Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM

Browse over 1 million classes created by top students, professors, publishers, and experts.


See full index

Physics > Electricity > Flashcards

Electricity Flashcards

1
Q

What is the unit for potential difference?

A

Volts

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

What is the unit for current?

A

Amps

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

What is the unit for resistance?

A

Ohms

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

What is the unit for charge?

A

Coulomb

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

What is a component?

A

A small part of something bigger.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

What are the three rules for drawing circuit diagrams?

A
  • Draw all wires straight, even if they aren’t in reality
  • All bends must be simplified to right angles
  • Use the correct circuit symbols
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

What is charge?

A

A physical property of matter. Particles can be positively or negatively charged.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

Are protons positively or negatively charged?

A

Positively.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

Are electrons positively or negatively charged?

A

Negatively.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

What happens to like charges?

A

They repel.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

What happens to opposite charges?

A

They attract.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

What attracts or repels charges?

A

An electrostatic force (a push or a pull).

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

What charge do delocalised electrons carry in a metal?

A

A negative charge.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

What is electricity?

A

The flow of charge through a conductor; this allows energy to be transferred to devices.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

What is a potential difference?

A

A measure of how much energy is transferred between two points in a circuit.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

What is potential difference measured with?

A

A voltmeter.

17
Q

What does an electrical charge need to flow through a complete circuit?

A

A source of potential difference.

18
Q

What happens when a potential difference pushes an electron?

A

Work is done on it. Potential differences transfer energy to or from charge.

19
Q

How do you complete a circuit so that electrical charge can flow through it?

A

By connecting a metal wire to a closed (complete) circuit with a battery or power supply (a source of potential difference).

20
Q

What is current?

A

The amount of charge flowing per second.

21
Q

What is current measured with?

A

An ammeter.

22
Q

What is resistance?

A

The difficulty for charge to flow through a component.

23
Q

What does potential difference need to transfer to or from a charge?

A

Energy.

24
Q

Which components can provide potential difference?

A

Battery, cell and power supply.

25
Q

What does current flowing through a component depend on?

A

Both the resistance and the potential difference across the component.

26
Q

What happens if you reduce the resistance of a component?

A

The current will increase as it is easier for charge to flow through.

27
Q

What happens if you increase the potential difference of a circuit?

A

The current will increase.

28
Q

What is Ohm’s Law?

A

The equation that states: Potential Difference = Current x Resistance

29
Q

What does it mean when the resistance of a component remains constant?

A

It is always a certain difficulty to pass through.

30
Q

What does it mean when the resistance of a component is variable?

A

The resistance can change.

31
Q

Which components can have variable resistances?

A
  • LDRs, thermistors and variable resistors.
  • Lamps and diodes can also change resistance depending on potential difference
32
Q

What does an ohmic conductor obey?

A

Ohm’s Law. The current is directly proportional to the potential difference.

33
Q

What does a graph of potential difference vs current for an ohmic conductor look like?

A

A straight line through the origin; this will only be the case if the temperature is constant.

34
Q

What is a filament lamp?

A

A type of light bulb with a high resistance and a thin wire in it.

35
Q

What happens when current flows through the electrical wire in a filament lamp?

A

The energy in the electrical pathway is transferred to the thermal store and radiation pathway (light). The bulb gets so hot that it glows white, generating light.

36
Q

What happens as the potential difference across a filament lamp increases?

A

More energy is transferred from electrical to thermal.

37
Q

What happens to the resistance of a filament lamp as it gets hotter?

A

The resistance increases, which means that less current flows at higher potential differences.

Physics (4 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2025 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions