Electric Current and Potential Difference

Electric Current

An electric current is the continuous flow of electrons in an electric circuit. As electrons carry a negative electric charge, this means an electric current is a flow of charge.

For an electric current to flow, we need:

  • A source to transfer energy to the electrons, for example, a battery (which provides the push that makes the charge flow)
  • A complete path for electrons to flow, an electrical circuit

When a circuit is complete (closed), the charge will flow around the circuit.

We measure current using an ammeter

Current is measured in amperes, also known as amps or A. The higher the charge, the bigger the current. The circuit symbol for an ammeter is:

Connect the ammeter in series with the component you are measuring in a circuit.

Below you can see a diagram of a circuit with an ammeter and the same circuit using circuit symbols at the bottom. When placing an ammeter in a circuit, it must be placed in series with the circuit, so that the current you are measuring flows through the ammeter.

This includes the cell, the lamp, the switch and the wires connecting to the ammeter.

Let’s look at potential difference.

Potential Difference

The potential difference (otherwise known as voltage) is the difference in energy between two components of a circuit. The higher the difference is, the higher the potential difference.

  • Remember, some people may call this ‘voltage‘ instead of ‘potential difference’

We measure potential difference using a voltmeter.

  • The units for potential difference is volts (or V)

Below is the circuit symbol for a voltmeter.

Connect the voltmeter parallel with the component you are measuring in a circuit.

To measure the potential difference of a component, you connect a voltmeter with two wires and attach them to either side of the component you are measuring.

In the diagram below, you can see what the circuit would look like if we wanted to measure the potential difference of the lamp.

On the top right is the voltmeter, with the symbol V.

If we wanted to measure the potential difference of the lamp above, we connect a wire to either side of the lamp and then to the voltmeter. If we put the voltmeter in the same loop as the component we are measuring, it will not work.

Comparing Current and Potential Difference

CurrentPotential Difference
Measuring deviceAmmeter in seriesVoltmeter in parallel
Circuit symbol of measuring deviceThis image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is image-41.pngThis image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is image-42.png
UnitAmpere (A)Volt (V)