Key Terms

Use the spaces below to define the key terms in your own words.

2.1
Key Terms / Textbook Definition / Drawing / In my own words
Insulator
Superconductor
Conductor
Resistor
Resistance
ohm
Variable resistance
rheostat
2.2
Key Terms / Textbook Definition / Drawing / In my own words
Ohm’s Law
Voltage drop
Millivoltmeter
Ammeter
Galvanometer
multimeter
2.3
Key Terms / Textbook Definition / Drawing / In my own words
Schematic diagram
Series circuit
Parallel circuit
transistor
microcircuit
Integrated circuit

Chapter 2 – Technologies can be used to transfer and control electrical energy

2.1 – Controlling the Flow of Electrical Current

A Unique Circuit

Neon signs usually consist as a glass tube, twisted into shape. The tube is the filled with gas and metal terminals are sealed at the ends. The metal terminals of the tube are then connected to the ______and ______terminals of the ______. The sign is a ______, unlike the wire circuit that you saw earlier; this circuit includes a _____ as the______.

Usually neon gas is a ______– it does not ______. But when ______is applied to the tube, ______in the neon atoms are ______by the added energy, and free themselves from the atoms. The ______electrons leave behind the positive neon ions which creates a mixture that is excellent at ______current. As the current continues to add energy to the neon gas, some of the electrons fall back into the neon ions releasing their energy as the ______that we see.

Circuit Video

Conductors and Insulators

Electrons in insulators are ______bound to the ______nucleus of their atoms. They _____ moving away from the nucleus. In conductors, the electrons are not as tightly bound. They are _____ to move. However, a current will only flow when the conductor is connected to an______. The electrons move toward the positive end of the voltage source. Therefore, we say that electrons move when ______is applied.

Superconductors

Metals such as silver, copper, mercury, and gold are all excellent ______, but they are not ______conductors. When electrons travel through these substances, they encounter some ______. The amount of resistance varies from metal, which makes the choice of one metal over another as being a better conductor. However it is possible for metals to ______. Superconductors are ______conductors – they have no ______to electron flow.

Using Conductors, Resistors, and Insulators

In some applications, a type of ______called a ______is useful. A resister allows ______current to pass, but provides ______to it. This limits the amount of current. For any given voltage, more current flows through a resistor with a low resistance than through one with a high resistance. ______is a measure of how difficult it is for ______to flow through a substance. It is measured in ______. The symbol for ohm is Ω, the Greek letter omega.

The more resistance a substance has, the more the substance ______from each electron that passes through it. The energy that is gained by the substance is radiated to its surroundings as either _____ or______. Examples of this are an incandescent bulb and the element in a heater both radiate heat and light because of ______.

Solutions can also be ______. The more charged particles in a solution, the better it ______. Distilled water is not a good conductor because it only contains water molecules. These molecules have no ______. However, tap water and water in the environment are conductors because they contain many dissolved minerals. Knowing the conductivity of a particular substance can be of great use. For example, you could use a conductivity apparatus to check the purity of a substance.

The polygraph or “lie detector” is another application of resistance. It measures skin resistance, blood pressure, and respiration. All of these factors change under stress. Sweat is mostly a salty solution so it contributes to the change in skin resistance. To measure the change, two or more metal ______are attached to the skin. Therefore, a person who is lying is probably under the most stress. The lie causes an______in ______between the electrodes. This would show up as a peak on the graph.

Switches and Variable Resistors

A ______is used to turn electricity ______in a circuit. When a switch is on, two conductors are pressed together so that current can ______from one to the other. When the switch is off, the conductors are separated and no current flows. Sometimes you want to change the current flow gradually in a circuit, rather than just turning it on or off, for example, a light dimmer in your house. This type of control device is called a ______or ______.

Rheostats can ______or ______the amount of current in a circuit by adjusting the portion of the resistor that the current travels through. Examples include: volume controls on stereos and foot operated speed controls for sewing machines.

Check and Reflect p. 303

  1. What is the difference between a conductor and an insulator?
  1. What is a resistor?
  1. How does a switch control current flow?
  1. Why do some substances conduct while others do not?
  1. Use a labelled diagram to explain how electrons behave I a conductor when:
  2. No voltage is applied
  3. Voltage is applies
  1. You have built a fountain for you backyard pond. How might your control the pump speed so that the water doesn’t spray too high or too low?

2.2Modelling and Measuring Electricity

Modelling Voltage

The flow of water is very similar to the flow of voltage. Unless there is a ______in elevation, water doesn’t flow – it simply sits in a pool. If you pump water up a hill, it gains gravitational potential energy, and then flows back down. In a similar way, a cell, battery, or generator ______electrons to a point with a higher ______.Electricity will not flow without a ______in electrical potential, just as water does not flow without a difference in gravitational potential energy.

Modelling Resistance and Current

The flow of water in pipes is another useful model of electricity. For example, if you were using a reservoir to provide irrigation water for a field, you need to decide what size pipes to use to drain the reservoir. A pipe with a small diameter might be easier to hook up. However, the ______and ______the pipe is, the more resistance is has to the flow of water. A pipe with a ______diameter has less resistance, which allows a greater flow of water. Similarly, the amount of resistance in a circuit affects the electrical current. For any given voltage, current ______if you add resistance. As with water flow, you get the ______resistance with a short, wide path with no ______. The shorter and thicker the wire, the less resistance it creates for electrons. The flow of current will be ______if it has to pass through a ______.

