YEAR 11 IGCSE PHYSICS SHORTHAND NOTES

Chapter 4 Electricity and Magnetism

Prepared by: Chern Jiek Lee

4.1 Simple phenomena of magnetism

Magnets have these properties:

-has a magnetic field around it
-has 2 opposite poles (North or north-seeking pole and South or south-seeking
pole) which exert forces on other magnets. Like poles repel and unlike poles
attract.
-will attract magnetic materials by inducing (permanent or temporary)
magnetism in them.
-will exert little or no force on a non-magnetic material

Induced magnetism: magnets attract materials by inducing magnetism in

them, in other words the material becomes a magnet as well. The side of the
material facing the magnet will become the opposite pole as the magnet.

Ferrous material: magnetic – anything which contains iron, nickel, or cobalt

can be magnetised

Non-ferrous material: non-magnetic e.g. copper, grass, ketchup, butter, wood,

ass-gravy (poop) etc.

Magnetisation methods:
-inducing magnetism produces a weak magnet. It can be magnetised strongly
by stroking with one end of a magnet, in one direction.
-the most effective method is to place the metal in a long coil of wire (solenoid)
and pass a large DC (direct current) through the coil.

Demagnetisation methods:

-SMASH IT WITH A HAMMER, dropping etc.

-heating to a high temperature
-solenoid method but with alternating current

Iron vs. steel: iron is a soft ferromagnetic material meaning it will magnetise
and demagnetise easily. Steel is a hard ferromagnetic material meaning it is
hard to magnetise and demagnetise. Soft ferromagnetic materials are used to
create temporary magnets, for example the magnets which lift cars in a rubbish
dump, or the magnet in a circuit breaker. Hard ferromagnetic materials are used
to create permanent magnets like fridge magnets, horse-shoe magnets.

The magnetic field lines go from north to south. The north pole of a magnet
can be found by placing a compass near the magnet. The needle will point the
direction of the magnetic field line.
4.2 Electrical quantities 1.25 x 1018 electrons flow
through a conductor in 5
seconds. Calculate the
Electrical charge, Q consist of either ‘+’ or ‘-’ charge. The SI unit for charge current flowing in the
is in coulomb. Like charges repel each other while opposite charges attract. conductor.
Electrons are the cause of the charge. Remember that electrons are negatively
charged. Each electron has a charge of 1.6x10-19 C. When electrons flow into
a neutral object, the object becomes negatively charged. Likewise when
electrons are removed from a neutral object it becomes more positively
charged.

Current, I is defined as the rate of charge flow in a circuit.

𝑄 Try these…….
𝐼=
𝑡

Where I is the electric current measured in ampere (A), Q is the charge (C) and
t is the time is seconds.

Note: The current always flows in the opposite direction of the electron.

An electric field is a region where electrical charges experience electric force.

They are usually represented by arrow lines. ‘+’ charges have arrows that are
pointing outwards while ‘-’ charges have arrows that are pointing inwards (see
below). Also a stronger electric field is indicated by more lines. The field is
also stronger at the source and vice versa.

You can combine ‘+’ and ‘-’ fields to get more exotic shapes (see below).
 The potential difference
across a conductor is 240 V.
What is the work done to
transfer 20 C of charge
across a conductor.?

Potential difference is defined as the work done to transfer one unit of charge
across two points of different potential (charge).

𝑊
𝑉=
𝑄

Here V is the potential difference in volts (V), W is the work done in

and Q is the charge in . The potential difference
across two metal plates is
Resistance, R of a conductor is the opposition to an electrical current. The 120 V. What is the number
higher the resistance of a conductor the more work needs to be applied to push of electrons transferred
the same amount of current through a conductor (Think friction when pushing across the plate if 960 J of
a box). Resistance is measured in ohms, Ω. Ohm’s Law states that the potential energy is dissipated during
difference, V is directly proportional to the current, I that flows through a the process?
conductor. This law is only obeyed provided that the temperature and other
physical properties remain constant and that the conductor is ohmic. Ask me
what is the difference between an ohmic and non-ohmic conductor.

Mathematical explanation,

Several factors affect the resistance of a conductor:

1) The length of the conductor: The longer the length of the conductor,
the
its resistance.
2) Diameter or area of the conductor: The bigger the area of the
conductor, the its resistance.
3) Temperature of the conductor: The higher the temperature of the
conductor, the its resistance.
4) The type of material of a conductor: depends on material type
(conductive or insulative type).
4.3 Electrical circuits

Series Parallel

I= I=

V= V=

R= R=

What if I combined the circuits?

Like this

Or…… Like this

Electromotive force (e.m.f) vs potential difference.

