Electrical Energy in the Home
Discuss how the main sources of domestic
energy have changed over time
Assess some of the impacts of change in,
and increased access to, sources of energy
for the community
Discuss some of the ways in which
electricity can be provided in remote
locations
Describe the behaviour of electrostatic
charges and the properties of the fields
associated with them
30000BC- The first main source of domestic energy used by humans was wood.
This was utilised by using flints and dry wood.
10,000BC- Wood and then came domesticated animals. Animals were used to
tend the land and to transport people.
3000BC- Wood and water and wind. Boats were used as transport and water
was used to run the mills.
1750AD- Wood was expensive and running out so coal was starting to be used.
Steam engines were invented. This was the industrial revolution.
1850AD- The generator was invented. Coal was being researched to be used as a
runner for the generator
1900AD- 1950 AD- All countries became dependant on coal.
Now- Coal is still mainly used but renewable energy such as solar and
geothermal are being researched. Nuclear energy.
Man could live together and populations increased as wood became more
prevalent. Fire could provide warmth, protection, cooking, etc
Animals increased food production, surpluses as well as reducing labour. The
use of wind and water made food production easier
Industrial revolution lead to mass migration of workers from rural to urban.
Slums and disease became prevalent. Pollution due to air and noise.
Coal was used for lighting and social activity at night increased
Electric motors and generators decreased pollution in cities.
Very expensive diesel powered generators must be used. Solar powered
telephones allowed use of phones and social contact
Electro static charges
Electrons flow from positive to negative
Electrostatic charges create a field of charge. This field becomes less intense the
further you are away from it. There are 2 types of charges:
o Positive
o Negative
Fields
A field is a region in which some quantity in physics has a value at every point in
the region.
o Gravitational field- a region where a mass will experience a force
o Magnetic field- a region in which a magnetic substance will
experience a force
A electric field exists at a point if a charge at that point experiences a force
A positive charge will experience a force in the direction of the field.
A negative charge will experience a force in the opposite direction to the
field.
 Electrostatic charges

Field lines around unlike charges Field lines around like charges

Field vectors
The electric field is a vector quantity and can be represented by arrows.and
can be represented by arrows.
The closeness indicates the magnitude
Define the unit of electric charge as the Electric charge is measured in coulombs. One coulomb is equivalent to the
coulomb charge of 6.25 10 electrons.
8

19
The charge on one electron is 1.6 10 C.
19
The charge on one proton is 1.6 10 C.

Define the electric field as a field of force F

with a field strength equal to the force per E
unit charge at that point: q
= electric field strength (newton/coulomb) (NC-1)
= force (newton) (N)
= electric charge (coulomb) (C)
Example Problem:
Rearranged, =
Question:

Calculate the electric force acting on a

charge of 5C placed in and electric
field of 2000 N.C-1 acting north.

Solution:

F qE
5 10 6 2000
1 10 2 N north
1 10 2 N south

Define electric current as the rate at which Current is the rate at which charge flows. 1 ampere = 1 coulomb/second
charge flows (coulombs/second or Conventional current runs from + to -. The electron movement is in the
amperes) under the influence of an electric
fields
Identify that current can be either direct
with the net flow of charge carriers moving
in one direction or alternating with the
charge carriers moving forwards and
backwards periodically
Discuss how potential difference (voltage)
changes between different points in DC
circuit
Define resistance as the ratio of voltage to
current for a particular conductor
Describe qualitatively how each of the
following effects the movement of
electricity through a conductor
o Length
o Cross sectional area
o Temperature
o Material
Identify the difference between series and
opposite direction of conventional current.
The ampere is the unit of electric current. Voltage pushes the current. =
o I = current
o Q= charge
o T= seconds
This is known as AC (Alternating Current) and DC (Direct Current).
DC current AC current
Fig.
In DC circuits the current flows at a constant strength in the same direction. However
in AC circuits the current changes its direction of flow at a rate of 50Hz a second.
Decreases as it move around the circuit. The voltage is lost as the electrons move
around the circuit. You are measuring the energy lost by the electrons as you push
through the resistor.
This formula is known as Ohms law and can be rearranged, = .
o V= voltage
o I= current
o R= resistance
Non ohmic resistors do not follow Ohms law and there is no single value for
the resistance.
The higher the resistance, the higher the voltage.
The sum of the potential difference around the circuit is the same as the
total voltage drop for the entire circuit.
Low Resistance High Resistance
short long
thin
thick
High temperature
Low temperature
The longer the material the higher the resistance is.
The larger the cross sectional area the lower the resistance is. So the thicker
the wire then lower the resistance.
The higher the temperature of a material, the higher the resistance is.
Different materials have different resistances. This is called the resistivity of
that material. (shown by the longitudinal cross section)
Series is when the components line up after one another, thus there is only 1
parallel circuits path.
In parallel there are multiple paths.
In parallel, if one light goes out, the rest will still work. All devices receive the
highest voltage
in series, if one goes out, the rest wont work. All devices receive different
voltages

