Science PATs part 2 (electricity and space exploration)

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Proton

Positive charge

Electron

Negative charge

Neutron

subatomic particles found inside the nucleus of every atom

Static Electricity

• still electricity

• Stays in one place of a surface – doesn't move  

Electrical Current

The amount of electricity moving in a circuit

DC Current

Moves in one direction

Circuit

path that let’s electricity flow through

parts of a circuit

Source  

• Electric energy source (ex. Battery, generator, solar cell) 

Conductor 

• Current carrier (ex. Copper wire) 

Load  

• Device that converts electricity into other forms of energy (ex. Light bulb, motor, heating, coil resistor) 

Control  

• A device that can open or close the circuit (ex. Switch, circuit breaker) 

Current

• amount of moving charge

• in amps

Voltage/ Potential Difference

• Energy of moving charge 

• In volts

Resistance 

• Amount of opposite charge 

• In ohms 

Ohm’s Law 

• Linear relationship between materials  

• V = IR 

• I = V/R 

• R = V/I 

Voltmeter 

Measures voltage in volts

Ammeter 

Measures current in amps  

Multimeter 

Measures amps, volts, and ohms  

Short Circuit 

A circuit that will catch on fire due to low resistance and bypassing the load 

Insulators 

Prevents or restricts electrical current  

Conductors 

Continues the flow of electrical current 

Circuit Breakers 

breaks the circuit when safety hazard to protect a certain component 

Fuse 

Protects electrical device from damage  

Ground Wire 

Safety wire that is attached to the earth 

Electrochemical Cell 

Conducts electrical energy from chemical reactions 

Dry Cell 

• Paste electrolyte to stay dry 

• Found in portable devices 

• Ex: carbon zinc battery 

Wet Cell 

• Uses liquid as an electrolyte 

• Ex: Danielle cell 

Electrolyte 

Conducts electricity due to positive and negative charges 

Electrodes 

• Conductor 

• Make electrical contact with non-metallic parts of the circuit 

Ion 

An electric charge 

Primary Cell 

• Can only be used one time 

• Non-rechargeable  

Secondary Cell 

• Can be used finite (multiple) times 

• Can be recharged

Battery 

• Made of cells  

• Stored chemical energy to electrical energy 

Variable Resistor 

Scale the amount of resistance in a circuit

Schematic Diagrams 

Diagrams using symbols 

Series Circuit 

Only one path for electrons to move through 

Parallel Circuit 

Two or more paths for electrons to move through 

Microcircuits

Compact circuit put in devices like computer chip 

Transformers 

• electromagnetic induction 

• transfers electrical energy between two or more circuits 

• changes the voltage and current in the process 

Chemical Energy 

energy stored in bonds of atoms and molecules

biomass  

• Organic material such as wood, crop waste, and municipal solid waste processed for energy production  

• through direct combustion or conversion to fuel for combustion  

Hydro  

• energy from flowing water to generate electricity  

• This includes reservoir containment or run-of-river  

wind  

Wind passes through a large propellor, turning a generator to generate electricity

fossil  

Hydrocarbon-based fuel sources such as coal, natural gas, natural gas liquids and crude oil are combusted to heat water to steam, which turns a generator to produce electricity  

nuclear  

• A fission reaction heats water to steam, which turns a generator to produce electricity 

• Produces waste that must be safely stored for thousands of years  

solar  

• A semi-conducting material absorbs photons and converts their energy into electricity  

• does not use a generator  

Potential Gravitational Energy 

energy an object has due to its position in a gravitational field 

Power 

energy measured per unit time

Electromagnetic Induction 

generating electrical current using a magnetic field

Efficiency 

how effective electrical energy is converted into work or other energy sources without many losses 

