Physics Lesson 15.3.3 - Ohm's Law for a Part of the Circuit

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Welcome to our Physics lesson on Ohm's Law for a Part of the Circuit, this is the third lesson of our suite of physics lessons covering the topic of Electric Potential Difference (Voltage). Ohm's Law, you can find links to the other lessons within this tutorial and access additional physics learning resources below this lesson.

Ohm's Law for a Part of the Circuit

There is a direct relationship between the potential difference across a circuit component and the current flowing through it. This means higher the potential difference across a component, larger the current flowing through it. We write

Since all circuit components have their own resistance which opposes the current flow, we must include it in the calculations. Resistance acts as a proportionality constant obtain

The above formula when rearranged to isolate R, gives the mathematical expression of Ohm's Law:

The definition of Ohm's Law is as follows:

The current passing through a circuit component is directly proportional to the potential difference applied across it.

Example 3

The potential difference across a 20 Ω resistor is 12 V. What is the current flowing through the resistor?

Solution 3

Applying Ohm's Law

we obtain for the current flowing through the resistor:

You have reached the end of Physics lesson 15.3.3 Ohm's Law for a Part of the Circuit. There are 4 lessons in this physics tutorial covering Electric Potential Difference (Voltage). Ohm's Law, you can access all the lessons from this tutorial below.

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