Static electricity
Build-up of electric charge on a surface
When static electricity occurs
Substance has been rubbed against another substance
Static electricity is caused by
Electrons rubbing off from one substance to another, making one substance positively charged whilst the other becomes negatively chargedd
Spark formation
When electrons are released in one go, converted to heat, light, sound and kinetic energy
Current electricity
Made up of electrons moving along a wire in an electric current
Electric circuit
Electrons travel along a path called an electric circuit
Energy source
Provides the electrons with the energy needed to move them around the circuit
Energy user
Converts energy provided by the electrons to another form
Current
Flow of charged particles (e.g. electrons)
Current is made up of
Electrons
Types of current
Alternating and direct current (AC/DC)
Alternating current
Electrons shuffle back and forth along the wire (supplied by powerpoints)
Direct current
Electrons all flow in the same direction (supplied by batteries)
Measurement for current
Measured by an ammeter in the units ampere or amps (A or I)
Ammeter function
Measures amount of charge that flows through it each second
Voltage
The amount of energy
Voltage use
Used by charges as they pass through an energy user component, leading to a voltage drop
Voltage measurement
Measured using a voltmeter in the unit volts (V)
High voltage
Electrons are supplied with a lot of energy or are losing lots of energy
Low voltage
Electrons lack energy or lose very little energy
V =
I x R
I =
V / R
R =
V / I
Temperature
Result of the movement of particles, measure of kinetic energy
Influencer of temperature
Depends on the speed of the movement of particles
Heat
Transfer of kinetic energy, total energy of particles within a substance
Heat transfer
Heat flows from areas of higher temperature to those of lower temperature
Influencer of heat transfer
The greater the temperature, the faster the heat flows
Conduction
Rapid vibration of particles in one substance transferring the vibration to a second substance
Conductors
Substances that transfer heat easily (metals)
Insulators
Substances that transfer heat poorly (plastics)
Convection
The rising and sinking of particles of different heat (liquids and gasses)
Density of heated particles
Less dense so they rise
Density of cooled particles
More dense so they sink
Convection current
As the cooled particles reach the point of heating, they begin to rise, whilst the heated particles rise, they become further away from the heat source, leading them to cool down and sink again
Radiation
Transmission of heat as invisible waves that travel at the speed of light
Reaction to radiation
Absorption, reflection, transmission
Influencers of absorption, reflection and transmission
Temperature, colour and material
Transversal waves
Up/down movement - surface tension
Longitudinal waves
Left/right movement - chain reaction
Sound waves
Vibration of particles propagating outwards from the source
Amplitude
Strength of the wave
Impact of amplitude
Changes the volume
Wavelength
Distance between recurring points
Frequency
Number of waves per second
High frequency
Sound is high pitch
Low frequency
Sound is low pitch
Foundation of light
Made up of capsules of energy (photons)
Formation of photons
As electrons lose energy, their orbit becomes smaller and a photon is released
Electromagnetic waves
Amount of energy that photons have changes how they interact with other substances
Types of light waves
Radio, microwave, infrared, visible, ultraviolet (UV), x-ray, gamma ray