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Mrs. Prine's chapter 20 vocabulary

Terms in this set (33)

Electric Charge
a property that causes subatomic particles sush as protons and electrons to attract or repel one another.
Electric Force
the attraction or repulsion between electrically charged objects.
Electric Field
a field in a region of space that exerts electric force on charged particles in a field produced by electric charges or by changing magnetic fields.
Static Electricity
the study of the behavior of electric changes, including how charge is transferred between objects.
Law of Conservation of Charge
a law stating that the total electric charge in an isolated system is constant; electric charge is never created or destroyed.
Induction
the transfer of charge without contract between materials.
Electric Current
a continuous flow of electric charge.
Direct Current (DC)
a flow of electric charge in only one direction.
Alternating Current (AC)
a flow electric charged that regularly reverses in direction.
Electrical Conductor
a material through which electric charge can flow easily.
Electrical Insulator
a material through which electric charge cannot flow easily.
Resistance
the opposition to the flow of electric charge in a material.
Superconductor
a material that has almost zero resistance when it is cooled to low temperatures.
Potential Difference
voltage, or the difference in electric potential energy between two places in an electric field.
Voltage
potential difference, the difference in electric potential energy between two places in an electric field.
Battery
a device that converts chemical energy into electrical energy.
Ohm's Law
the relationship of voltage, current, and resistance: V=IR.
Electric Circuit
a complete path through which electric charge can flow.
Series Circuit
an electric circuit with only one path through which charge can flow.
Parallel Circuit
an electric circuit which two or more paths through which charge can flow.
Electric Power
the rate at which electrical energy is converted to another form of energy.
Fuse
a device that prevents overheating due to current in a circuit.
Circuit Breaker
a switch that opens when the current in a circuit is too high.
Grounding
the transfer of excess charge through a conductor to Earth.
Electronics
the science of using electrical currents to process or transmit information.
Electronic Signal
information sent as patterns in the controlled flow of electrons through a circuit.
Analog Signal
a smooth varying signal produced by continuously changing the voltage or current.
Digital Signal
a signal that encodes information as a string of 1's and 0's.
Semiconductor
a crystalline solid that conducts electric current only under certain conditions.
Diode
a solid-state component with a n-type semiconductor joined to a p-type semiconductor.
Transistor
a solid-state component with three layers of semiconductor material, used to turn current on or off or to increase the strength of electronic signals.
Integrated Circuit
a thin slice of silicon that contains many solid-state components; a microchip.
Computer
a programable device that can store and process information.
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