Heat Transfer, Waves, Electricity, and Energy

Vocabulary flashcards covering core science concepts including heat transfer methods, wave types, electricity principles, forms of energy, Sankey diagrams, and efficiency.

Conduction

Heat transfer through direct contact between particles, where vibrating particles pass energy to nearby particles.

Convection

Heat transfer by the movement of particles in a fluid (liquid or gas), where warm particles become less dense and rise while cool particles become denser and sink.

Convection current

A circulation pattern created in a fluid when warm particles become less dense and rise, and cool particles become denser and sink.

Mechanical waves

Waves that require a medium to travel through, such as sound or water waves.

Electromagnetic waves

Waves that can travel through empty space or a vacuum, such as light.

Sound

A mechanical wave that transfers energy through vibrations of particles and cannot travel through a vacuum.

Electromagnetic Spectrum

The range of electromagnetic waves ordered from lowest to highest frequency: Radio, Microwave, Infrared, Visible, Ultraviolet, X-ray, and Gamma.

Electrons

Particles with a negative charge that carry electricity in metals.

Current

The flow of electric charge.

Voltage

The energy transferred per unit of charge.

Conductors

Materials that allow electricity to flow easily, such as copper and aluminium.

Insulators

Materials that resist the flow of electricity, such as plastic and rubber.

Static electricity

Electricity caused by the movement of electrons from one object to another, resulting in positively or negatively charged objects.

Photon

A tiny packet of electromagnetic energy.

Conservation of Energy

The principle stating that energy cannot be created or destroyed, only transferred from one object to another or transformed from one form to another.

Kinetic energy

Energy associated with movement.

Gravitational potential energy

Energy stored due to an object's height.

Elastic potential energy

Energy stored in stretched or compressed objects.

Chemical energy

Energy stored in chemicals.

Thermal energy

Heat energy.

Sankey Diagrams

Diagrams that show how energy is transferred, where the width of the arrows represents the amount of energy.

Useful energy

Energy that goes toward the desired output.

Wasted energy

Energy output that is not useful, usually lost as heat or sound.

Efficiency

The percentage of energy input that becomes useful output, calculated as $\text{Efficiency} = \frac{\text{useful energy output}}{\text{total energy input}} \times 100$.

Energy Star Ratings

Ratings that indicate how energy efficient an appliance is, where more stars generally represent better energy efficiency.