Electricity Flashcards
State the metal parts in plugs and why they are used
brass and copper as they are very conductive
State the casing in plugs and why they are used
rubber or plastic as they are insulators (prevents shocks) and flexible
what is the colour of live wire?
brown
what is the colour of earth wire?
green/yellow
what is the colour of neutral wire?
blue
state the use of live wire
carries current to the appliance at a high voltage (about 230 V)
state the use of neutral wire
completes the circuit and carries current away from the appliance (always at 0 V)
what is meant by double insulated ?
doesn’t need an earth wire as no metal parts are showing so you can’t get a shock
what are some safety precautions for plugs ?
make sure live parts aren’t exposed (or you could get shocked)
no water near electrical objects
what happens when the live wire inside an appliance comes loose and touches the metal casing?
the current goes through the earth wire down to the earth instead of shocking you
what does a fuse / circuit breaker do?
cuts off the live supply (current) stopping shocks / fires
what are the advantages of circuit breakers ?
break the circuit by opening a switch
can be reset easily, fuses must be replaced once melted
operates faster than fuses and detects small current changes
what does RCCB stand for?
residual current circuit breaker
what does a RCCB do?
if you touch the live, less current goes to the neutral
The RCCB detects the change and quickly cuts off the power by opening a switch
what happens when there is an electrical current in a resistor ?
its heats up
heat effect increases resistance so less current flows
heat effect can cause components to melt (fuse)
state the uses of electrical current in resistors
fuses (safety)
toasters - has a coil of wire with high resistance so when current flows it heats up and glows which gives off infrared radiation (cooks bread)
What is electrical power measured in ?
watts (W)
(electrical) power =
current x voltage (I x V)
P on the IVy
Energy (transferred) =
current x voltage x time
E on the IVT
1000W =
1kW
If an appliance is using 4.3 Amps, what fuse should be used?
5 Amp fuse as it should withstand a little higher current
Unit for energy
J
what does current give off
heat
What is current ? Unit ? Anything else?
rate of flow of electrical charge round the circuit
only flows if there is a voltage
FLOWS +VE TO -VE
Unit - Amp
What is the unit for voltage ?
Volt
What is Resistance ? Unit?
anything in circuit which slows the flow down
adding components will increase overall resistance
Unit - Ohm Ω
What happens to the current when you increase the voltage ?
more current will flow
What happens to the current when you increase the resistance ?
less current will flow
What is an ammeter ?
How is it connected ?
measures current
always connected in series, never parallel
What is a voltmeter ?
How is it connected ?
measures voltage
always connected parallel to component