P4 Electric Circuits Flashcards
What is a charged atom called?
Ion
Which subatomic particle actually moves?
Electrons
What charge do electrons have?
Negative
What does adding and removing the electrons do?
Adding electrons make the charge negative and removing makes the charge positive
how does some insulators get charged
they get rubbed by another insulator and they get charged
what happens when a polythene rod gets rubbed with a dry cloth
the dry cloth electrons move to the rod making it negatively charged
what happens when a perspex rod get rubbed with a dry cloth?
the electrons move from the perspex rod to the cloth and the rod becomes positively charged and they both have the equal charges
What is static electricity?
the stationary electric charge which is produced by friction which causes sparks, or the attraction of other small objects such as dust or hair.
What charges repel and attract
like charges(eg.+ and +) repel and opposite charges (eg-and+) attract
What does a cell do?
push electrons around a full circuit
What does the switch do?
allows the current to be switched on or off
What does a bulb do?
it is an indicator for when current passes through the signal and lights up
What do diodes do?
Diodes only let current in through one direction usually forward and LEDs emit light while doing so, they are used in the conversion from ac to dc.
What are ammeters and voltmeters?
ammeters measure current in amperes and voltmeters measure potential difference in volts.
What are resisitors?
A resistor is something that limits resistance, a variable resistor(rheostat) can change its resistance, light dependant resistors which lower resistance when light is increased, thermistors which lower resistors when temperature is high. A fuse breaks when a certain current is too high.