Electricity E01-E07

A set of vocabulary flashcards covering key concepts related to electricity, including definitions and explanations of laws, components, and phenomena.

Current

The rate of flow of electric charge.

Potential Difference

The energy transferred per unit charge when electric charge moves between two points in a circuit.

Power

The rate of energy transfer or the rate at which work is done.

Kirchhoff’s First Law (Current)

The total current entering a junction is equal to the total current leaving the junction.

Kirchhoff’s Second Law (Voltage)

The sum of the potential differences (voltages) around any closed loop in a circuit is equal to zero.

Resistance

A measure of how much a component opposes the flow of electric current in a circuit.

Ohmic Resistor

A component that obeys Ohm’s Law, meaning its resistance stays constant as the current and potential difference change — provided the temperature remains the same.

I-V Graph for an Ohmic Conductor

A straight line through the origin indicating that current is directly proportional to voltage.

I-V Graph for a Filament Lamp

A curve starting steep (low resistance when the lamp is cool) that flattens out, indicating increased resistance as voltage increases.

Dependence of Resistance on Current in a Filament Lamp

Resistance depends on current due to the temperature change of the filament, affecting resistance through atomic vibrations.

Resistance in a Light Dependent Resistor (LDR)

Changes inversely with light intensity due to the effect of light on the number of charge carriers in the material.

Resistance in a Thermistor

Depends on temperature as it is made of a semiconductor, influencing the number of charge carriers.

Resistivity

A property of a material that relates the resistance of a conductor to its length and cross-sectional area.

Superconductor

A material that has zero electrical resistance when cooled below a certain critical temperature.

Applications of Superconductors

Used in maglev trains, MRI machines, particle accelerators, power cables, and magnetic energy storage.

Forward Bias in a Diode

Current flows only after a small threshold voltage, causing the curve to rise sharply.

Reverse Bias in a Diode

Almost no current flows, resulting in a line near zero on the graph.