Key Concepts in Electricity and Circuits

electric conductor

material in which electric charges easily move

electric discharge

loss of an unbalanced electric charge

electric field

invisible region around a charged object where an electric force is applied

electric force

a force that two electrically charged objects apply to each other

electric insulator

material in which electric charges cannot easily move electrically

electrically charged

having an unbalanced amount of positive charge or negative charge; positively charged objects have lost electrons and negatively charged objects have gained electrons

electrically neutral

having equal amounts of positive charge and a negative charge

nucleus

small, dense region consisting of protons and neutrons at the center of an atom

charge

definite quantity of electricity

electric circuit

closed, or complete path in which an electric current flows

electric current

movement of electrically charged particles

electric resistance

measure of how difficult it is for an electric current to flow in a material

generator

machine that transforms mechanical energy to electric energy

light

electromagnetic radiation you can see

voltage

amount of energy used to move one coulomb of electrons through the circuit

electromagnet

A temporary magnet made with a current-carrying wire coil wrapped around a magnetic core

magnet

an object that attracts iron and other materials that have magnetic qualities similar to iron

magnetic domain

region in a magnetic material in which the magnetic fields of the atoms all point in the same direction

magnetic force

push or pull a magnetic field applies to either a magnetic material or an electric current

magnetic material

any material that a magnet attracts

soft magnetic material

- loses its induced magnetic field quickly (e.g. iron)

hard magnetic material

keeps it's magnetic field for long periods of time (e.g. mixtures of iron, nickel, cobalt & other elements; also naturally occurring lodestone)

direct current

electric charges continually flow from the negative side of the source to the positive side

alternating current

the flow of electric changes direction many times per second

simple circuit

contains a source of electric energy (battery), an electric device (light bulb, buzzer), an electric conductor (wire), and often a switch

series circuit

electrical path that has only one way that an electric current can flow

parallel circuit

electrical path where each device connects to the electric source separately

coulomb

equal to 6 quintillion electrons

magnetic field

the region surrounding magnetic material or a moving electric charge within which the force of magnetism acts

magnetic poles

places on a magnet where the magnetic field lines are closest together; field lines point away from the north and towards the south ends of the magnet

earths magnetic field

results from flowing molten iron and nickel in the outer core

permanent magnets

naturally occurring magnetite or a man-made mixture of iron, nickel and cobalt that is irreversibly magnetized