Chapter 22: Current, Resistance, Power (Video) - Vocabulary Flashcards

Vocabulary-style flashcards covering key concepts from the lecture on current, resistance, and power.

Current

The rate at which charge moves through a conductor; driven by voltage and limited by resistance.

Voltage (Electric Potential Difference)

The driving potential that pushes charges; the potential difference between two points.

Resistance

A property of a material that impedes current flow, converting some electrical energy into heat.

Power (Electrical)

The rate at which electrical energy is transferred or dissipated; P = V × I.

Electrostatic Equilibrium

Condition where charges are at rest; no internal electric field; excess charge resides on the surface and the external field is perpendicular to the surface.

Surface Charge

Excess charge located on the surface of a conductor in electrostatic equilibrium.

Electric Field

A region around charges where a force would act on charges; inside conductors in electrostatic equilibrium, the field is zero.

Insulator

Material with tightly bound inner and valence electrons; charges are not free to move.

Valence Electron

Outer electron(s) in atoms; in metals, weakly bound and free to move, enabling conduction.

Conductor

Material in which electrons can move freely; metals with a sea of conduction electrons.

Electron Sea

Delocalized electrons that move through the metal's lattice of ion cores.

Ion Core

Fixed positively charged nuclei lattice of a metal; the positively charged cores ions.

Charge Carriers

Particles that carry electric charge; in metals, conduction electrons serve as charge carriers.

Conduction Electrons

Free electrons that move through a metal and carry current.

Conventional Current

Direction of current defined as positive charge flow (from + to −), opposite to electron flow.

Electron Current

Flow of electrons; opposite to conventional current.

Ampere (A)

Unit of current; 1 ampere equals 1 coulomb per second.

Coulomb

The unit of electric charge; 1 C represents a fixed amount of electric charge.

Charge Conservation

Electric charge is conserved; it is neither created nor destroyed, only separated and moved.

Conservation of Current (Continuity)

Current is the same at all points in a current-carrying wire; no charge accumulates.

Battery

Source of potential difference (voltage) in a circuit; often chemically energized.

ΔVwire = ΔVbat

The potential difference across the wire equals the potential difference supplied by the battery.

Potential Difference

Difference in electric potential between two points; drives current from higher to lower potential.

Direction of Current (I)

Current flows from higher potential to lower potential, in the direction of the electric field.

Thermal Energy

Energy associated with temperature; produced in circuits by resistive heating.

Filament

A resistor inside a lightbulb that glows when current passes through; brightness increases with current.

Lightbulb Model of Current

Demonstrates how current through a resistor (filament) converts electrical energy to light and heat.