Electricity year 8

A set of vocabulary flashcards defining fundamental electricity keywords, circuit components, and units of measurement.

Static electricity

An imbalance or build-up of electric charges on the surface of an object.

Cell

A single unit device that converts stored chemical energy into electrical energy to provide voltage.

Battery

A power source made of two or more electrical cells connected together.

Terminal

A point of connection on an electrical component, cell, or battery where electric current enters or leaves.

Lamp/bulb

A component that emits light when an electric current passes through it.

Filament

A thin wire inside a bulb that heats up and produces light when an electric current flows through it.

Circuit

A closed conducting loop/pathway through which an electric current can flow.

Switch

A component used to open (break) or close (complete) an electrical circuit, thereby controlling the flow of current.

Component

An individual part or device within an electrical circuit, such as a bulb, switch, or resistor.

Conductor

A material that allows electric current to flow through it easily due to free-moving charges.

Insulator

A material that resists the flow of electric current and does not allow electric charges to pass through easily.

Series circuit

An electrical circuit where components are connected end-to-end along a single path, so the same current flows through all of them.

Parallel circuit

An electrical circuit containing multiple branches or pathways, allowing current to divide among different components.

Electric current

The of flow of electrictiy around an electrical circuit.

Electron

A negatively charged subatomic particle whose movement constitutes an electric current in conducting materials.

Ammeter

An instrument connected in series to measure the electric current flowing through a circuit.

Amps (A)

Amperes; the standard unit of measurement for electric current, abbreviated as $A$.

Voltage

The electrical potential difference between two points that drives electric current through a circuit.

Voltmeter

An instrument connected in parallel across a component to measure the voltage (potential difference).

Volts (V)

The standard unit of measurement for electrical potential difference or voltage, abbreviated as $V$.

Resistance

A measure of the opposition to the flow of electric current through a material or component.

Resistor

An electrical component designed to provide a specific amount of resistance to the flow of electric current.

Fuse

A safety device containing a thin wire designed to melt and break the circuit if the current exceeds a safe level.

Variable resistor

A resistor whose resistance can be adjusted to vary the amount of current flowing through a circuit.