What term describes the rate of flow of electric charge?

What term describes the rate of flow of electric charge?

• A. Current
• B. Potential difference
• C. EMF
• D. Electric field

Answer: (A)

The rate at which electric charge flows is current. It tells you how much charge passes a point every second, and it’s measured in amperes (1 ampere = 1 coulomb per second). This flow occurs because a potential difference pushes charges through a conductor, but current specifically describes the amount of charge moving per unit time. The other terms describe related ideas: potential difference is the push or energy per unit charge that drives the flow; EMF is the total energy per charge provided by a source (often when no current is flowing inside the source); and the electric field is the space around charges that exerts force on them.

The rate at which electric charge flows is current. It tells you how much charge passes a point every second, and it’s measured in amperes (1 ampere = 1 coulomb per second). This flow occurs because a potential difference pushes charges through a conductor, but current specifically describes the amount of charge moving per unit time. The other terms describe related ideas: potential difference is the push or energy per unit charge that drives the flow; EMF is the total energy per charge provided by a source (often when no current is flowing inside the source); and the electric field is the space around charges that exerts force on them.