Electrical Current and Circuits

How Electricity Gets To Where It Is Going

What Is A Current?

Current: the rate at which charge passes a given point

Made by electrons moving in a wire

AC/DC...what does that mean? AC/DC: explains how current gets

movedDC: Direct Current (one-direction)

AC: Alternating Current (bi-directional)

Voltage

Voltage: difference in energy per unit charge as the charge moves between two points in the path of a circuit

Voltage can vary

Resistance

Resistance: opposition to the flow of charge

Expressed in ohms

Ώ

As resistance increases…current decreases!!!!

Ohm’s Law

Amperes (A) = volts (V) ohms (Ώ)

I = Current

V = Voltage

R = Resistance

I = V R

Electric Power

The rate at which electrical energy is used to do work

Expressed in Watts (W)

Power = voltage x current

P = V x I

Circuits

Complete, closed path through which electric charges flow

Closed Open

Two Types of Circuits

1. Series: all parts are connected in one loop

Types Of Circuits

2. Parallel: different loads are located on separate branches