Welcome to the big confusion which is e.m.f and potential difference aka
Volts! There is a very small distinction between the both of them so people
often get confused. So pay attention…..

As you know (you should at this point…) the potential difference, V is defined
as the work done to move a unit of charge across a component (i.e. resistors,
capacitors, inductors, wires, etc.). Potential difference is measured in volts.
The definition for electromotive force or e.m.f of a cell is defined as the work Try proving
done by the cell to drive a unit of charge around a complete circuit.
𝑉2
𝑊= 𝑡
𝑅
Electricity as energy and power

Recall that

𝑊
𝑉=
𝑄

and
240 V
𝑄
𝐼=
𝑡
12A
and Ohm’s law where

𝑉
=𝑅 Calculate the amount of
𝐼
energy dissipated after 5
minutes.

By playing around with both equations I can come up with different equations:

𝑊 = 𝑉𝐼𝑡

Proof:

3.125x1019 electrons flow

𝑊 = 𝐼 2 𝑅𝑡
through a light bulb in 2.5
seconds when a battery with
potential difference 3V is
connected to the bulb. If the
charge of electron is 1.6x10-
19
C, calculate
Recall that power is the rate of word done or rate of energy transferred i.e.
a) the energy dissipated
𝑊 b) the electrical power
𝑃=
𝑡

Depending on the info given in the question, the above equation can be written
in many forms eg.

𝑄𝑉
𝑃=
𝑡

𝑃 = 𝑉𝐼

𝑃 = 𝐼2 𝑅
 𝑉2
𝑃=
𝑅

Action and use of circuit components

Semiconductor is a class of crystalline solid with conductivity between a

conductor and an insulator. Examples of semiconductors are silicon,
germanium, boron, tellurium and selenium.

A silicon semiconductor has 4 valence electrons. Each of these 4 electrons are

shared with another 4 silicon atoms to form 4 pairs of covalent bond. The
bonded valence electrons are not free to move. Therefore it’s not a good
conductor at room temperature. At room temperature, a silicone crystal acts
approximately like an insulator because only a few free electrons and holes are
presence.

Free electron and hole

If a bonded electron absorbs heat energy from the surrounding, it may be

promoted to a higher energy level. These electrons are free to move when they
are at a higher energy level. If an electron is promoted to a higher level, a
vacancy is left in the valence shell, and it is called a hole. A hole has the
tendency to pull electrons therefore it carries a positive charge. Both free
electrons and holes can help to conduct electric current making the
semiconductor conducive. As the temperature increases, more electrons get
promoted thus creating more holes. Therefore, it can be said that conductivity
increase as the temperature increases.
Since electrons carry a negative charge and holes carry a positive charge, when
a potential difference is applied to the semiconductor, the electrons and holes
will start to flow. The electrons will flow to the negative terminal while holes
will flow to the positive terminal.

Doping a semiconductor

One way to increase the conductivity of a semiconductor is by doping. Doping

is the a process of adding a small amount of impurities to a semiconductor
called dopants. Semiconductors are named after the types of impurities doped

1) the n-type semiconductor

Produced by doping pentavalent atoms into a semiconductor. Form

covalent bonds with the silicon atoms around. Since
pentavalence atom has 5 electrons, there is electron left over and it
is a free electron. More pentavalance means greater conductivity for
the semiconductor. Since negative charge carrier (the electrons)
outnumber the positive charge carrier (the holes), the semiconductor
is called an n-type semiconductor, where n stands for negative.

2) the p-type semiconductor

 Produced by doping atoms into a semiconductor.
Forms covalent bonds with the silicon atoms around. Since the
trivalent atom has only three valence electrons and each neighbour
shares one electron, only seven electrons are in the valence orbit. This
means a hole exists in the valence orbit of each trivalent atom. The
more trivalent impurities that is added, the greater the conductivity of
the semiconductor. Since the carrier outnumber the
carrier, the semiconductor is called a p-type of
semiconductor, where the p stands for positive.

Diodes

We can produce a single crystal with p-type semiconductor on one side and n-
type on the other side. The border where both regions meet is called the p-n
junction. At the junction, electrons from the n-type semiconductor will be
attracted to the holes in the p-type semiconductor. As a result the holes and
electrons at the junction disappear, forming a depletion layer. At the same time
the p-type semiconductor becomes more negative and the n-type becomes
more positive. This results in potential difference across the p-n junction. This
potential difference is called the junction voltage. The junction voltage
prevents the charge carrier from flowing across the depletion layer.

