General Science 1: Electricity and Fluid Mechanics

Vocabulary flashcards created from Grade 11 General Science notes covering electricity, energy sources, radiation effects, electrical hazards, fluid properties, fluid statics, and fluid dynamics.

Electricity

A fundamental form of energy used to power homes, schools, and industries, characterized by the movement of charged particles, primarily electrons.

Renewable Resource

Energy resources that can be replenished or regenerated naturally, such as solar, hydroelectric, wind, geothermal, and biomass.

Non-Renewable Resource

Energy resources that are limited on a human time scale, including fossil fuels (coal, petroleum, natural gas) and nuclear resources.

Solar Energy

Energy coming from the sun, which solar panels convert into DC current before an inverter converts it into AC electricity.

Wind Energy

A renewable energy source generated by wind, exemplified by the Bangui Windmills in Ilocos Norte, Philippines.

Hydropower

Electricity generated from water pressure in dams and watersheds, using high kinetic motion of fast-running streams to produce power.

Fossil Fuels

Non-renewable energy resources derived from living organisms that lived millions of years ago, which release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere when burned.

Nuclear Reaction

A process occurring when atoms of one species of chemical element are transformed into atoms of another species through nuclear change.

Nuclear Fusion

A nuclear process involving the combination of two light atoms to form a heavier element.

Nuclear Fission

A nuclear process involving the splitting of heavy atoms into lighter elements.

High Risk Radiation Dose

Radiation exposure levels such as $10,000\,\text{mSv}$ (fatal within days), $5,000\,\text{mSv}$ (kills half exposed within a month), and $2,000\,\text{mSv}$ (causes acute radiation sickness).

Moderate Risk Radiation Dose

Radiation levels including $1,000\,\text{mSv}$ ($5\%$ higher chance of cancer), $400\,\text{mSv}$ (highest hourly dose recorded at Fukushima), and $100\,\text{mSv}$ (level at which increased cancer risk is first noticeable).

Tolerable Radiation Levels

Radiation doses causing no symptoms or detectable cancer risk, such as $20\,\text{mSv}$ (yearly nuclear worker limit), $10\,\text{mSv}$ (full body CT scan), $5\,\text{mSv}$ (yearly airline crew dose), $3\,\text{mSv}$ (single mammogram), $2\,\text{mSv}$ (UK background radiation), and $0.1\,\text{mSv}$ (chest x-ray).

Geothermal Energy

Energy generated from the Earth's internal heat, derived from geo (Earth) and thermos (heat).

Biomass

Biological matter derived from living or recently deceased organisms, which may include wood, animal dung, and agricultural waste.

Residential Sector

The electricity sector comprising homes, apartments, and residential buildings, consuming $25\%$ of electricity for daily living needs like lighting, cooling, refrigeration, and charging devices.

Commercial Sector

The electricity sector comprising offices, malls, schools, hospitals, and restaurants, consuming $35\%$ of electricity due to longer operating hours and large space requirements.

Industrial Sector

The electricity sector comprising factories, mining operations, and production plants, consuming $40\%$ of electricity to run heavy machinery and continuous operations.

Electric Shock

An electrical hazard occurring when electrical current passes through the body, caused by touching live wires, using devices with wet hands, or standing in water.

Electrical Fire

A fire caused by overheating, sparks, overloaded outlets, short circuits, or faulty electrical systems.

Arc Flash

A sudden release of energy due to an electrical fault that creates intense heat and light, potentially causing severe burns, blindness, and hearing loss.

Overloaded Circuit

An electrical hazard occurring when too many devices are connected to one circuit, causing overheating, tripped breakers, and fire risk.

Fluid

A substance—either a liquid or a gas—that has the ability to flow.

Fluid Mechanics

A branch of physics that studies how fluids move or behave under static and dynamic conditions.

Density

A fluid property defined as mass per unit volume ($\rho = \frac{m}{v}$), describing how much mass is packed into a volume and affecting floating and sinking.

Viscosity

A fluid property describing a fluid's resistance to flow, or how thick or sticky a fluid is.

Pressure

The force exerted per unit area ($P = \frac{F}{A}$), which is central to hydraulic and pneumatic systems.

Temperature

A physical quantity that measures the average kinetic energy of the atoms or molecules in a substance.

Fluid Statics

The branch of fluid mechanics dealing with fluids at rest or in stable equilibrium.

Pascal's Principle

The principle stating that an increase in pressure at any point in a confined fluid produces an equal increase at every other point in the container ($P_1 = P_2$).

Archimedes' Principle

The principle stating that the upward buoyant force exerted on an immersed body equals the weight of the fluid displaced by the body ($\text{Buoyant Force} = \text{Liquid Density} \times g \times \text{Displaced Volume}$ where $g = 9.8\,\text{m/s}^2$).

Hydrostatic Pressure

The pressure exerted by a uniform fluid on an object, applied uniformly from all directions.

Fluid Dynamics

The branch of fluid mechanics dealing with fluids in motion.

Flow Rate

A quantity ($Q$) defined as the volume of fluid flowing through a given cross-sectional area each second.

Bernoulli's Principle

The principle stating that an increase in the speed of a fluid occurs simultaneously with a decrease in pressure.

Laminar Flow

A type of fluid flow that is smooth and streamlined, in contrast to turbulent flow.

Turbulent Flow

A type of fluid flow characterized by irregular and chaotic movement.

Continuity Equation

An equation ($A_1 v_1 = A_2 v_2$) stating that the total volume of fluid entering a pipe equals the sum of the volume leaving and any volume held back inside.