Electricity and Circuits Vocabulary

Flashcards covering key terms related to electricity, circuits, current, voltage, and resistance.

Current Electricity

A continuous flow of electrons from an energy source.

Circuit

Uninterrupted flow of electrons in a complete path

Conductor

A material that will let electrons flow; most metals are conductors.

Insulator

A material that resists the flow of electrons; most non-metals are insulators.

Semiconductor

Materials that have some resistance to electron flow, used to make computer microchips.

Superconductor

Materials that offer little to no resistance to the flow of electrons.

Energy Source

A battery or other source that provides the power for a circuit.

Conductor (in a circuit)

The wire through which current flows in a circuit.

Load

Items along a circuit that convert electricity into other forms of energy (e.g., light bulbs, motors, heaters, speakers).

Control

A switch or device that can turn the circuit or devices along it on or off.

Ampere (A)

Measure of the number of electrons passing a point each second.

Ammeter

Instrument used to measure electric current.

Galvanometer

Instrument used to measure very weak electric current.

Voltage (Volts - V)

A measure of how much electrical energy each charged particle carries; aka potential difference.

Voltmeter

Device to measure potential difference (voltage).

Multimeter

Device that measures many characteristics of circuits including voltage.

Resistance

Limits the flow of electricity, expressed in Ohms.