Chapter 20/21 Vocabulary

Front 1

Electric charge

Back 1

Causes subatomic particles such as protons and electrons to attract or repel each other

Front 2

Electric force

Back 2

Force of attraction or repulsion

Front 3

Electric field

Back 3

The effect of an electric charge on other charges

Front 4

Static electricity

Back 4

Study of the behavior of electric charges

Front 5

Law of conservation of charge

Back 5

The total charge in an isolated system is constant

Front 6

Induction

Back 6

A transfer of charge without contact between materials

Front 7

Electric current

Back 7

A continues flow of electric charge

Front 8

Direct current

Back 8

When charge flows only in one direction

Front 9

Alternating current

Back 9

A flow of electric charge that regularly reverses its direction

Front 10

Electrical conductor

Back 10

A material through which charge can flow easily

Front 11

Electrical insulator

Back 11

A material through which charge cannot flow easily

Front 12

Resistance

Back 12

Opposition to the flow of charges in a material

Front 13

Superconductor

Back 13

A material that has almost zero resistance when it is cooled to low temperatures

Front 14

Potential difference

Back 14

The difference in electrical potential energy between two places in an electric field

Front 15

Voltage

Back 15

Measured in volts, potential difference is also called voltage

Front 16

Battery

Back 16

A device that converts chemical energy to electrical energy

Front 17

Ohm's Law

Back 17

The voltage (V) in a circuit equals the production of the current (I) and the resistance (R).

Front 18

Electric circuit

Back 18

A complete path through which charge can flow

Front 19

Series circuit

Back 19

Charge has only one path through which it can flow

Front 20

Parallel circuit

Back 20

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

Front 21

Electric power

Back 21

The rate at which electrical energy is converted to another form of energy

Front 22

Fuse

Back 22

Prevents current overload in a circuit

Front 23

Circuit beaker

Back 23

A switch that opens when current in a circuit is too high

Front 24

Grounding

Back 24

The transfer of excess charge through a conductor to Earth

Front 25

Electronics

Back 25

The science of using electric current to process or transmit information

Front 26

Electronic signal

Back 26

Information sent as patterns in the controlled flow of electrons through a circuit

Front 27

Analog signal

Back 27

A smoothly varying signal produced by continuously changing the voltage or current in a circuit

Front 28

Digital signal

Back 28

Encodes information as a string of 1's and 0's

Front 29

Semiconductor

Back 29

A crystalline solid that conducts current only under certain conditions

Front 30

Diode

Back 30

A solid-state component that combines an n-type and p-type semiconductor

Front 31

Transistor

Back 31

A solid-state component with three layers of semiconductors

Front 32

Integrate circuit

Back 32

A think slice of silicon that contains many solid-state components

Front 33

Computer

Back 33

A programmable device that can store and process information

Front 34

Magnetic force

Back 34

The force of a magnet exerts on another magnet, on iron or a similar metal, or on moving charges

Front 35

Magnetic pole

Back 35

Region where the magnet's force is strongest

Front 36

Magnetic field

Back 36

Strongest near a magnet's poles; will either attract or repel another magnet that enters the field

Front 37

Magnetosphere

Back 37

The area surrounding Earth that is influenced by this field

Front 38

Magnetic domain

Back 38

A region that has a very large number of atoms with aligned magnetic field

Front 39

Ferromagnetic material

Back 39

Can be magnetized because it contains magnetic domains (Ex. iron)

Front 40

Electromagnetic force

Back 40

Electricity and magnetism are different aspects of a single force

Front 41

Solenoid

Back 41

A coil of current-carrying wire that produces a magnetic field

Front 42

Electromagnet

Back 42

A solenoid with a ferromagnetic core

Front 43

Galvanometer

Back 43

A deice that uses a solenoid to measure small amounts of current

Front 44

Electric motor

Back 44

A device that uses an electromagnet to turn an axle

Front 45

Electromagnetic induction

Back 45

The process of generating a current by moving an electrical conductor relative to a magnetic field

Front 46

Generator

Back 46

A device that converts mechanical energy into electrical energy by rotating a coil of wire in a magnetic field

Front 47

Transformer

Back 47

A device that increases or decreases the voltage and current of two linked AC circuits

Front 48

Turbine

Back 48

A device with a fanlike blade that turns when pushed, for example, by water or steam