Electricity & Magnetism

Question 1

Charge can be three different things. What are they?

Answer 1

• positively charged (+)
• negatively charged (-)
• neutrally charged

Question 2

Do like charges attract or repel?

Answer 2

Repel

Question 3

Do opposite charges attract or repel?

Answer 3

Attract

Question 4

What can charges be separated by?

Answer 4

Friction

Question 5

What does current mean in terms of electricity?

Answer 5

The flow of charge

Question 6

What is meant by a complete circuit?

Answer 6

A circuit that completely links up with all switches being closed.

Question 7

What is an electrical circuit?

Answer 7

A flow of charge around a closed loop.

Question 8

What does electrical current measure?

Answer 8

The flow of charge around an electrical circuit.

Question 9

What is the difference between a series and a parallel circuit?

Answer 9

If you follow the circuit diagram of a series circuit from one side of the cell to the other, you should pass through all the different components, one after the other, without any branches.

In parallel circuits, different components are connected on different branches of the wire. If you follow the circuit diagram from one side of the cell to the other, you can only pass through all the different components if you follow all the branches.

Question 10

In a series circuit, if one component breaks what will happen to the rest of the circuit?
Why?

Answer 10

It will stop working because there is a part of the circuit that the current cannot travel through. It basically creates a hole in the middle of two wires in the circuit.

Question 11

In a parallel circuit, if one component breaks, what would happen to the rest of the circuit?
Why?

Answer 11

Every component on that specific branch would stop working but the rest of the circuit would work fine.
This is because if the current cannot travel through that branch, it can just run through the other branch(es). However, in the specific branch, the current cannot travel through the broken component so the rest of the components would fail because no electrical current can reach them.

Question 12

What is the current measured with?

Answer 12

An ammeter

Question 13

What is the voltage measured with?

Answer 13

Voltmeter

Question 14

What is voltage?

Answer 14

Voltage is the amount of energy carried around by charge as it goes around a circuit.

Question 15

In a parallel circuit, is the voltage the same or different on each branch?

Answer 15

The same.

Question 16

How many metal cores are magnetic?

Answer 16

3

Question 17

What metal cores are magnetic?

Answer 17

Metals containing iron, nickel or cobalt are magnetic.

Question 18

What is the advantage of an electromagnet over a permanent magnet?

Answer 18

Electromagnets can be turned off and no longer be magnetic but permanent magnets are always magnetic.

Question 19

Name three uses of electromagnets.

Answer 19

• doorbells
• heavy lifting
• induction cooker

Question 20

Name three ways of increasing the strength of an electromagnet.

Answer 20

• increasing the voltage
• increasing the thickness of the wire
• adding an iron core

Question 21

Name one danger of a build-up of static charge.

Answer 21

A danger of a build-up of static charge is sparking which can cause major fires if not managed and prevented.