Forward bias

In a forward bias arrangement, the negative source is connected to the n-type

material and vice versa. Current has no problem flowing in a forward-biased
silicone diode.
If you turn the dc source around, you will get reverse-bias
arrangement…………..
The negative battery terminal attracts the holes while the positive terminal
attracts the electrons. Because of this the electrons and holes flow away from
the junction widening the depletion layer.

So you might at this point think why do we need this……… We need this for
something called half-wave rectification. Diodes are known commonly as
rectifiers. They can be used to change a.c. to d.c. The image below shows how
a diode allows only the positive half of the original a.c. current to pass through.

You might be asking at this point if there is a half-wave rectification is there a

full-wave rectification? As it turns out, there is…..

This can be done using a bridge rectifier or using a transformer and two diodes
shown below
After which we can smoothen the peaks using a capacitor. A capacitor charges
up when current flows from the diode, then discharges through the load when
the current from the diode is zero. Now the current is finally useful.

Transistors

Another application of semiconductors are transistors. A transistor consists of

a) the emitter (e),

b) the base (b)
c) the collector (c)

In a transistor, the emitter emits charge carriers (free electrons or holes). The
charge carriers move towards the base. The charge carriers will then pass
through the thin base layer and to be collected by the collector. There are 2
types of transistors:

a) npn transistor
b) pnp transistor

npn transistor pnp transistor

From the figure above you can see two circuits; the base and collector circuit.

S1 S2 B1 B2

Open Open Does not light Does not light

up up

Close Open Light up Does not light

up

Open Close Does not light Does not light

up up

Close Close Light up Light up

Basically what the above table is showing is that the collector circuit is
controlled by the base circuit. Current will flow in the collector circuit when
there is current going through the base. However, when base current, IB is zero
the collector current, IC is automatically zero as well. In general,

𝐼𝐸 = 𝐼𝐵 + 𝐼𝐶

where IE is the emitter current. Another thing is that

𝐼𝐸 > 𝐼𝐶 > 𝐼𝐵

The most important role of a transistor is current amplification. A transistor

can be used to amplify current changes because a small change in the base
current, IB produces a large change in collector current, IC. The following graph
shows the relationship between the base current and collector current:
The ratio of IB/IC is called the amplification factor.

𝐼𝐶
𝐴𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑖𝑓𝑐𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝐹𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑟 =
𝐼𝐵
Applications of transistor:
1) Sound amplifier
2) Automatic switch

Logic gates

A logic gate is a physical device that performs a logical operation on one or

more logical inputs and produces only one logical output. Basically…….

The input or output is either high (1) or low (0). The 5 basic logics gates are
a) AND
b) OR
c) NOT
d) NAND
e) NOR

AND OR NOT NAND NOR

X=A∙B X=A+B X=A¯¯

Truth Truth Truth Truth Truth

Table Table Table Table Table
I O I O I O I O I O
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 1
0 1 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 1 0
1 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 1 1 0 0
1 1 1
1 1 1 1 1 0 1 1 0
Logic gates can also be combined

INPUT OUTPUT

INPUT A B X Y Z
OUTPUT

A B X Y Z

0 0

0 1

1 0

1 1

INPUT OUTPUT

A B X Y Z

0 0 1 1
0 1
1 0
1 0
0 1
1 1
0 0
4.4 Dangers of electricity

Damaged insulation: contact with the wire (live wire especially) due to gap in
the insulation causes electric shock which can cause serious injury or shock.

Overheating of cables: when long extension leads are coiled up, they may
overheat. The current warms the wire, but the heat has less area to escape
from a tight bundle. This might cause a fire.

Damp conditions: water can conduct a current, so if electrical equipment is

wet someone might get electrocuted YAY!

Fuses: a thin piece of wire which overheats and melts (the fuse ‘blows’) if
the current is too high. It is placed on the live wire before the switch. This
prevents overheating and catching fire. A fuse will have a specific current
value (e.g. 13A) so when choosing a suitable fuse you must use the one
which can have the lowest current value but over the current value of the
appliance.

The plug:

Circuit breakers: an automatic switch which if the current rises over a

specified value, the electromagnet pulls the contacts apart, breaking the circuit.
The reset button is to rest everything. It works like a fuse but is better because
it can be reset.

4.5 Electromagnetic effects

When a magnet (a permanent one) is moved in and out of a solenoid, the

magnetic field flux of the magnet is being cut by the coil. This in turn induces
an e.m.f in the wire. If the solenoid is connected to a closed circuit as seen
below, the induced current will flow through the circuit. The production of
electric current by changing magnetic field is called electromagnetic induction.
Current is only induced when the magnet or solenoid is moving relative to one
another. The direction of induced current can be determined from Lenz’s Law
and Faraday’s Law.
 Current induced in a
straight wire example. Find
the direction of the induced
current.

