PhysicsCode 5054
Electrical current
What this topic asks you to be able to do
- Define electric current as the amount of charge that flows past a point in each unit of time; recall electric current = charge / time, I = Q / t, and use this equation
- Describe how metals conduct electricity through the movement of free electrons
- Know that the unit for current is the amp (amperes), and that an amp corresponds to one coulomb per second (C/s)
- understand what separates direct current (d.c.) from alternating current (a.c.)
- State that conventional current runs from the positive terminal to the negative one, whereas free electrons move from negative towards positive
- outline how analogue and digital ammeters are used when they have different ranges