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04 ElEcTrIc chargE aNd

ElEcTrIc currENT

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
After completing this lesson, students will be able to:
‰‰Understand the electric charge, electric field and Coulomb’s law.
‰‰Explain concepts of electric current, voltage, resistance and Ohm’s law.

‰‰Draw electrical circuit diagrams, series and parallel circuits .

‰‰Explain effects of electric current like heating or thermal effect, chemical effect,

magnetic effect.
‰‰Understand direct and alternating currents.

‰‰Know safety aspects related to electricity.

TEXT BOOK EXERCISES

I. Choose the correct answer :
1. In current electricity, a positive charge refers to,
(a) presence of electron (b) presence of proton
(c) absence of electron (d) absence of proton
[Ans : (c) absence of electron]
2. Rubbing of comb with hair
(a) creates electric charge (b) transfers electric charge
(c) either (a) or (b) (d) neither (a) nor (b)
[Ans : (b) transfers electric charge]
3. Electric field lines ________ from positive charge and ________ in negative charge.
(a) start; start (b) start; end
(c) start: end (d) end; end [Ans : (b) or (c) start, end]
4. Potential near a charge is the measure of its _______ to bring a positive charge at

(a) force (b) ability (c) tendency (d) work

[Ans : (d) work]

[61]

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 62 Sura’s  Science - 9th Std  Unit 04  Electric charge and electric current

5. Heating effect of current is called,

(a) Joule heating (b) Coulomb heating
(c) Voltage heating (d) Ampere heating [Ans : (a) Joule heating]
6. In an electrolyte the current is due to the flow of
(a) electrons (b) positive ions
(c) both (a) and (b) (d) neither (a) nor (b)
[Ans : (c) both (a) and (b)]
7. Electroplating is an example for
(a) heating effect (b) chemical effect
(c) flowing effect (d) magnetic effect
[Ans : (b) chemical effect]
8. Resistance of a wire depends on,
(a) temperature (b) geometry
(c) nature of material (d) all the above [Ans : (d) all the above]
II. Match the following :
1. Electric Charge (a) ohm
2. Potential difference (b) ampere
3. Electric field (c) coulomb
4. Resistance (d) newton per coulomb
5. Electric current (e) volt
Ans. 1 - c, 2 - e, 3 - d, 4 - a, 5 - b
III. State whether true or false. If false, correct the statement :
1. Electrically neutral means it is either zero or equal positive and negative charges.
Ans. True.
2. Ammeter is connected in parallel in any electric circuit.
Ans. False.
Correct statement : Ammeter is connected in series in any electric circuit.
3. The anode in electrolyte is negative.
Ans. False.
Correct statement : The anode in electrolyte is positive.
4. Current can produce magnetic field.
Ans. True.
IV. Fill in the blanks :
1. Electrons move from ______ potential to _______ potential. [Ans : lower, higher]
2. The direction opposite to the movement of electron is called __________ current.

3. The e.m.f of a cell is analogues to ___________ of a pipe line. [Ans : water pump]
4. The domestic electricity in India is an ac with a frequency of ________ Hz. [Ans : 50]

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 Sura’s  Physics - 9th Std  Unit 04  Electric charge and electric current 63

V. Conceptual questions :
1. A bird sitting on a high power electric line is still safe. How?
Ans. Birds can sit on power lines and not get electric shocks because the electricity is always
looking for a way to get to the ground (i.e.) the current is not flowing out of its body to
any other material.
Current flows in a loop (which means the circuit is closed). A bird sitting on a transmission
line does not complete the circuit. If the same bird keeps one leg on one line and another
leg or any part of its body on another line or the neutral points, then it will get burnt.
2. Does a solar cell always maintain the potential across its terminals constant? Discuss.
Ans. Solar cell delivers a constant current for any given illumination level, while the voltage
is determined by the load resistance. Potential in a solar cell depends on the intensity
of the solar radiation. Since the intensity of solar radiation is not always constant, the
potential across its terminal is also not constant.
3. Can electroplating be possible with alternating current?
Ans. The heating effect and the chemical effect experiments have to be performed only with
a dc cell of around 9V. The 9V dc cell will not give any electrical shock.
At any cost we should not use the main domestic electric supply which is 220V ac
voltage. If it is used it will give a heavy electric shock leading to a severe damage to
our body.
VI. Answer the following :
1. On what factors does the electrostatic force between two charges depend?
Ans. The numerical value (magnitude) of electric force between two charges depend on the,
(i) value of charges on them,
(ii) distance between them and
(iii) nature of medium between them.
2. What are electric lines of force?
Ans. The lines representing the electric field are called electric lines of force.
3. Define electric field.
Ans. Electric field is the region around a charged body within which its influence can be
experienced (i.e) within which it can attract or repel another charged body.
4. Define electric current and give its unit.
Ans. The electric current is defined as the rate of flow of electric charge through any section
of a conductor.
Q
Electric current I =
t
Its unit is Cs–1

