Electricity vocab Flashcards
Electricity
is made up of charged particles that carry energy from one place to another
Electric current
the flow of electric charge
Electric circuit
a complete path through which electricity travels
Closed circuit
a circuit with no breaks in which charge flows
Open circuit
a circuit with a break in which charge can’t flow
Circuit Diagram
a drawing that uses symbols to represent each part of and electrical circuit
Conductor
a material with low electrical resistance such as coper or aluminum
Insulator
a material with high electrical resistance such as plastic or rubber
Electrical symbol
a symbol used for the parts of an electrical circuit in circuit diagrams
Voltage
a measure of electric potential energy
Resistance
a measure of how much current flows in a circuit for a given voltage
Ohms law
states that the current is directly related to the voltage and inversely related to the resistance
Series circuit
an electric circuit that has only path for the current
Parallel circuit
an electric circuit with more than one path or branch
Kirchhoff’s current law
the total current entering a circuit branch must equal the current leaving the brach
Kirchhoff’s voltage law
the sum of the voltage drops in a series circuit must equal the circuit’s total voltage
Voltage drop
a reduction of electrical energy by an electrical device as current passes through it
Electrical power
the rate at which electrical energy is changed into other-forms of energy
Alternating current
electric current that reverses its direction at regular intervals
Direct current
electric current that flows in one direction only
Kilowatt-hour
1 kilometer or 1,000 watts of power used per hour
Semiconductor
a material with electrical conductivity between that of conductors and insulators
