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Physics > Electricity - Circuits > Flashcards

Electricity - Circuits Flashcards

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1
Q

Describe the function of a cell.

A

Pushes current around a circuit.

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2
Q

What is a variable resistor?

A

A resistor that can be adjusted in a circuit.

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3
Q

Describe the symbol of a cell.

A
  • |I-
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4
Q

What does the symbol for a battery look like?

A
  • |I-|I-
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5
Q 
What component is this symbol?
             ^ 
   \_\_\_\_/\_\_\_
- |\_\_\_/\_\_\_| -
          /
A

Variable Resistor

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6
Q

What is the function of the variable resistor?

A

A resistor that can be adjusted

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7
Q

If a switch in a series circuit is closed, is the bulb turned on or off?

A

On, as electrons (current) can pass through.

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8
Q

What does LDR stand for? What does it do?

A

Light Dependent Resistor

Changes the resistance in a circuit depending on the intensity of the light around it.

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9
Q

Describe the symbol of an LDR.

A
  • Resistor symbol in a circle, with two, diagonal arrows on the left side.
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10
Q

What is the function of a fuse in a circuit?

Describe the symbol.

A
  • Safety precaution (a fuse will break if there is too much current flowing through it, protecting the user from electric shock)
  • The symbol for a resistor, but the line continues through the rectangle
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11
Q

What does an Ammeter measure? Which type of circuit can you place an ammeter in?

A
  • Measures the current (amps)

- In a series circuit

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12
Q

Describe the symbol for a thermistor.

A
  • “Hockey Stick”

- Resistor, with this shape through it _/

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13
Q

Describe the function of a thermistor.

A

Changes the resistance in a circuit based on the temperature it is exposed to.

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14
Q

What does a resistor do?

A

Makes it more/less difficult for current to pass through

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15
Q

What is the function of a diode?

A

Ensures current only flows one way

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16
Q

Describe the symbol of a Diode

A

-O-
Inside the “O” is >|
The “>” is a full triangle

17
Q

Describe the symbol of an LED. State its function.

A
  • Diode symbol, with two arrows ( // ) on the right side

- Light Emitting Diode - Convert electrical energy directly into light

18
Q

What does a voltmeter measure? Where do you place it within a circuit?

A

Measures the voltage (volts)

Is placed in parallel to a pre-existing circuit.

19
Q

What happens to voltage in a series circuit?

A

Voltage is shared by components
E.g. if there were two bulbs in a series circuit, an initial voltage of 7V could be shared 3V and 4V, as not all bulbs are the same.

20
Q

What happens to the voltage in a parallel circuit?

A

Each branch gets the maximum voltage.

E.g. if the battery had a voltage of 7V, every branch would get 7V.

21
Q

What would the current do in a series circuit?

A

Current is the same everywhere in the circuit.

22
Q

What does the current do in a parallel circuit?

A

The current splits and recombines at junctions in the circuit.

23
Q

Describe the resistance in a series circuit.

A

The total resistance is the resistance in every resistor added together.

24
Q

Describe the resistance in a parallel circuit.

A

The total resistance is less than the smallest resistor

25
Q

Define an ohmic resistor.

A

Resistors that follow a DIRECTLY PROPORTIONAL relationship between voltage and current. ↗️

26
Q

Define a non-ohmic resistor.

A

Any resistors that DO NOT follow the directly proportional relationship between voltage and current.

27
Q

True or False - A resistor has a directly proportional relationship between voltage and current.

A

TRUE

28
Q

Describe the graph of the relationship between voltage and current in a filament lamp.
(3 marks)

A 
…………………………..➡️➡️
………………………↗️
………………….↗️
……………….⚫️
…………….↗️
………..↗️
➡️➡️

~The voltage increases, which causes the bulb gets hotter so the resistance increases.

29
Q

Describe the graph of the relationship between the voltage and the current in a diode. (3 marks)

A

…………………↗️
…………….↗️
➡️➡️⚫️

1- Negative Current
2- Directly proportional from the origin.
~As the diode only allows current one way, the resistance the one way is high, but is 0 the other way.

30
Q

Describe the relationship between resistance and light in an LDR.

A

Light ⬆️

Resistance ⬇️

31
Q

Why does a filament lamp IV graph curve?

A

Because the filament lamps temperature increases when the voltage in the circuit does, so the resistance then changes too.

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