5. State Ohm’s law.

Ans. Ohm's law states that, the current passing through a conductor is directly proportional to
the potential difference across its ends, provided the physical conditions like temperature,
density, etc. remain unchanged. V α I or V = IR.

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 64 Sura’s  Science - 9th Std  Unit 04  Electric charge and electric current

6. Name any two appliances which work under the principle of heating effect of current.
Ans. Electric heating appliances like iron box, water heater, toaster, etc.
7. How are the home appliances connected in general, in series or parallel. Give reasons.
Ans. In a household electric circuit, different home appliances are connected in parallel to
one another due to the following reasons:
(i) The appliances can be operated independently. If one appliance is switched off,
others remain unaffected.
(ii) Each appliance gets the same constant voltage.
(iii) In parallel connection of electrical appliances, the overall resistance of the circuit
it reduced due to which the current form the power supply is high.
8. List the safety features while handling electricity.
Ans. (i) Ground connection:
The metal bodies of all the electrical appliances are to be connected to the ground
by means of a third wire apart from the two wires used for electrical connection.
(ii) Trip switch:
It is an electromechanical device which does not allow a current beyond a particular
value by automatically switching off the connection.
(iii) Fuse:
A fuse is another safety mechanism which works on joule heating principle.
VII. Exercises :
1. Rubbing a comb on hair makes the comb get – 0.4C.
(a) Find which material has lost electron and which one gained it.
(b) Find how many electrons are transferred in this process.
Ans : a. Comb gained electrons. Dry hair lost electron.
b. No. of electrons transferred = – 0.4 C
1 coulomb = 6.25 × 1018 electron
– 0.4 C = 0.4 × 6.25 × 1018 electrons
= – 2.5 × 1018 electrons
2. Calculate the amount of charge that would flow in 2 hours through an element of
an electric bulb drawing a current of 2.5A.
Ans : Current I = 2.5 A
time t = 2 hours = 2 × 3600 seconds
t = 7200 s
Amount of charge Q = I×t

Q = 18,000 C

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 Sura’s  Physics - 9th Std  Unit 04  Electric charge and electric current 65

3. The values of current (I) flowing through a resistor for various potential differences
V across the resistor are given below. What is the value of resistor?
I (ampere) 0.5 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0
V (volt) 1.6 3.4 6.7 10.2 13.2
[Hint : plot V-I graph and take slope]
Ans.

14
(4, 13.2)
I2 V 2
12
Potential Difference V (volt)

10 (3, 10.2)
I 1 V1
8
(2, 6.7)
6

4
(1, 3.4)
2
(0.5, 1.6)
1
0
1 2 3 4
Current (I) ampere

V2 − V1
Resistance of the resistor R =
I 2 − I1
13.2 −10.2
=
4− 3
3
= = 3Ω
1
R = 3Ω

 Intext Activities
ACTIVITY - 1
Take a condemned electronic circuit board in a TV remote or old mobile phone.
Look at the electrical symbols used in the circuit. Find out the meaning of the
symbols known to you.