Sustainability 

Ability to be maintain resources at a certain rate

Renewable Resources 

• Can be replaced within a lifetime  

• energy made from a renewable source  

• energy source that occurs naturally 

Non-renewable Energy 

• cannot be restored in a lifetime 

• non-renewable sources 

Power Grid 

a network that delivers electricity from power plants to people 

Brushes  

Regulate or reverse the motor to cause it to spin   

commutator  

spins with the armature ensures continuous rotation  

magnet  

• has north pole and south pole  

• ensures continuous rotation by opposites attracting and same sides repelling 

source  

gives power to the motor  

armature

interact with permanent magnets to continue spinning

motor

electrical → kinetic

generator

kinetic → electricity

celestial body

• outside of earth

• naturally occurring

Geocentric

The belief that the earth is in the center of the universe

Heliocentric

The belief that the sun is the center of the universe 

Ellipses 

the planet to Sun distance is constantly changing as the planet goes around its orbit 

Astronomical unit 

Unit that measures the distance of celestial objects 

Light Year 

the distance light travels in one Earth year 

Constellation 

stars forming a recognizable pattern that is traditionally named after its apparent form or identified with a mythological figure 

Stars

source of light visible in the night sky

Terrestrial  

• related to Earth

• Smaller 

• Made of rock 

• Closer to the sun 

• Has hardened from the sun to become solid 

• four of them

Gas giants (jovian)

• Bigger 

• Made of gas 

• Further from sun 

• Has not hardened because too far from the sun 

• four of them

Moons 

A celestial object that orbits a planet 

Asteroids

• large rocks in space

• made of valuable metals 

• The belt is found between mars and Jupiter 

Star Clusters 

Groups of stars pulled together by gravity  

Blackholes 

• Made by giant stars exploding 

• Cannot escape them because they are like vacuums  

Galaxies 

• Made of stars, planets, moons, and other celestial objects

• Many within a universe

Altitude 

the height of an object or point in relation to sea level or ground level 

Azimuth 

• the horizontal measurement of a object or point 

• north – 0 degrees 

• east – 90 degrees 

• south – 180 degrees 

• west – 270 degrees 

Astrolabe 

a device that is used to measure the altitude

Compass 

device that is used to measure the azimuth/direction 

Zenith 

a point right above the observer 

Rover 

has wheels and collects data usually on planets or other celestial objects  

Probe 

floats throughout space and collects data

Geostationary / Geosynchronous orbit\ 

a celestial object that is in a fixed position that can orbit with the Earth 

Asynchronous orbit

a celestial object that does not orbit with the earth

Spectroscopy

• when a light is absorbed or emitted in a celestial object to find the composition 

• scales used to indicate elements in celestial objects 

 
Electromagnetic Radiation 

• a scale that shows the different wavelengths by light 

• it determines how close are far from a celestial object is 

Refracting Telescopes

uses a lens as its objective to form an image

Reflecting Telescopes

uses a mirror to reflect light to form an image  

Interferometry

using multiple telescopes to improve resolution

Triangulation 

using the measure of two distances that create a 90-degree angle to find the length from one celestial object to another 

GPS 

• Global Positioning System  

• Provides users with positioning, navigation, and timing

Parallax 

the effect when the position or direction of an object appears to differ when viewed from different positions 

Doppler Effect 

• change in wavelength or frequency of the radiation from a source due to its relative motion away from or toward the observer 

• e.g. the big bang, where echoes can still be heard 

Red shift

• it is moving further away 

• it has a lower energy 

• it has bigger wavelengths 

• lower frequency 

blue shift 

• it is moving closer 

• it has higher energy 

• it has smaller wavelengths 

• higher frequency

Radio Telescopes 

telescopes that collect radio waves from celestial sources 

Bio monitors  

things placed inside a space suit to track the health of astronauts

emission spectrum

element absorbs energy and produces light

absorption spectrum

• elements absorb light

• determine composition of stars

Nebula 

•  cloud of gas and dust in outer space, visible in the night sky 

• not in solar system

• interstellar (between stars)

Comets 

Celestial object where the nucleus is made from dust and ice

Meteoroids 

space rocks that range in size from dust grains to small asteroids