and often is, just as important in calculations as any of
the other digits 1 through 9.

Problem 2

What is the value of the resistance in Fig. 1 if the current is 18 mA and the voltage is 229 mV?

First, convert these values to amperes and volts. This gives I=0.018 A and V=0.229 V. Then plug into the
equation: R= V/I=0.229/0.018 = 13 Ω.
Power Calculations
You can calculate the power P, in watts, in a dc circuit such as that shown in Fig. 1, by using the formula
P= Vl. This formula tells us that the power in watts is the product of the voltage in volts and the current in
amperes. If you are not given the voltage directly, you can calculate it if you know the current and the
resistance.

Recall the Ohm's Law formula for obtaining voltage: V=IR. If you know I and R but you don't know V,
you can get the power P this way:

P= I²R

Suppose you're given only the voltage and the resistance. Remember the Ohm's Law formula for
obtaining current: 1=V/R. Therefore

P=V²/R

Problem 1

Suppose that the voltmeter in Fig. 1 reads 12 V and the ammeter shows 50 mA. What is the power
dissipated by the potentiometer?

Use the formula P= VL. First, convert the current to amperes, getting I=0.050 A. (Note that the last 0
counts as a significant digit.) Then multiply by 12 V, getting P=VI=12x0.050 = 0.60 W.
Summarry

Electric Current is a flow of electric charge in a circuit. More specifically, the electric current is the rate
of charge flow past a given point in an electric circuit. Rate of flow means the amount of charge flowing
through a particular area in one second.

It has a formula of, I = Q/t where the I is the current, Q is the Charges and t is the time

There are factors that can affect the flow of electric current such as Potential difference between ends;
temperature; Materials acquire; length of wire; and area of cross section.

One of the most basic and important laws of electric circuits is Ohm's law.

Ohm’s Law states that electric current is proportional to voltage and inversely proportional to resistance.

Mathematically, the law states that V = IR, where V is the voltage difference, I is the current in amperes,
and R is the resistance in ohms. Three formulas denote this law: V=IR is for Voltage calculation; I=V/R is
for Current calculation; and R= V/I is for resistance calculation.

In calculating the power, we use the formula P = VI, from this equation we can derived two more
equation. We can use P= I²R and P = V²/R.

Activity.
1. A current of 3.8A flows in a wire for 12 minutes. (a) How much charge passes through
any point in this circuit during this time? (b) How many electrons would this represent?

2. How much current is in a circuit that includes a 9V battery and a bulb with a resistance of
3 ohms?

3. A 5V source of connects to a 10 ohms resistor. What is current?

4. A 2.2 kΩ resistor has 15 mA current passing through it. Find the value of connected
voltage reaction.

5. A circuit contains 12V battery connected to a light bulb having resistance of 5 ohms. Find
the current.

6. Two batteries, one of 3V and other one of 12V are connected in series to a resistor of 1
kohm. Find the current that will flow through the resistor.
 7. Two lamps, each having a resistance of 3 ohms connected in series. What current will it
flow if a voltage source of 5V is connected to input.

8. Certain resistance has 10A current through it, when a 50V source is applied. Find the
value of resistance.

9. How many ohms of resistance must be present in a circuit that has 120 volts and a current
of 10 Amps.

References
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