Electricity

Protons

**Positive** electric charge

Electrons

**Negative** electric charge

Neutrons

**No** electrical charge

electrically neutral atom

number of protons = number of electrons (neither attract nor repel)

static charge

an unbalanced negative **or** positive electric charge on an object

Electic force

A force between **charged** objects which can still happen even when they are not touching

Coulomb's Law

Electric force and electric charge are *directly* related and electric force and distance are *inversely* related

electric insulator

A material in which electric charges **cannot** easily move (**higher** the resistance the better it is)

electric conductor

A material in which electric charges **can** easily move (**lower** the resistance the better it is)

Conduction

the transfer of electric charge by a simple *touch* when electric charges flow from one conductor to another

Induction

the transfer of electric charge by __scrambling__ electrons in *conducting* materials. A **charged** object scrambles the *electrons* in **two** *conducting* materials it is brought near by repelling the *electrons* in the conductors so that **more** *electrons* are on the __far object__. When the conductors are separated, the charges are trapped and can't return to where they were before

Friction

charge by __rubbing__. One object scrapes **electrons** off of another object, and both become charged in the process.

polarized

when **electrons** concentrate at *one* end of an object

electric discharge

the process of an *unbalanced* electric charge becoming balanced (lightning is a large electric discharge of static electricity

grounding

providing a path for electric charges to flow safely into the ground

electric current

The movement of electrically charged particles (electrons)

electric circuit

A closed, complete path in which an electric current can travel

Coulomb

How scientists count the number of *electrons* (electric charge)

Ampere

SI unit of electric __current__

1 amp \=

1 coulomb of charge flows the wire per second

Resistance

a measure of how difficult it is for *electrons* to flow through a material

Ohm

A unit of electric __resistance__

Ohm's Law

the relationship among current, voltage and resistance in a circuit

Ohm's Law Eqation

V\=I•R, R\=V÷I, I\=V÷R (V\=voltage, I\=current, R\=resistance)

Voltage and Current

**directly** related

Resistance and Current

**inversely** related

Voltage

the amount of energy the source uses to move *electrons* through an electric circuit

The 3 parts of an electric circuit

1. Source of electric energy

2. Electrical devices that transform electrical energy

3. Conductors such as wires that connect everything

appliances

convert electrical energy to other forms of energy

Series circuits

A circuit that has only **one** path for the electric current to follow.

Parallel circuits

An electric circuit with **two or more** paths through which energy can flow

Fuse Box

A piece of metal that melts to break the circuit when there is too much *thermal* energy

circut breaker

a switch that opens the circuit if the *current* is too high

GFCI

Senses if not all of the *current* is flowing and opens the circuit

short circuit

Any complete circuit with **no** resistance (it's connected to a battery, but not to any light sources or appliances)

Electric shock

occurs when electric *current* flows through your body (0.01 A causes a shock but 0.1 A can kill you)