Circuits
A circuit is a closed loop that electrons can travel in. There must be an battery, resistor and an switch.

Compare parallel and series circuits in term
of voltage across components and current
through them
In a series circuit voltage is divided evenly throughout the components, with
current being the same max current throughout all the components. In the
series circuit each light will be half the brightness than if there was only one.
In a parallel circuit it is opposite, voltage is the same max voltage throughout
the components, with current being divided evenly throughout the
components. The lights have the same brightness no matter how many are
added.
 In parallel: In Series:

VTOTAL V1 V2 V3 I TOTAL I1 I 2 I 3

I TOTAL I1 I 2 I 3 VTOTAL V1 V2 V3

1 1 1 1 RTOTAL R1 R2 R3

RTOTAL R1 R2 R3

Explain why ammeters and voltmeters are
connected differently in a circuit
An ammeter is used to measure the current flowing in an electrical circuit or
in part of a circuit. The ammeter is placed in series in a circuit to enable it to
sample the current that it is to measure. The ammeter is designed so that it
has a very low resistance, so that it does not alter the current flowing in the
circuit.
A voltmeter is used to measure the potential difference across an electrical
circuit or across elements in a circuit. The voltmeter is placed in
parallel with an element to enable it to measure the difference in potential
between one end of the element and the other.

Explain why there are different circuits for
lighting, heating and other appliances in a
house
Explain that power is the rate at which
energy is transformed from one to another
There is a limit to the amount of electrical energy that can be safely carried
by household circuits.
If there are too many power points to wire into one circuit, one or more
other circuits will be used.
There will always be at least two different circuits the lighting and power
circuits. These are kept separate since the lighting circuit usually requires a
smaller fuse than the power circuit.
The power circuit hold the power points. The lighting uses parallel and
series. In rooms, parallel circuits are uses.
Power is the rate at which energy is transformed from one form to another.

Identify the relationship between power, Power is measured in watts and has the following equations:
potential difference and current = ., (Power = Voltage Current)

= , (Power = Energy (work) / Time)

= 2 R (current squared X resistance)
 1
Milliwatt = ()
1000

Kilowatt = 1000 watt (kW)

Megawatt = 1,000,00 watt (MW)

Example
An angle grinder operating on the 250V AC supply from a power point has a rating of
550 w. What current is the grinder drawing?

V= 240, P= 550, I= 550/240 = 2.91 Amps

Identify that the total amount of energy
used depends on the length of time the
current is flowing and can be calculated
using:
Energy = VIt
Explain why the kilowatt hour is used to
measure electrical energy consumption
instead of joule
Solve problems and analyse information
using: P=VI and Energy = VIt
Energy = Voltage Current Time
Energy = Power Time
Energy is measured in joules (J).
1 kWh is 1 kW every hour. The kWh is used to measure energy consumption. It would
be easier to calculate how much the cost of electricity usage is.
Question:
If electricity costs 15c per kWh calculate i) the energy consumed ii) the cost of using:
a 100W globe and a 1kW radiator for 3 hours.
Solution:
i) (100 + 1000) 3 60 60= 11880000J OR 11.88MJ
ii) 1.1kW 3 0.15 = $0.495

Define the behaviour of the magnetic poles The North and South poles of a magnet act like + and charges respectively. Like
of bar magnets when they are bought close poles repel, opposite poles attract. The magnetic field is in the direction North to
together South.

