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Physics GCSE > Mains Electricity > Flashcards

Mains Electricity Flashcards

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1
Q

What are some electrical insulators?

A

Plastic and rubber

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2
Q

What are some electrical conductors?

A

Metals - copper and silver

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3
Q

What is double insulation?

A

Is when an appliance has plastic casing and no metal parts are showing

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4
Q

Unit for current

A

Ampere (A)

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5
Q

Unit for electrical charge

A

Coulomb (C)

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6
Q

Unit for energy

A

Joules (J)

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7
Q

Unit for resistance

A

Ohms (Ω)

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8
Q

Unit for time

A

Seconds (s)

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9
Q

Unit for voltage

A

Volts (V)

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10
Q

Unit of power

A

Watt (W)

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11
Q

How does double insulation help?

A

Plastic is an insulator so it stops a current flowing - can’t get an electric shock

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12
Q

What is an insulator?

A

A material that stops current running through it

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13
Q

What is a conductor?

A

A material that allows current to flow through it

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14
Q

What are three wires in a plug called and what colour are they?

A

Live wire - Brown
Earth wire - Green and yellow
Neutral wire - Blue

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15
Q

What does the live wire do?

A

It alternates between high and low voltage around 230V

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16
Q

What does the neutral wire do?

A

It stays at 0V

17
Q

What does the earth wire do?

A

It’s for safety and works together with the fuse

18
Q

What and why do appliances with metal casing need?

A

It must be “earthed”, this reduces the danger of electric shock and can’t become live

19
Q

What happens when a fault occurs in an appliance with a metal case?

A

A big current flows through the live wire, case and earth wire
This surge blows/melts the fuse which stops the live supply
This isolates the whole appliance

20
Q

What does a fuse prevent?

A

It makes it impossible for an electric shock and stops fire from the heating of a large current

21
Q

What are advantages of electrical insulation?

A

It lowers your heating and coding costs

22
Q

What is a circuit breaker?

A

Similar to fuses but it opens a switch when there’s a surge of current

23
Q

How is a circuit breaker more convient than a fuse?

A

A circuit break can be reset by flicking the switch. A fuse has to be replaced once melted

24
Q

What’s an example of a circuit breaker?

A

RCCB

25
Q

How does a resistor heat up?

A

When there’s an electric current in a resistor there’s an energy transfer which heats it up

26
Q

What happens if someone touches the live wire with a RCCB?

A

The current will flow through them into the earth. The neutral wire will carry less current than the live wire and the difference will be detected by the RCCB.

27
Q

Why is an RCCB better than a fuse?

A

It operates faster. They break the circuit when there’s a current surge but the fuse stops when it melts.

28
Q

Why does the resistor heat up (electrons)?

A

Because electrons collide with ions in the lattice which makes up the resistor as they flow through it. The ions gain energy which makes them vibrate and heat up.

29
Q

How does the heating effect the resistors performance?

A

This increases the resistors resistance - less current will flow

30
Q

How can the heating of resistors be used in appliances?

A

Toasters - high resistance coil of wire, when current passes temp increases and glows (infra-red)cooking the bread

31
Q

What is the calculation for power (P)?

A

Power = Current x Voltage
P = I x V

32
Q

What is the calculation for energy transferred? (E)

A

Energy transferred = current x voltage x time
E = I x V x t

33
Q

What is DC?

A

Direct current - Current only travels in one direction

34
Q

What has a DC output?

A

Batteries

35
Q

What is AC?

A

Alternating current - The current direction reverses half cycle.

36
Q

What has an AC output?

A

“Mains” power

Physics GCSE (16 decks)

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