The electrons flow from the negative terminal to the positive terminal of the battery. By convention, the direction of current is taken as the direction of flow of positive charge (or) opposite to the direction of flow of electrons . Thus, electric current passes in the circuit from the positive terminal to the negative terminal. .
. Electrical components The electric circuit given in Figure . consists of different components, such as a battery, a switch and a bulb. All these components can be represented by using certain symbols.
It is easier to represent the components of a circuit using their respective symbols. The symbols that are used to represent some commonly used components are given in Table . . The uses of these components are also summarized in the table.
. ELECTRIC POTENTIAL AND POTENTIAL DIFFERENCE You are now familiar with the water current and air current. You also know that there must be a difference in temperature between two points in a solid for the heat to flow in it. Similarly, a difference in electric potential is needed for the flow of electric charges in a conductor.
In the conductor, the charges will flow from a point in it, which is at a higher electric potential to a point, which is at a lower electric potential. . . Electric Potential The electric potential at a point is defined as the amount of work done in moving a unit positive charge from infinity to that point against the electric force.
. . Electric Potential Difference The electric potential difference between two points is defined as the amount of work done in moving a unit positive charge from one point to another point against the electric force. Q A B Figure .
Electric potential Suppose, you have moved a charge Q from a point A to another point B. Let ‘W’ be the work done to move the charge from A to B. Then, the potential difference between the points A and B is given by the following expression: Potential = ( . ) Difference (V) Potential difference is also equal to the difference in the