basic electricity notes Flashcards
what is current?
current is the slow of electric charge round the circuit. current will only flow around a complete (closed) circuit if there is potential difference
current: amps. A
what is potential difference?
is the driving force that pushes charge around
voltage V
what is resistance?
is anything in the circuit which slows the flow down. the greater the resistance across a component, the smaller the current that flows through it
what is a series circuit?
the components are connected in a line
- potential difference adds up
- current is the same everywhere
- resistance adds up
what is a parallel circuit?
each component is separately connected to the voltage. if you remove or disconnect something it won’t affect the circuit.
- voltage is the same across all components
- current is shared between branches
- adding a resistor reduces the total resistance
what is charge flow?
the flow of charge is the process of supplying or adding an electric charge to an object. or loosing electric charge from an object.
measured in coulombs, C
charge flow through a conductor?
electrons flow easily, low resistance
charge flow through a semi conductor?
electrons can be made to flow under certain circumstances
charge flow through an insulator?
electrons flow with great difficulty and they have high resistance
what is current?
a stream of charged particles, such as electrons or ions, moving through an electrical conductor or space
what is the calculation for current?
current - charge/time
I = QT
what is ohm’s law?
the strength of a direct current is directly proportional to the potential difference and inversely proportional to the resistance of the circuit
