Electricity
Simple Circuits
The Power of Circuits #sciencegoals
Vocabulary
- electricity: the form of energy that is produced when electrons move from one place to another
- circuit: a path through which electricity flows
- polarity: the arrangement of batteries in a circuit (must be connected positive to negative in order to work)
- electric current: the constant flow of electricity
- amp: the unit of measurement for electric current
- voltage: the unit that measures how much “push” batteries give electrons through wires (higher voltage, more “push”)
- conductor: materials that allow electricity to flow through them easily (examples: copper wire, paper clip, metal)
- insulator: materials that resist the flow of electricity (examples: wood, rubber, glass, cloth)
- series circuit: a circuit where electricity flows in one continuous loop. (These are easy to construct and use less materials. Since there is only one path, if one part stops working, the electricity stops flowing. )
- parallel circuit: a circuit where each device has its own separate loop (These are more difficult to construct and use more materials. Since there is more than one path, if one part stops working, other parts are still able to work.)
- resistance: when a material limits the amount of electricity that can pass through it
- rheostat: a dimmer switch