Electricity and Circuits Lecture Notes

These flashcards cover the fundamental concepts of electricity, including the definitions of static and current electricity, circuit components, types of circuits, and physical laws as presented in the lecture notes from May and June 2026.

Static Electricity

Electricity that collects as charge on the surface of insulators and does not flow.

Current Electricity

The type of electricity where charges or electrons flow through conductors via a direct path to reach a destination.

Circuit

A closed continuous pathway or loop that allows current to travel from the power source through components and back to the source.

Like Charges

Charges that repel each other, such as $(+ +)$ or $(- -)$.

Opposite Charges

Charges that attract each other, such as $(+ -)$.

Ammeter

A device that measures the rate of flow of charge, known as current, at a certain point in the circuit.

Voltmeter

A device that measures the energy transferred by electrons (the voltage) across components.

Lamp

A component that converts electrical energy to useful energy (light) and wasted heat.

Fuse

A thin wire that melts and breaks the circuit when too much charge is flowing.

Cell

An energy source that provides the first push given to electrons to flow.

Battery

A group of cells that carries out a chemical process to provide electron energy.

Voltage

The electrical pressure or potential difference between 2 points; the energy that forces electrons to move around the circuit, measured in volts $(V)$.

Current

The continuous flow of charges or electrons through a circuit, represented by the symbol $I$ and measured in the unit ampere $(A)$.

Resistor

A passive electrical component used to restrict or reduce the flow of electric current in a circuit, measured in ohms $\Omega$.

Load

Anything in the circuit that uses up electricity and converts energy from one form to another, such as a lamp or blender.

Series Circuit

A circuit where components are connected in a single loop; current is the same in all parts, but voltage splits.

Parallel Circuit

A circuit that has branches where the current splits or is shared among branches, but voltage to the components remains the same.

Open Circuit

A broken loop with an open switch or broken wire that does not allow current to flow.

Closed Circuit

An uninterrupted loop where the switch is closed, allowing electricity to flow continuously.

Ohm's Law

$V = I \times R$, where voltage equals current multiplied by resistance.

Total Resistance (Series)

In a series circuit, it is the sum of individual resistances: $R = R_1 + R_2$.