physics - electricity

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222 Terms

1
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what is electric current

the flow of electric charge round the circuit

2
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current will ONLY flow…

around a complete (closed) circuit if there’s a potential difference

3
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what is the unit for current

ampere, amps, A

4
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what will the current be like in a single, closed loop?

the current will have the same value everywhere in the circuit

5
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what is potential difference (or voltage)

the driving force that pushes the charge round

6
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what is resistance

anything in the circuit which slows the flow down

7
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what is the unit for resistance

ohms, Ω

8
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what does the current flowing through a component depend on

the potential difference across it and the resistance of the component

9
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how does the resistance of a component affect the current

the greater the resistance across a component, the smaller the current that flows through it

10
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what is the size of the current also known as

the rate of flow of charge

11
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what is the equation to find the charge

Charge = Current x Time,

12
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what is the symbol equation to find the charge

Q = It

13
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what is the unit for charge

coulombs (C)

14
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what is the unit for charge

amperes (A)

15
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what is the unit for time

seconds (s)

16
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when will more charge pass around the circuit

when a bigger current flows

17
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<p>what is this</p>

what is this

a cell

18
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which line of the cell diagram is positive and negative

the long thin line is positive, the short thick one is negative

19
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<p>what is this </p>

what is this

battery

20
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<p>what is this</p>

what is this

an open switch

21
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<p>what is this </p>

what is this

a closed switch

22
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<p>what is this</p>

what is this

filament lamp/bulb

23
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<p>what is this</p>

what is this

fuse

24
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<p>what is this</p>

what is this

LED

25
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<p>what is this</p>

what is this

resistor

26
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<p>what is this</p>

what is this

variable resistor

27
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<p>what is this</p>

what is this

ammeter

28
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<p>what is this</p>

what is this

voltmeter

29
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<p>what is this</p>

what is this

diode

30
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<p>what is this</p>

what is this

LDR - light dependent resistor

31
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<p>what is this </p>

what is this

thermistor

32
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whats the formula to find potential difference

potential difference = current x resistance

33
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whats the symbol equation to find potential difference

V = IR

34
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whats the formula triangle for potential difference

knowt flashcard image
35
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whats the unit for potential difference

volts

36
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whats the unit for current

amperes, amps, A

37
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whats the unit for resistance

ohms, Ω

38
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will the resistance of ohmic conductor change with current (e.g. wire/resistor)

no. at a constant temp, the current flowing through the ohmic conductor is directly proportional to the potential difference across it.

39
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in the equation V=IR, which is constant

R (resistance)

40
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which components will the resistance change for

filament lamps/bulbs or diodes

41
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why does the resistance change in filament lamps/bulbs (2)

  • when an electrical charge flows through a filament lamp, some energy is transferred to the thermal energy store of the filament (getting hotter)

  • resistance increases with temperature, so when the current increases, the lamp heats up more and resistance increases

42
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why does the resistance change in diodes (2)

  • resistance depends on direction of the current

  • will let current flow in one direction happily, but have a very high resistance if directions are reversed

43
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what factors can affect the resistance of a circuit (2)

  • are components in series or parallel?

  • the length of wire used in the circuit

44
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how to set up for practical: investigating effect of wire length on resistance

knowt flashcard image
45
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what is the ammeters role in this practical

measures the current (in amps) flowing through the test wire

46
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whats important to remember when setting up the ammeter in an experiment

must always be placed in series with whatever you’re investigating

47
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whats the role of the voltmeter in this practical

measures the potential difference across the test wire (in volts)

48
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whats important to remember when setting up the voltmeter in an experiment

must always be placed in parallel around whatever you’re investigating (e.g. the ruler in this practical)

49
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how to do the investigating resistance based on wire length practical (5)

  1. attach a crocodile clip to the wire level with 0cm on the ruler

  2. attach the 2nd crocodile clip to the wire (e.g. 10cm away from 1st clip). write down the length of wire between clips

  3. close switch, then record current through the wire and the pd across it

  4. open switch, move 2nd crocodile clip (e.g. another 10cm) along the wire. close switch again, record the new length, current and pd

