Electronics Information

Front 1

Form of Energy that travels invisibly through conductors

Back 1

Electricity

Front 2

Most Versatile form of energy

Back 2

Electricty

Front 3

Tiny negative charges that orbit the nucleus of an atom

Back 3

Electrons

Front 4

A material that allows an easy flow of electrons.

Back 4

Conductor

Front 5

Give some examples of good conductors

Back 5

Silver, Copper, aluminum

Front 6

A material that resists the flow of electrons

Back 6

Insulator

Front 7

Give some examples of insulators

Back 7

Rubber, plastic, ceramic

Front 8

A loop of conductor that takes electricity from its source to the load and back to the source

Back 8

Circuit

Front 9

Anything in the circuit such as a heater, a light, or a motor, that uses power

Back 9

load

Front 10

A steady-flowing type of electricity, produced by batteries and used in flashlights, boom boxes, and computers

Back 10

DC (direct current)

Front 11

A type of current that changes direction many times per second.

Back 11

AC (alternating current)

Front 12

What is AC mainly used in?

Back 12

home wiring because it can be transported long distances over transmission wires.

Front 13

A branch of science that deals with complicated uses of electricity, such as in radios, televisions, and computers

Back 13

Electronics

Front 14

the amount of electrons flowing through a conducting material

Back 14

electric current

Front 15

the amount of power consumed by an electrical device

Back 15

electric power

Front 16

A force that affects the rate at which electricity flows through a conductor. AKA electrical pressure

Back 16

Voltage.

Front 17

Why is higher voltage more dangerous?

Back 17

The higher the voltage, the more likely it is to "leak" across an insulator or an air gap

Front 18

Tells how much electrical pressure is used in a part of the circuit

Back 18

Voltage drop

Front 19

The # of complete alternations (from one direction to the other and then back again) that the alternating current makes per second.

Back 19

Frequency

Front 20

The term used to decribe a complete alternation from one direction to the other and then back again.

Back 20

Cycle

Front 21

The opposition of a material to the flow of electricity through it.

Back 21

Resistance

Front 22

T/F
All circuits must have resistance.

Back 22

True, if they do not, they are called short circuits and the wires will overheat

Front 23

Describes the relationship between electrical pressure (voltage), current strength (amperage), and resistance (ohms) in any circuit

Back 23

ohm's law

Front 24

What is the fomula for Ohm's law?

Back 24

Amperes = volts/ohms

Front 25

What is the unit of measure for electric current?

Back 25

Ampere

Front 26

unit of measure for electric power

Back 26

watt

Front 27

Unit of measure for electric current or strength

Back 27

Ampere

Front 28

unit of measure for electric pressure or voltage

Back 28

volt

Front 29

Unit of measure for electric resistance

Back 29

Ohm

Front 30

Unit of measure for electric frequency

Back 30

Hertz

Front 31

What measuring device is used to measure electric power?

Back 31

electric meter

Front 32

The amount of power consumed by an electrical or electronic device can be calculated using which formula?

Back 32

The law of electric power

watts = volts x amperes

Front 33

Describe how an electromagnet works.

Back 33

A current passing through a conductor creates a magnetic field around it. Conductor wire is wrapped around an iron core

Front 34

Two electromagnets placed next to each other

Back 34

Transformer

Front 35

Which type of transformer has more turns of wire on the output side?

Back 35

Step-up transformer

Front 36

Which type of transformer has more turns of wire on the input side? What is the relationship between output and input voltage in this type of transformer?

Back 36

A step-down transformer.

The output voltage is smaller than the input voltage.

Front 37

Changes rotating (kinetic) energy into electric energy

Back 37

Generator

Front 38

Changes electric energy into kinetic energy

Back 38

Motor

Front 39

What are the names of the two magnets which make up a motor

Back 39

Rotor and Stator

Front 40

An magnet (usually an electromagnet) which spins inside of the stator in an electric motor

Back 40

Rotor

Front 41

A fancy name for stationary magnet inside of a motor

Back 41

Stator

Front 42

Explain how an electric motor works

Back 42

A rotor spins inside a stator. Usually, the rotor is an electromagnet. When electricity is fed to the rotor, the rotor starts to turn and the rotor and stator repel each other, forcing the rotor to keep spinning. The rotor changes polarity at the point where the magnets would stop repelling.

Front 43

A device that can briefly store electricity

Back 43

capacitor

Front 44

What is the symbol for a capacitor

Back 44

sort of looks like this:

---l(---

Front 45

What does the symbol for a resistor look like?

