Module 4 Flashcards
Electric Current
Rate of flow of charged particles
Conventional Current
A model used to describe the net movement of charge in a circuit. Conventional current flows from the positive to the negative terminal.
Conservation of Charge
Charge is conserved in all interactions: it cannot be created or destroyed.
Coulomb
One coulomb of electric charge passes a point in one second when there is an electric current of one ampere flowing.
Amp
The current flowing in two parallel wires separated by one metre in a vacuum such that there is an attractive force of 2.0 x 10^-7 N per metre length of wire between them.
Electrolyte
A fluid that contains ions that are free to move, act as charge carriers and hence conduct electricity.
Number Density
The number of free (delocalised) electrons per unit volume of material.
Conductor
A material with a high number density of conduction electrons and therefore a low resistance.
Insulator
Amaterial with a small number density of conduction electrons and therefore a very high resistance.
Semiconductor
A material with a lower number density of conduction electrons than a conductor and therefore a higher resistance.
Mean Drift Velocity
The average displacement of electrons moving along a wire per unit time.
Electromotive force
EMF is the energy transferred per unit charge when chemical energy is converted into electrical energy.
Potential Difference
Potential difference is the energy transferred per unit charge when electrical energy is converted into another form of energy.
Volt
Where one joule of energy is transferred when one coulomb of charge passes from one point to the other.
Resistance
The resistance of a conductor is the ratio of the pd across it to the current flowing through it.
Ohm
P.D. Of 1V
Currents of 1A
Ohm’s Law
For a conductor at constant temperature, the current flowing through the conductor is directly proportional to the pd across its ends.
Kilowatt-hour
For a conductor at constant temperature, the current flowing through the conductor is directly proportional to the pd across its ends.
Kirchoff’s First Law
The sum of the currents entering any point in an electrical circuit is equal to the sum of the currents leaving that point, as charge is conserved.