vocab #3

Question 1

Brush

Answer 1

a conductor that makes contact inside a motor or a generator

Question 2

Circuit

Answer 2

a pathway for the flow of electricity

Question 3

Closed Circuit

Answer 3

a complete circuit through which electricity flows

Question 4

Commutator

Answer 4

a switching mechanism on a motor or generator

Question 5

Constraint

Answer 5

a restriction or limitation

Question 6

Contact point

Answer 6

the place on a component where connections are made to allow electricity to flow

Question 7

core

Answer 7

in an electromagnet, the material around which a coil of insulated wire is wound

Question 8

criterion

Answer 8

(plural: criteria) a standard for evaluating or testing something

Question 9

Electromagnetic force

Answer 9

a fundamental force of nature that acts between charged particles and creates electric and magnetic fields

Question 10

filament

Answer 10

the material in a light bulb (usually a thin wire) that makes light when heated by an electric current

Question 11

Green house gas

Answer 11

a gas that absorbs and radiates energy in the atmosphere, effectively trapping heat

Question 12

Incandescent light bulb

Answer 12

a device that gives off light and heat when electric current runs through a filament

Question 13

Induced magnetism

Answer 13

the influence of a magnetic field on iron, which makes the iron a temporary magnet

Question 14

maglev

Answer 14

a device utilizing magnetic levitation

Question 15

Power grid

Answer 15

a complex network of wires that delivers electricity to homes and other buildings

Question 16

semiconductor

Answer 16

a material, such as silicon, that has less electric conductivity than a conductor but more than an insulator

Question 17

Solar cell

Answer 17

a silicon structure that converts sunlight into electrical energy and is used as a power source

Question 18

Temporary magnet

Answer 18

a piece of iron that behaves like a magnet only when it is under the influence of an external magnetic field