basic circuit vocabulary Flashcards
(26 cards)
What is a resistor?
A resistor limits the speed of electricity. They are used to reduce the voltage so it stays at a level good for the load and subsequently increases the current.
What is the battery?
A power source, it imputs energy into the circuit.
What is a hand generator?
a manual power source, you have to turn a crank to produce energy. Basically, it turns mechanical energy into electrical energy.
What is a wire?
A pathway for the current to travel through without a lot of resistance. It allows current to go from the source to the load.
What is a lightbulb (load)?
Creates light from the energy transferred through the wires from the source. It does this by turning electrical energy into heat, which then turns the light on.
What is an LED (Light Emitting Diode)?
Also makes the electrical energy into light, like the load. However, it converts electrical energy directly into light, rather than converting it into heat, then converting that to light. Therefore, an LED, if given the same amount of voltage as a load, would shine brighter because it creates more energy quicker.
What is a switch?
Turns the circuit on or off.
This is because the switch can create a gap in the circuit which the electricity can’t go through, which ultimately turns the circuit off. If the switch isn’t doing that, the circuit is on.
What is a motor?
A power source that works the opposite of a generator. It turns electrical energy into mechanical energy.
What is a fuse?
Stops the circuit from working if there is a fault in a component causing there to be too much current.
Basically, the fuse has some wiring inside of it which melts if there is too much current, which ultimately stops the circuit from working if there is a fault.
What is a voltmeter?
A voltmeter measures the amount of voltage in a circuit. The voltage is measured in volts.
What is an ammeter?
An ammeter measures the intensity (speed) of the electrical current in amps.
What is a microbit?
Microbits are small programmable computers coded to achieve different tasks.
What is a circuit?
Loops where electrical energy moves through wires, across loads, and back around. The circuit must be closed to work, it can’t be a short circuit.
What is energy?
The ability to do work.
What is kinetic energy?
Energy which is constantly in motion.
What is potential energy?
Energy which is stored and can be released.
What is radiant energy?
a form of kinetic energy that travels in waves.
What is chemical energy?
a form of potential energy in bonds of atoms and molecules which is released when heated.
What is Mechanical energy?
a form of potential energy that moves inside of an object.
What is thermal energy?
energy that is created by the movement of particles, which creates heat.
What is nuclear energy?
Potenial energy which is stored in the nucleus of the atom and released when the nuclei are split or combines with other nuclei.
What is electrical energy?
Energy that moves through wires.
What is the Law of Conservation of Energy?
a law that states energy can’t be created or destroyed, but can be converted from one energy form to another.
What is electricity?
A flow of electrical energy that ends in charged particles, which can flow through wires.