Magnetic fields
Electric currents produce magnetic fields. In fact, any moving charge has a magnetic
field associated with it. These magnetic fields are the same as those produced by
ordinary bar magnets. The arrows point away from the positive but towards the
negative

In the right hand grip rule, the extended thumb points in the direction of the
conventional current and the curved fingers show the direction of the
magnetic field.

Magnetic fields caused by currents

Since every moving charge has a magnetic field
associated with it, a current must also have a
magnetic field associated with it.
, the magnetic fields of the component charges
add together to produce circular magnetic
field lines concentric about the conductor.

The direction of the field is given by the Right Hand Grip Rule, which
states: Hold the thumb of the right hand in the direction of the
conventional current flow through the conductor.
The direction in which the fingers of the right hand naturally curl around
the conductor, is the direction of the magnetic field.
In the example below, the X in the middle of the conductor indicates that
the current is flowing down into the page, perpendicular to the page. The
 field is then clockwise, looking from above the page, by the RH Grip Rule.
Xs are used to show only the
direction of the field above or below. Dots (.)
are used to show the magnetic field coming
out.

Solenoids
A solenoid is simply a coil of insulated wire. If we pass a current through a
solenoid, we find that the solenoid has a magnetic field similar to that of a bar
magnet.

speakers
A speaker is composed of a magnet, a coil of insulated wire and a cone. When a
voice goes through, the current fluctuates, the magnetic field fluctuates as well .
Since there is an magnetic field created, the electromagnet vibrates back and forth
and the attraction/repulsion varies. The electromagnet is attached to a cone, so
that vibrates sending compression waves.

The effects of electrical shock

Electric shock occurs when an electric current passes through the body and causes a violent disturbance of the nervous system. The
distance of the nervous system produces effects on the muscles on the body. In household situations, electric shock most
commonly happens when a person who is in contact with the ground touches something that is live in contact with the active
wire. An electric current can cause muscles to prevent breathing.

Current (mA) Effect

Up to 0.5 mA Undetected
0.5- 1.0 Tingling sensation in muscles close to the skin
1.0- 15 Muscles contract and dont let go, causes pain at contact point
15- 100 Severe electrical shock occurs
Surface and deep tissue burns
Defibrillation of heart muscles
100-200 Fibrillation leading to death,
Above 150 mA, difficulty in breathing
Above 120mA, depending on exposure time, can be fatal
200 Exposure for 0.5 second can cause death
Causes reversible stopping of heart
Victim loses consciousness

Electrical safety
 Never overload plugs with extension boards
Make sure plugs and adapters are fully inserted
Never fiddle with circuits
Dont use electrical appliances in wet conditions
Check electrical appliances for worn cords

Short circuits
When electricity takes the easiest path with no resistors, a short circuit occurs. This happens when wire insulation has disappeared
and when bare wire from different wires come into contact. When this happens, the resistance decreases and more current flows.

Safety devices
Insulation- Individual electrical conducting wires are covered with insulating material such as PVC (polyvinyl chloride) or
plastic to prevent leakage of current. Light switches and power point plates are made from hard plastics.
Earth wires- this earth wire is connected to the ground and is a wire used to direct electricity. If a fault within the appliance
results in current from the active wire leaking to the metal body of the appliance, the current will flow safely to the ground
via the earth wire.
Fuses- a small piece of conductor with a low melting point. if too much current is drawn for too long a time, the fuse simply
melts, thus breaking the circuit and protecting the wiring.
circuit breaker- A electromagnet or a metal strip is used. if too much current is drawn for too long, the circuit breaker
opens, breaking the circuit and protecting the wiring. When it cools down, the strip returns to its original shape
reconnecting the circuit