Faraday’s Law: The magnitude of the induced e.m.f. is directly proportional

to the rate of change of magnetic flux through a solenoid or the rate of the
magnetic flux being cut. In a nutshell what he was trying to say was move the
magnet faster or use a stronger magnet or increase the number of coils in the
solenoid.

Lenz’s Law: The induced current always flows in the direction that opposes
the change in magnetic flux. This law obeys the conservation of energy
principle. Work is done to move the magnet against the repulsive force. This
work done is converted to electric energy (current).

Induced EMF and Current in a Straight Wire

When a straight conductor (e.g. wire) moves and cut a magnetic field (example
is on the right pane), e.m.f. will be induced across the conductor. If the
conductor is a complete circuit, current will flow in the conductor. The
direction of current can be determined by using Flemming’s RHR.

Induced EMF and Current in a Solenoid

When a bar magnet is moving into a solenoid, the solenoid will cut the
magnetic flux of the bar magnet. This will induce a current and e.m.f. in the
solenoid. The induced current will produce another magnetic field around it.
The pole of the magnetic field and direction of the induced current can be
determined by using Lenz’s Law.

Some applications of electromagnetic induction are:

1) DC Generator
2) AC Generator
Transformer A transformer is used to
step down a mains voltage
A transformer is a device that is used to raise or lower the potential difference of 240 V a.c. to 24 V a.c. If
of an alternating current. Shown below is a typical transformer with all its this transformer has a
components primary coil of 20000 turns,
how many turns are there in
the secondary coil?

A transformer has 400 turns

in its primary coil and 2000
turns in its secondary coil.
An a.c. supply of 6V is
connected to the primary
coil and the secondary coil
Important: The input current goes through the primary winding first
is connected to a 15W bulb,
before exiting through the secondary winding.
which lights up with normal
brightness. If the
A transformer consists of a primary and secondary coil wound on a soft iron
transformer is ideal
core. When an a.c current flows in the primary coil, a changing magnetic flux
calculate,
is generated around the primary coil. The changing flux is transferred to the
a) the secondary
secondary coil through the iron core. The flux is then cut by the secondary coil,
voltage, 𝑉𝑠
hence inducing an e.m.f in the secondary coil. The magnitude of the output
b) the current in the
voltage can be controlled by the ratio of the number of primary and secondary
secondary coil, 𝐼𝑠
coil.
c) the input power,
𝑃𝑖𝑛𝑝𝑢𝑡
Important: The current in the primary circuit must be a.c. because a.c.
can produce changing magnetic flux. A changing magnetic flux is needed d) and current in the
to induce e.m.f. in the secondary coil. The induced current is also a.c. and primary coil, 𝐼𝑃
has the same frequency.
Step up vs step down transformer

Step-up transformer Step-down transformer

𝑁𝑃 < 𝑁𝑠 𝑁𝑃 > 𝑁𝑠

𝑉𝑃 < 𝑉𝑠 𝑉𝑃 > 𝑉𝑠

𝐼𝑃 > 𝐼𝑠 𝐼𝑃 < 𝐼𝑠

In an ideal transformer the input power is equal to the output power. Recall
from the previous section that for electricity

𝑃 = 𝑉𝐼

Therefore input power,

𝑃𝑖𝑛𝑝𝑢𝑡 = 𝑉𝑃 𝐼𝑝

and output power

𝑃𝑜𝑢𝑡𝑝𝑢𝑡 = 𝑉𝑆 𝐼𝑆

For an ideal transformer,

𝑉𝑃 𝐼𝑝 = 𝑉𝑆 𝐼𝑆
Also,
𝑉𝑃 𝑁𝑃
=
𝑉𝑠 𝑁𝑠

However in real life applications no transformer is ideal. This is due to heat

loss which causes the output power to be less than the input. Therefore the
efficiency of a transformer is always less than 100%. Recall that efficiency is
output over input.

𝑃𝑜𝑢𝑡𝑝𝑢𝑡
𝐸𝑓𝑓𝑖𝑐𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑦 = × 100%
𝑃𝑖𝑛𝑝𝑢𝑡
There are 4 factors that cause energy loss in a transformer. In SPM you’ll have
to remember all of them.
1) Heating effect in the coils
2) Eddy currents in iron core
3) Magnetisation and demagnetisation of the core
4) Leakage of magnetic flux

Electromagnets

An electromagnet is a temporary magnet made by winding an insulated wire

around a soft iron core, forming a coil known as a solenoid. When current
passes through the solenoid it produces a magnetic field. The solenoid is said
to magnetised and becomes and electromagnet. Which one shows the
magnetic field lines
Magnetic field patterns: generated by a) a coil and b)
a straight wire?
Straight wire

Use your Right Hand when you want to determine the magnetic field patterns!
Your thumb is the direction of your current while your four fingers are the
direction of the magnetic field.