Semi -conductor diode

Capacitor

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 66 Sura’s  Science - 9th Std  Unit 04  Electric charge and electric current

Electrical symbols Meaning

Æ
Light Emitting Diode

Æ
+ –

PNP Transistor

+ –
Battery

+
– Amplifier

Variable resistor
Coil of wire

Wires joined

DC power supply
AC power supply
[End of the activity]
ACTIVITY - 2
Cut an arrow shaped strip from aluminium foil. Ensure that
the head is a fine point. Keep the arrow shaped foil on a
wooden board. Connect a thin pin to two lengths of wire.
Connect the wires to the terminals of electric cell, may be
of 9V. Press one pin onto the pointed tip and other pin at a
point about one or two mm away. Can you see that the tip of
aluminium foil starts melting?
Aim :
To understand the heating effect of electric current.
Materials Required :
Aluminium strip, wooden board, bell pins, cell of 9 V.
Procedure :
Cut an arrow shaped strip from aluminium foil. Keep the arrow shaped foil on a wooden
board. Connect a pin to two lengths of wire. Connect the wires to the terminals of
electric cell of 9 V. Press one pin onto the pointed tip and another pin at a point about
one or two mm away.
Observation :
The tip of aluminium foil starts melting.

It starts melting because the electrons while moving in the wire suffer resistance. Work
is done to overcome the resistance which is converted into heat energy. This conversion
of electrical energy into heating energy is called heating effect of electric current.
[End of the activity]

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 Sura’s  Physics - 9th Std  Unit 04  Electric charge and electric current 67

ACTIVITY - 3
Take a beaker half filled with copper sulphate solution.
Take a carbon rod from a used dry cell. Wind a wire on cell / battery
its upper end. Take a thick copper wire, clean it well and
flatten it with a hammer. Immerse both the copper wire Connecting

and carbon rod in the copper sulphate solution. Connect

wire

the carbon rod to the negative terminal of an electric cell

and copper wire to the positive terminal of the cell. Also Carbonrod Flatened
ensure that the copper and the carbon rod do not touch Copper copper wire

each other, but are close enough. Wait and watch. After sulphate
some time you would find fine copper deposited over the solution
carbon rod. This is called as electroplating. This is due to
the chemical effect of current.
Aim :
Electroplating carbon rod with copper.
Materials Required :
Beaker, copper sulphate solution, carbon rod, thick copper wire and hammer.
Procedure :
‰Take a beaker half filled with copper sulphate solution.
‰Take a carbon rod and wind a wire on its upper end.
‰Take a thick copper wire, clean it well and flatten it with a hammer.
‰Immerse both the copper wire and carbon rod in the copper sulphate solution.
‰‰Connect the carbon rod to the negative terminal of the cell and copper wire to the
positive terminal of the cell.
‰Ensure both the rods do not touch each other, but are close enough.
‰Observe for some time.
Observation :
After some time, we would find fine copper deposited over the carbon rod.
Conclusion :
When the current passes through the copper sulphate solution, the copper ions migrate
from the copper sulphate solution towards the cathode (–ve terminal). These copper ions
get deposited on the carbon rod and form a coating of a fine layer on it.
This process of coating a metal over another metal by electrolysis is called electroplating.
This is due to chemical effect of electric current.

Additional Questions
I. Choose the correct answer :
1. A current of 2A passing through conductor produces 80 J of heat in 10 seconds.
The resistance of the conductor is _______.

[Ans : (b) 2Ω]

2. The resistance of a straight conductor is independent of ______.
(a) temperature (b) material
(c) cross sectional area (d) shape of cross section
[Ans : (d) shape of cross section]

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 9 SCIENCE - TERM 2 SCIENCE WORLD IN TRICHY

UNIT
Electric charge and
2 electric current
5. In an electrolyte the current is due to the
TEXT BOOK EXERCISES flow of,
a) electrons

Y
I. Choose the correct answer b) positive ions

H
c) both (a) and (b)
1. In current electricity, a positive charge

IC
refers to, d) neither (a) nor (b)

TR
a)) presence of electron Ans: c) both (a) and (b)
b)) presence of proton
IN
6. Heating effect of current is called,
c)) absence of electron
a) Joule heating
LD

d)) absence of proton

b) Coulomb heating
Ans: c)) absence of electron c)) voltage heating
R
O

2. Rubbing of comb with hair d)) Ampere heating

W

a)) creates electric charge Ans: a) Joule heating

b)) transfers electric charge
E

7. The following is not a safety device.

c)) either (a) or (b)
C

a)) fuse b)) trip switch

N

d)) neither (a) nor (b)

c)) ground connection d) wire
IE

Ans: b)) transfers electric charge

Ans: d) wire
SC

3. Electric field lines from positive

8. Electroplating is an example for
charge and in negative charge.
a)) heating effect b)) chemical effect
a)) start; start b)) start; end
c)) flowing effect d)) magnetic effect
c)) start: end d)) end; end
Ans: b)) chemical effect
Ans: c)) start: end
4. Potential near a charge is the measure of 9. Resistance of a wire depends on,
its to bring a positive charge at a)) temperature b)) geometry
that point. c)) nature of material d)) all the above
a) force b) abiility
c) tendency d) work Ans: d)) all the above

