Passive Components

Question 1

Passive Component

Answer 1

A broad category of components that don’t add energy to a circuit. Rather, they dissipate, store, or transform energy in some way.

Question 2

Piezoelectric

Answer 2

Flexes slightly when a voltage is applied to it and produces a voltage when flexed

Question 3

Resistor

Answer 3

Devices that restrict or limit the flow of electricity, used wherever a controlled amount of current is needed in a circuit

Question 4

Carbon Film Resistor

Answer 4

Everyday resistor used in appliances and toys; cost more important than precision or size; through-hole

Question 5

Axial Through-Hole Resistor

Answer 5

Resistor with wire leads along axis of symmetry meant to go through a circuit board

Question 6

High-Stability Film Resistor

Answer 6

Robust, ideal for specialized cases where long-term stability of the resistor is critical

Question 7

Power Resistor

Answer 7

Resistors made to handle more heat, and thus, more power

Question 8

Resistor Array

Answer 8

Consists of several resistors fabricated as a single component, eliminating the need for several discreet resistors

Question 9

Chip Resistors

Answer 9

The most common discrete resistors; also known as ‘thick-film surface-mount’ resistors

Question 10

Surface-Mount Resistor

Answer 10

Designed to be soldered directly to the circuit board

Question 11

Sputtered

Answer 11

Vacuum deposited

Question 12

Cermet

Answer 12

Ceramic-metal composite

Question 13

Potentiometer

Answer 13

Also called a ‘pot’; used as front panel control knobs; works based on current’s ability to travel through various amounts of wiper resistance; design unchanged since 1925

Question 14

Trimmer Potentiometer

Answer 14

‘Trimpot’; designed for initial calibration and rare adjustment

Question 15

15-Turn Trimmer Potentiometer

Answer 15

Trimmer potentiometer for circuits which need to be adjusted with fine resolution control

Question 16

Capacitor

Answer 16

Fundamental electronic components that store energy in the form of static electricity; used for bulk energy storage, smoothing out electronic signals, and as computer memory cells

Question 17

Electrode

Answer 17

Conductive surface

Question 18

Capacitance

Answer 18

Electric charge something can store at a given voltage

Question 19

Dielectric

Answer 19

Insulator

Question 20

Aluminum Electrolytic Capacitor

Answer 20

Pack a large amount of capacitance into a small space; common in power supplies

Question 21

Electrolyte

Answer 21

Electrically conductive fluid

Question 22

Anodize

Answer 22

A metal (usually aluminum) is coated with a protective oxide layer by an electrolytic process; oxide acts as dielectric

Question 23

Anode

Answer 23

A device’s positive terminal

Question 24

Cathode

Answer 24

A device’s negative terminal

Question 25

Inductor

Answer 25

Fundamental electronic component that stores energy in the form of a magnetic field; energy-efficient design helps maximize the battery life of cellphones and other portable electronics

Question 26

Ferrite

Answer 26

Ceramic filled with iron oxide

Question 27

Inductance

Answer 27

Ability of an inductor to store energy; measured in Henry; represented as L

Question 28

Magnet Wire

Answer 28

Used for interchanging electrical energy with magnetic energy

Question 29

Ferrite Bead

Answer 29

Bumps up the inductance of the natural magnetic field anything with current flowing through it produces; stops radio waves from causing interference or chips from messing with each other

Question 30

T-Filter

Answer 30

Three-Terminal Filter Capacitor; combines two inductors and a capacitor; acts as a filter, thus usually found next to outgoing connectors on circuit boards

Question 31

Transformer

Answer 31

An inductor wound with more than one coil of wire; electrical current flowing through wire creates magnetic field, changing magnetic field induces electrical current in nearby wires - when multiple coils are wound around a single core, changing the current in one wire creates a changing current in another wire, thus, electrical isolation; often used for stepping up or stepping down voltages

Question 32

Electrical Isolation

Answer 32

Transmitting power or signals between wires without an electrically conductive path connecting them

Question 33

Power Supply Transformer

Answer 33

Has multiple sets of windings and is used in a power supply to create multiple output AC voltages from a single AC input such as a wall outlet; small wires near centre are high impedance and large windings are low impedance

Question 34

High Impedance

Answer 34

High voltage, low current

Question 35

Low Impedance

Answer 35

Low voltage, high current

Question 36

Fuse

Answer 36

Electrical component that breaks or ‘opens’ a circuit when more than a specified amount of electrical current passes through them, protecting other components from damage

Question 37

Fast-Acting Fuse

Answer 37

When the current exceeds the fuse’s rating, the wire heats up enough to melt and quickly break the circuit

Question 38

Time-Delay/Slow-Blow Fuse

Answer 38

Resists spikes beyond their rating, requiring sustained current above rating to blow

Question 39

Axial Lead Fuse

Answer 39

Used to provide additional protection to circuitry should other protection fail

Question 40

Liquid Power Fuse

Answer 40

Designed for breaking a circuit at very high voltages; retracting spring system

Question 41

Thermal Fuse

Answer 41

Sometimes called a ‘thermal cutoff’; like a regular fuse, but opens an electrical circuit when it exceeds a certain temperature rather than a level of current; functions as safety device in appliances with heating elements

Question 42

Voltage

Answer 42

Energy per unit charge; V

Question 43

Current

Answer 43

Rate of flow of electric charge; Amps

Question 44

AC

Answer 44

Alternating current; when the electric current periodically inverts its direction

Question 45

DC

Answer 45

Direct current; when current flows in one constant direction