Which one shows current a)

coming out of the paper and
b) going in to the paper?

Magnetic field in solenoid Find the North Pole?

 S

Draw the coils then

The strength of a magnetic field is can be increased by: indicate which direction
1) Increasing the current the current should flow.
2) Increasing the number of turns per unit length
3) Using a soft-iron core within the solenoid

Applications of electromagnets:
1) Electric bell
2) Circuit breaker
3) Electromagnetic relay Using the Left Hand Rule,
4) Electromagnetic lift state which direction the
5) Telephone earpiece wire will move:
6) Dot matrix printer

Force on a current-carrying conductor

When a current-carrying conductor is placed a magnetic field, the interaction

between two magnetic fields produces a force on the conductor.

Use your left hand when you want to determine the direction of the force!
This rule is called Fleming’s left hand rule.

The forefinger, middle finger and thumb are perpendicular (90 o degrees) to
each other. The forefinger points along the direction to the magnetic field,
middle finger points in the current direction and the thumb points along the
direction of the force.

The strength of the force can be increased by:

1) Increasing the current
2) Using a stronger magnet
3) Using a longer wire
4) Arranging the wire perpendicular to the direction of the magnetic field
When current flows through a conductor, a magnetic field is generated. What
happens when we place this conductor in a magnetic field? In which direction
is the force pointing?

If a current carrying a coil is placed in a magnetic field, pair of forces will be

produced in the coil. This is due to the interaction of the magnetic field of the
permanent magnet and the magnetic field of the current carrying coil.

The direction of the force can be determined by Fleming’s left hand rule. Since
the current in both sides of the coil flow in opposite direction the forces
produced are also in opposite direction. The 2 forces in opposite direction
constitute a couple which produces a turning effect to make the coil rotate.
Examples of electric equipment whose operation is based on this turning effect
are
1) The direct current motor
2) The moving coil meter

When 2 current carrying conductors are placed close to each other, a force will
be generated between them. If the current in both conductors flow in the same
direction, they will , whereas if the current are in opposite
direction, they will each other. Hint: Use Flemming’s left
hand rule and the right hand rule.
Cathode Ray Oscilloscope (CRO)

Cathode-ray tubes can be found in television screens and computer monitors.

In laboratory, we use the crt in the oscilloscope to study waveforms. In SPM
you must know
1) How crt is produced (Thermionic emission and electron gun)
2) The characteristics of crt
3) The structure of a Cathode Ray Oscilloscope
4) How to operate a Cathode Ray Oscilloscope
5) The uses of a Cathode Ray Oscilloscope

Thermionic Emission

Thermionic emission is a process of emission of charge particle (known as

thermion) from the surface of a heated metal. The charge particles are normally
electrons.

Factors that affect the rate of thermionic emission:

1) Surface area of metal
2) Temperature of metal
3) type of metal
Electron Gun

Structure of CRO
3 main components:
1) The electron gun
2) The deflecting plates.
3) A fluorescent screen.

If a high positive (anode) is placed in front of the heated metal, the emitted
electronics will accelerate and form a beam of electrons. The device is called
an electron gun. The beam produced is called the cathode ray. We can use a
Maltese cross tube to investigate the characteristics of cathode ray.

Parts of Function
Electron
Gun

Filament To heat the cathode

Cathode Release electrons when heated by filament

Grid The grid is connected to a negative potential.

The more negative this potential, the more
electrons will be repelled from the grid and
fewer electrons will reach the anode and the
screen. The number of electrons reaching the
screen determines the brightness of the light.
Hence, the negative potential of the grid can
be used as a brightness control.

Focusing The other feature in the electron gun is the use

anode of the anode. The anode at positive potential
accelerates the electrons and the electrons are
focused into a fine beam as they pass through
the anode

Accelerating
anode
The deflecting plates

Part of the Function

deflecting
system

Y-plate The Y-plates will cause deflection in the vertical

direction when a voltage is applied across them.

X-plate On the other hand, the X-plates will cause the

electron beam to be defelctred in the horizontal
direction if a voltage is applied across them.

The fluorescent screen

1) The screen is coated with a fluorescent salt, for e.g. zinc sulphide.
2) When electrons hit the screen, it will excite the salt ions to produce a
flash of light.