Ans: d) work
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 9 SCIENCE - TERM 2 SCIENCE WORLD IN TRICHY

10. In India the frequency of alternating IV. Fill in the blanks

current is, 1. Electrons move from potential to
a)) 220 Hz b)) 50 Hz potential.
c)) 5 Hz d)) 100 Hz Ans: high,low
Ans: b)) 50 Hz 2. The direction opposite to the movement
of electron is called current.
II. Match the following
Ans: conventional
1. Electric Charge (a) ohm
2. Potential difference (b) ampere 3. The e.m.f of a cell is analogues to
of a pipe line.
3. Electric field (c) coulomb
4. Resistance (d) newton per Ans: pump

Y
coulomb 4. The domestic electricity in India is an ac

H
5. Electric current (e) volt with a frequency of Hz.

IC
Ans: 50

TR
Ans:
5. Trip switch is a safety device.
1. Electric Charge (a) coulomb
Ans: electro mechanical
IN
2. Potential difference (b) volt
V. Conceptual questions
3. Electric field (c) newton per coulomb
LD

4. Resistance (d) ohm 1. A bird sitting on a high power electric line

is still safe. How?
R

5. Electric current (e) ampere

a) Electricity flows along the path of least
O

(low) resistance. Birds have high resistance.

W

III. True or False b) Birds are not good conductors of

electricity. Their cell and tissue don't offer
E

1. Electrically neutral means it is either zero electrons an easier route.

C

or equal positive and negative charges. As a result the electricity by passes the bird.
N

2. Two resistors 12Ω and 6Ω are first

Ans: True
IE

connected in series and then in parallel.

2. Ammeter is connected in parallel in any
SC

The current-voltage graph for the two

electric circuit. connections will be represented by which
Ans: False lines in the graph?

3. The anode in electrolyte is negative.

Ans: False A
Voltage (V)

4. Current can produce magnetic field.

B
Ans: True
5. Electric fuse works on Joule heating
principle.
Current (I) https://
Ans: True
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 9 SCIENCE - TERM 2 SCIENCE WORLD IN TRICHY

Resistance in the parallel circuit is less than the VI. Answer the following
resistance in series. The slope of line B is less than 1. On what factors does the electrostatic
the slope of line A. Hence the resistance of line B force between two charges depend?
is less than the resistance of line A.Thus the line
i. value of charges on them,
B represent parallel circuit and the line A
ii. distance between them and
represent series circuit.
iii. nature of medium between them.
3. Does a solar cell always maintain the
potential across its terminals constant? 2. What are electric lines of force?
Discuss. The electric lines of force are straight or
curved paths along which a unit positive
The potencial across the terminals of the
charge tends to move in the electric field.
solar cell changes according to the intensity

Y
of the sun.
3. Define electric field.

H
It gives high potencial at high temperature Electric field at a point is a measure of

IC
and low potencial at low temperature. force acting on a unit positive charge
placed at that point.
4. What is the efective resistance across the

TR
terminals a and b of the arrangement of
4. Define electric current and give its unit.
resistors?
IN
Current is the rate at which charges flow
a past a point on a circuit. The standard SI
LD

R unit for current is ampere with the

symbol A.
R R R
R
O

b
5. State Ohm’s law.
W

Ohm’s law states that electric potential

Resistance in series combination = Rs = R1+R2 difference across two points in an
E

