Unit D Section 2.3 Flashcards
Main parts of a circuit:
Conductor: provides a path for current.
Energy source: provides energy and a supply of electrons for the circuit
Load: converts electrical energy into some other form of energy
Switch: controls current flow, turning it on and off, or directing it into different parts of the circuit.
Schematic diagrams:
Check textbook for their symbols
Diagram using symbols to show the components and connections in a circuit
Difference between series and parallel circuit:
Series
Has only one current path
One switch can turn on or off the components in a circuit
First bulb lit brighter than the following bulbs
When one bulb fuses all other bulb following it will not work
Adding components increases resistance along the circuit
Current stays the same throughout the whole circuit.
Difference between series and parallel circuit:
Parallel:
Has several current paths
One switch can not turn on or off the components
All the bulbs lit with the same brightness
When one bulb fuses the other bulbs are not affected
Adding components does not affect the resistance
along the circuit
Voltage remains the same throughout circuit.
Each bulb has its own pathway to the current source.
What is the importance of a series circuit?
Series circuit have an important use because switches are wired in series with other components (e.g., wall plugs, lights). This makes it possible to turn off all the electricity.
What is different about the resistance in parallel circuits?
In parallel circuits In fact, adding extra resistors in parallel decreases the total resistance of the circuit because more paths for the current to take means less total resistance.
Which circuits does household wiring have?
Parallel circuits
What circuit are we supposed to use for switches
You must use a series circuit for switches.
A switch in one branch of a parallel circuit controls only the devices in that branch. But a switch in series with all the branches controls all of them. It is important to turn of all components at once.
Which circuit is used for decorative lights?
Parallel circuits
What is a transistor and what is it used for?
Transistors are tiny circuits and semi conductors.
Transistors have no moving parts and are constructed in three layers of silicon.
layers are arranged so that a small voltage through the middle layer controls a current between the outer layers.
and what are transistors used for?
Transistors act as switches in microcircuits.
What is a microcircuit?
Microcircuits= Integrated circuits are made up of transistors and resistors.
It is very miniscopic and some contain more than a million components in a square centimetre
What were used before circuits were made?
Before the 1950s, vacuum cleaners were used to control current in electrical circuits.
They were so bulky that computers filled rooms.
Solid state components:
Transistors are one solid state components
Diodes are another type of solid state components widely used in microchips and other circuits.
