Electric Circuits Review

circuit

a continuous conducting loop including something to push charge (for example, a battery)

series

a circuit or a section of a circuit in which the current is equal throughout.

parallel

a circuit or a section of a circuit where the current can split into multiple paths. The voltage drop across each path is the same

conductance

the reciprocal of resistance

schematic diagram

a diagram which uses symbols for circuit elements and the lines connecting elements show direct electrical connections

current

Amount of charge flowing past a point in a conductor each second. Amperes: SI unit of electric current. A flow of one Coulomb of charge each second is an Ampere.

junction rule

the number of charges flowing into a junction must equal the number flowing out of the junction. (conservation of change)

voltage

the amount of energy carried by each unit of charge (electric potential)

volts

SI unit of electrical energy per unit of charge. One volt can increase or decrease the energy of one Coulomb of charge by one Joule.

loop rule

the energy per charge of a battery equals the sum of the changes in energy per charge around a circuit loop. (conservation of energy)

resistance

a property of obstacles that make the flow of charge more difficult and there fore decrease the flow rate

Ohms

Si unit of electrical resistance. One Ohm of resistance will limit the current in a circuit to one Ampere when a voltage of one volt is connected to the resistance.

Watt

SI unit of power. One watt is expended when one joule of work is done in one second. Electrically, this is equal to current times voltage.