= 2R electrical.circuit is directly proportional to

C

the current passing through it Ohm’s law is

Resistance in parallel
}
N

1/Rp = 1/R1 +1/R2 written as, V = I R

combination
IE

1/Rp = 1/R +1/R+ 1/2R

6. On what factor does the resistance of a
SC

1/Rp = 2+2+1/2R
= 5/2R wire depend at a particular temperature?
R =2/5 R Ω
The resistance offered by a material at a
particular temperature depends on the,
5. Can electroplating be possible with
i. geometry of the material and
alternating current?
In case of alternating current, the ii. nature of the material.
direction of current keeps changing. Due
to this the metallic ions in the electrolyte 7. Name any two appliances which work
keep shunting between electrodes,that under the principle of heating effect of
keep changing polarity. Hence current.
electroplating cannot be possible with Iron box, Water Heater , toster
alternating current.
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 9 SCIENCE - TERM 2 SCIENCE WORLD IN TRICHY
8. Draw a circuit with a 2Ω and 5Ω resistors VII. Exercises
in series. Connect another 3Ω resistor
1. Rubbing a comb on hair makes the comb
parallel to the above connection.
get – 0.4C. (a) Find which material has
lost electron and which one gained it.
(b) Find how many electrons are
transferred in this process.

i) Hair lost the electrons ,Comb gain the

9. How are the home appliances connected in electron
general, in series or parallel. Give reasons. ii) The number of electrons transfered is 4
Parallel circuit 2. Calculate the amount of charge that would
In a house there are many electrical flow in 2 hours through an element of an

Y
appliances that have to run indipendent of electric bulb drawing a current of 2.5A.

H
each other. If one appliance is turned on or
t = 2 hrs
off it should not affect the other appliances.

IC
When appliances are connected in a parallel =2x60x60=7200 sec

TR
arrangement, each of them can be put 'on' I =2.5A
and 'off ' indipendently. This is a feature
that is essential in a house wiring.
IN I =q/t
When house wiring is done in q =It=2.5x7200=18000C
parallel the potential difference across each
LD

appliance is the same and equal to the 3. The values of current I flowing through a
potencial difference being provided by the resistor for various potential differences V
R

power company (House). across the resistor are given below. What
O

10. List the safety features while handling is the value of resistor?
W

with electricity.
I (ampere) 0.5 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0
Ground connection
E

V (volt) 1.6 3.4 6.7 10.2 13.2

The metal bodies of all the electrical appliances
C

are to be connected to the ground by means of a [Hint: plot V-I a graph and take slope]
N

third wire apart from the two wires used for

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electrical connection. S.No V(Volt) R=V/IΩ

I(Ampere)
SC

Trip switch 1 0.5 1.6 3.2

2 1.0 3.4 3.4
It is an electromechanical device which does not 3 2.0 6.7 3.35
allow a current beyond a particular value by 4 3.0 10.2 3.4
automatically switching off the connection. We 5 4.0 13.2 3.3
have trip switches of various current ratings used
for specific purposes. It works on relay principle. Average Resistance (R=R1+R2+….+R5)

Fuse
A fuse is another safety mechanism which works =(3.2+3.4+3.35+3.4+3.3)/5
on joule heating principle. Fuse is a wire made up
of a Nickel and Chromium alloy which has a =3.33Ω
definite melting point. If current passes through
the fuse beyond a particular desired value, the
excess heat produced melts the fuse wire, thus the
electrical connection is cut-off.
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 9 SCIENCE - TERM 2 SCIENCE WORLD IN TRICHY

5. A wire of resistance 10 Ω is bent in

the form of a circle .Find the effective
resistance between the points A and B
which lies on the diameter.

R/2 Total Resistance R=10 Ω

a b
above AB R/2=5 Ω

below AB R/2=5 Ω

Resistance in parallel:1/R = 1/R1+1/R2

R/2 =1/5+1/5=2/5

Y
4. Find the value of current in the circuit.

H
R=2.5 Ω

IC
I yovanpetertrichy.blogspot.com

TR
2v 30Ω 30Ω
IN
30Ω
LD

Resistance in series Rs=R1+R2

R

=30+30=60Ω
O

Resistance in parallel 1/Rp=1/Rs+1/R2

W

1/R=1/60+1/30
E

1/R=1+2/60 Prepared by
C

=3/60
Z.YASMIN,M.Sc.,B.Ed.,
N

=1/20 R B.T ASST SCIENCE

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Rp=20 Ω CHENNAI HIGH SCHOOL

SHARMA NAGAR, CHENNAI-39.
SC

V=IR
I = V/R
= 2/20
=1/10
I = 0.1A

.................................*********************...............................

97864 51463
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