  5. repeat for different lengths

50
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<p>how to plot graph for this practical (3)</p>

how to plot graph for this practical (3)

  1. use measurements from practical to calculate resistance using R=V÷I

  2. plot a graph against wire length and draw a line of best fit

  3. your graph should be a straight line through the origin

51
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what goes on the y axis of the graph

resistance

52
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what goes on the x axis of the graph

length of wire

53
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mistakes that could occur from this graph/experiment

graph doesn’t go through the origin (it could be because your 1st clip wasn’t attached exactly at 0cm so all your length readings could be off) this is called a systematic error.

54
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hazards in this practical + 2 methods to prevent it

the wire could get hot, use a low pd to stop it getting too hot + turn off circuit between readings to allow it to cool off

55
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what is an I-V Characteristic

a graph that shows how the current (I) flowing through a component changes as the potential difference (V) across it increases

56
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experiment to find a component’s I-V characteristic (5)

  1. set up this test circuit

  2. begin to vary the variable resistor- this alters the current flowing through the circuit and the pd across the component

  3. take several pairs of readings from the ammeter + voltmeter to see how the pd across the component varies as the current changes.

  4. repeat each reading twice more to get an average pd at each current

  5. swap over the wires connected to the battery, so the direction of the current is reversed

  6. plot a graph of current against voltage for the component

<ol><li><p>set up this test circuit</p></li><li><p>begin to vary the variable resistor- this alters the current flowing through the circuit and the pd across the component</p></li><li><p>take several pairs of readings from the ammeter + voltmeter to see how the pd across the component varies as the current changes. </p></li><li><p>repeat each reading twice more to get an average pd at each current</p></li><li><p>swap over the wires connected to the battery, so the direction of the current is reversed</p></li><li><p>plot a graph of current against voltage for the component</p></li></ol>
57
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i-v characteristic for ohmic conductor (e.g. resistor at a constant temp)

  • current is directly proportional to pd

  • straight line

<ul><li><p>current is directly proportional to pd </p></li><li><p>straight line</p></li></ul>
58
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i-v characteristic for filament lamp/bulb

  • as current increases, temp increases, so resistance increases

  • less current can flow per unit pd as a result, so the graph gets shallower

<ul><li><p>as current increases, temp increases, so resistance increases</p></li><li><p>less current can flow per unit pd as a result, so the graph gets shallower</p></li></ul>
59
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i-v characteristic for diode

  • current only flows through a diode in 1 direction

  • diode has very high resistance in reverse direction

<ul><li><p>current only flows through a diode in 1 direction</p></li><li><p>diode has very high resistance in reverse direction</p></li></ul>
60
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what is a LDR

a resistor dependent on the intensity of light

61
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how will the resistance vary based on the brightness the LDR is in

in bright light → resistance falls

in darkness → resistance is highest

62
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when are LDR’s useful in products- examples (3)

  1. automatic night lights

  2. outdoor lighting

  3. burglar detectors

63
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what is a thermistor

a resistor that is temperature dependent

64
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how will the resistance vary based on the thermal conditions the thermistor is in

hot conditions → resistance drops

cool conditions → resistance increases

65
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when are thermistors useful in products - examples (2)

  1. car engine temperature sensors

  2. electronic thermostats

66
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what are sensing circuits used for

turning on or increasing the power to components depending on the conditions they’re in

67
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what are sensing circuits used for

turning on or increasing the power to components depending on the conditions that they’re in

68
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<p>what is this sensing circuit going to control</p>

what is this sensing circuit going to control

a fan

<p>a fan</p>
69
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what two components in the circuit will have the same potential difference and why

fixed resistor and fan because they’re connected in parallel

70
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how is the potential difference of the power supply shared out between the thermistor and the loop (fixed resistor and fan)

according to resistances- the bigger a components resistance, the more potential difference it takes

71
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what will happen to the circuit and fan as the room gets hotter

  • resistance of the thermistor decreases

  • takes a smaller share of p.d from the power supply

  • p.d. across the loop (fixed resistor + fan) rises

  • this makes the fan go faster

72
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how else can you create a sensing circuit?