Back 45

sort of like this:

---^v^v^v---

Front 46

What does a transformer do?

Back 46

Changes the voltage and amperage of a current

Front 47

How does a transformer work?

Back 47

It works by changing electricity into magnetism, then back into electricity.

Front 48

How many coils does a transformer have?

Back 48

2

Front 49

What is the role of each coil in a transformer?

Back 49

One gets current from a source, and the other supplies output.

Front 50

Stores chemical energy that can be readily converted into electric current. They can be either wet or dry

Back 50

Battery

Front 51

What type of current does a battery always produce?

Back 51

DC

Front 52

How does a battery produce electricity?

Back 52

Electrochemical reactions between the cathode and the carbon electrode at the center result in free electrons, which can travel through a circuit to make electric current

Front 53

In this type of circuit, all moving electrons pass through every part of the circuit, including all the loads and swithches.

Back 53

Series circuit

Front 54

In a series circuit, what must the total voltage of the loads equal?

Back 54

The voltage of the circuit.

For example, In a series circuit supplied by a 12 volt battery, the total volt drop of the loads (such as a light bulb, etc.) must have a 12 volt drop.

Front 55

A String of christmas tree bulbs is a good example of what type of circuit?

Back 55

Series Circuit.

If one bulb goes out, then the voltage drop of the load is less than that of the circuit, thus the whole string goes out.

Front 56

In this type of circuit, the loads are placed between the two supply wires, so that they all get the same voltage.

Back 56

Parallel circuit

Front 57

What is the advantage of a parallel circuit over a series circuit?

Back 57

Current can flow through any of the loads, even if one is switched off.

Front 58

Current is the same at all points in a _________ circuit and voltage is the same at all points in a _________ circuit

Back 58

Series, parallel

Front 59

How do you find the total resistance in a series circuit?

Back 59

add the resistance of each load.

Front 60

This type of circuit combines the features of series and parallel circuits

Back 60

Series-parallel circuit

Front 61

These types of circuits are found throughout a house. they bring power to lights and outlets.

Back 61

Series-parallel circuits

Front 62

Silicon is an example of this. It can act as a conductor or as an insulator.

Back 62

Semiconductor

Front 63

Chemicals called ________ are applied to silicone to determine whether it will act as an insulator or as a conductor.

Back 63

dopants

Front 64

How do dopants determine whether or not a semiconductor will act as an insulator or as a conductor

Back 64

They make electrons available (conductor) or not available to flow (insulator)

Front 65

Devices that acan switch a current, regulate its flow, or amplify a current, all based on the presence of a smaller current.

Back 65

transistor.

Front 66

Millions of tiny transistors and diodes built on a piece of semiconductor describe the basis for what?

Back 66

computer logic and memory

Front 67

Diodes are used in these devices which convert AC to DC.

Back 67

Rectifiers

Front 68

What are the 2 functions of the fuse or circuit breaker box in a home?

Back 68

Breaking up the load in the building into a number of circuits, and preventing current from flowing into the circuits.

Front 69

Many simple circuits have two types of conductors, what are they, and what are their colors?

Back 69

hot conductor is usually black, and the grouded conductor is white.

Front 70

together, what are the black and white wires of a simple circuit called?

Back 70

supply wires

Front 71

For safety, what should you do to work on any electric circuit?

Back 71

Shut off the fuses and circuit breakers and check that the electricity is off. Use an electrical tester to test whether the hot wires are energized.

Front 72

15 ampere circuits require which guage of wire? 20 ampere circuits?

Back 72

15 amps requires 12 guage wire. 20 amps require 12 guage wire. (remember that bigger, heavier wires carry more current)

Front 73

Electricity always wants to complete a circuit. In building wiring, what are the two paths electricity can take to get back to the source (fuse box or circuit breaker)

Back 73

In normally returns through the grounded wire, but if something goes wrong with that line, it will return through the bare equipment grounding.

Front 74

Why are modern electric plugs polarized?

Back 74

because the two supply wires are different (black brings the current and white drains it away).

Front 75

2 of these can work together to control a circuit at either of 2 locations (such as the top and bottom of stairs)

Back 75

3 way switches

Front 76

This is used to continuously control voltage and dim lights

Back 76

rheostat

Front 77

In home wiring, ________ always controls the hot side of the circuit (the one that supplies the current)

Back 77

switches

Front 78

What is the job of either a circuit breaker or a fuse?

Back 78

breaking the circuit (cutting of the power) when something goes wron.

Front 79

These types of cables, usually used in TV's have an inner and outer conductor.

Back 79

Coaxial cable.