Electricity Flashcards
What is an electrical current?
Current is the movement of electrons. The electrons (-) move from the negative terminal of the battery to the positive terminal.
What does the electricity flow along?
An electrical current is a flow of electrons along a wire.
Because of historical agreement…
We say that current flows from the positive terminal to the negative terminal of a battery.
What is an electrical circuit?
A circuit is an electrical device that provides a path for current to flow.
What 2 things do we need for a current to flow?
A power source such as a battery to make electricity flow.
A complete path for the circuit to flow in. This is called a complete circuit.
What do we call it if the pathway for the current to flow is broken?
We call it an incomplete circuit and the current will not flow.
What is a circuit diagram?
It’s a graphical representation of an electric circuit. This helps us make sense of circuits (which can get very complicated).
What are the rules for drawing a circuit diagram?
- Each component has its’ own symbol.
- Wires connect the components.
- Wires must be drawn with straight lines with a rular.
- The wires should never cross each other.
What are 2 types of electrical circuits?
- Series circuit
- Parallel circuit
Series circuit:
The components are connected end-to-end, one after the other. They make a simple loop for the current to flow around. If one bulb blows, it breaks the whole circuit so it doesn’t stay lit.
Parallel circuit:
The components are connected side-by-side. The current has a choice of routes (paths). If one bulb blows, there would still be a complete circuit to the other bulb so it stays lit.