across a variable resistor instead of a fixed resistor

73
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<p>what is this circuit showing </p>

what is this circuit showing

a lamp

<p>a lamp</p>
74
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if you connect the bulb in parallel to an LDR…

the p.d. across the LDR and bulb will be high when it’s dark. the LDR’s resistance is high

75
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how does p.d affect energy of a component

the greater the pd across a component, the more energy it gets

76
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as the room got darker, the bulb..

would get brighter

77
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<p>how are series circuits formed</p>

how are series circuits formed

all components are connected in a line, end to end

78
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<p>what is the exception in series circuits</p>

what is the exception in series circuits

voltmeters, which will always be connected in parallel (they don’t count as part of your circuit)

79
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what will happen if you remove or disconnect 1 component in a series circuit

the circuit is broken, and they all stop

80
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are series circuits very handy

not really, they break easily, so very few things are connected in series

81
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how do cell p.d.’s add up in a series circuit?

all the p.d’s add up e.g. 2 batteries of voltage 1.5V will supply a total of 3V

82
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how will the total p.d. be shared?

it will be shared between the various components. you can see this through the equation: Vtotal = V1 + V2 + …

83
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how is the current in series circuits

the current is the same everywhere (I1 = I2 = …)

84
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how do you calculate the size of the current in series circuits

I = V ÷ R (current = p.d ÷ resistance)

85
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how do you find resistance in series circuits

you find the sum of all the resistances (Rtotal = R1 + R2)

86
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why is the resistance like this

because by adding a resistor in series, the resistors will have to share the total p.d.

87
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how will the resistance be affected when a resistor is added

the total resistance of the circuit increases

88
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the bigger a component’s resistance…

the bigger its share of the total p.d.

89
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how are parallel circuits formed

each component is seperately connected to the power supply

90
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what is the exception with parallel circuits

ammeters, which will always be connected in series

91
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what will happen if you remove one component from a parallel circuit

it will hardly affect the other components

92
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why are parallel circuits more useful then series circuits

they don’t break or stop working as easily as series circuits

93
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in cars and household electrics why are parallel circuits useful

you have to be able to switch everything on and off separately

94
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everyday circuits are…

a mixture of series and parallel circuits

95
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how is the potential difference in parallel circuits

the same across all components. (V1 = V2 = V3 = …)

96
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why is the p.d. the same in parallel circuits everywhere

all components get the full source pd, so the voltage is the same across all components. as a result, identical bulbs connected in parallel will all be at the same brightness

97
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how is current in a parallel circuit

current is shared between branches. (Itotal = I1+I2+…)

98
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how is resistance in a parallel circuit

adding a resistor will reduce the total resistance. (this is because the current has more than 1 direction to go in, so will increase the total current that flows around the circuit)

99
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how to investigate the effect of adding resistors in series? (practical)

  1. need 4 identical resistors

  2. build the circuit using 1 resistor. (make note of the p.d. of the battery)

  3. measure the current using the ammeter

    (use to calculate resistance using R=V÷I)

  4. add another resistor in series with the 1st resistor

  5. measure the new current through the circuit (use this + pd of battery to calculate the overall resistance of the circuit)

  6. repeat steps 4 + 5 till all resistors are added

  7. plot a graph of the no. of resistors against total resistance of the circuit

<ol><li><p>need 4 identical resistors</p></li><li><p>build the circuit using 1 resistor. (make note of the p.d. of the battery)</p></li><li><p>measure the current using the ammeter</p><p>(use to calculate resistance using R=V÷I)</p></li><li><p>add another resistor in series with the 1st resistor</p></li><li><p>measure the new current through the circuit (use this + pd of battery to calculate the overall resistance of the circuit)</p></li><li><p>repeat steps 4 + 5 till all resistors are added</p></li><li><p>plot a graph of the no. of resistors against total resistance of the circuit</p></li></ol>
100
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what will the graph look like for this/as more resistors are added?

  • adding more resistors increases the total resistance

  • directly proportional, goes through origin