The Physics Question Bank

Current is the flow of electric charge around a circuit. It tells us how much charge passes a point each second.

Voltage is the energy transferred by each unit of charge. It tells us how much energy the charges are given by a battery, or how much energy they transfer to a component.

A good way to remember it is:

Current = how much charge is flowing

Voltage = how much energy each charge transfers

For example, imagine a simple circuit with a battery and a bulb.

The battery gives energy to the charges. This is the voltage.

The charges move around the circuit. This movement is the current.

When the charges pass through the bulb, they transfer energy to the bulb’s thermal and light energy stores.

So a higher current means more charge flows every second.

A higher voltage means each charge transfers more energy.

The two GCSE definitions are:

Current is the rate of flow of charge.

Voltage is the energy transferred per unit charge.

Useful equations:

I = Q ÷ t

Current = charge ÷ time

V = E ÷ Q

Voltage = energy transferred ÷ charge

A strong GCSE exam answer would be:

Current is the rate of flow of electric charge around a circuit, measured in amps. Voltage is the energy transferred per unit charge, measured in volts. A battery provides a voltage, which gives energy to the charges, and the current is the flow of those charges through the circuit.