Ohm’s Law

German scientist Georg Simon Ohm made an exciting electrical discovery in the early 1800’s. He was able to prove a link between ______, ______, and ______. The unit of resistance, the ohm, was named in his honour. Ohm’s Law states that as long as temperature stats the same

  1. The resistance of a conductor stays constant, and
  2. The current is directly proportional to the voltage applied

In other words, if you ______the voltage in a circuit, the current also ______. Ohm’s law also covers changes in resistance. If the voltage stays the same, but a resistor of greater value is used, then the current decreases. This table shows how to use Ohm’s Law

Applying Ohm’s Law

Example: An electric stove is connected to a 240-V outlet. If the current flowing through the stove is 20 A. What is the resistance of the heating element?

Skill Practice

  1. A 30-V battery creates a current through a 15-Ω resistor. How much current is created?
  1. A motor has an internal resistance of 40 Ω. The motor is in a circuit with a current of 4.0 A. What is the voltage?
  1. A current of 625 mA runs through a bulb that is connected to 120 V. What is the resistance of the bulb?

Voltmeter:The voltage is the ______between two points. To measure the potential difference across a cell, battery, or other device in a circuit, each terminal of the device must be connected to the appropriate positive or negative terminal of a voltmeter. The potential difference across a resistor is known as a ______. Meters used to measure small voltages are sometimes called ______.

Ammeters

Ammeters are used to measure electric ______in amperes. Current is the rate of flow of electricity in a circuit. It is the measure of how many ______move past a point in a circuit each second. To measure this flow, an ammeter must be placed so that current flows through it. If a circuit consists of only one continuous loop, you can insert the ammeter between any two circuits. The current will be the same at any two points along the circuit. Meters used to measure small currents are sometimes called galvanometers.

Multimeters

Meters made with several different measuring circuits mounted in the same case is called a multimeter. It has the ability to measure voltage, current, or resistance in a circuit. You must be careful to select the right setting for the quantity you want to measure.

Types of Resistors

There are a wide variety of resistors that are made for different applications, especially in electronics. For examples, radios, and televisions contain dozens of different resistors. Resistors are available with values covering the whole range between conductors (very low resistance) and insulators (very high resistance). The two most common types of resistors are ______and ______. Wire wound resistors are available from 0.1Ω up to 200 kΩ. The longer and thinner the wire, the ______the resistance. Carbon-composition resistors are made of carbon mixed with other materials. By varying size and composition, resistors can be produced from 10Ω to 20 MΩ

Check and Reflect p.310

  1. How is current related to voltage in a circuit?
  1. How is current related to resistance in a circuit?
  1. What does the term “voltage drop” mean?
  1. A bulb of 15-Ω resistance is in a circuit powered y a 3-V battery.
  2. What is the current in this circuit?
  1. What would the current be if you changed to a 45-Ω bulb?
  1. A digital recorder plugged into a 120-V outlet has an operating resistance of 10000 Ω. How much current flows in this device?
  1. An electric heater draws 10 A from a 120-V source. What is the heaters resistance?
  1. A current of 1.5 A flows through a 30-Ω resistor that is connected across a battery. What is the battery’s voltage?

2.3 Analyzing and Building Electrical Circuits

Circuit Drawings

Engineers and people who design electrical circuits use special symbols that show the components and connections clearly. This makes it easier to plan and analyze a circuit before you build it. A drawing made of these symbols is often called a ______or ______.

Parts of a circuit – Schematics can sometimes seem complicated, but all circuits have four basic parts:

  1. ______
  2. ______
  3. ______
  4. ______
  1. A source provides energy and a supply of electrons for the circuit
  2. A conductor provides a path for current
  3. A switching mechanism controls current flow, turning it on and off, or directing it into different parts of the circuit
  4. A load converts electrical energy into some other form of energy

Schematic diagrams can make it much easier to understand where the current flows and how the device functions.

Series Circuits

The circuit in which current passes through each bulb in turn is called a ______. In a series circuit, there is only ____ pathway for the current to take. If the pathway is interrupted, the circuit ______function. Another problem with series circuits is that the ______loads in the circuit, the more ______in the circuit which in turns ______the current. For example, adding another bulb to a string of lights makes all the lights dimmer. There are benefits such as wiring in a house to plugs or lights. This makes it possible to turn off the electricity in the circuit with on switch.

Parallel Circuits

Parallel Circuits have a ______current path for each section of the circuit. In a parallel-wired string of lights, each bulb has its ______path to the current source. An______or break in one pathway does not affect the rest of the pathways in the circuit. Also, adding a ____ pathway with more resistors does not affect the resistant in any of the other pathways.

Applications of Series and Parallel Circuits

House Wiring is one of many applications that use ______circuits. You would not want your refrigerator to go off if a bulb burnt out. This could happen if you wired your lights and wall sockets in ______instead of in ______. If you want to control more than one device in your house with oneswitch, you would connect the switch in series with the ______.

A switch in one branch of a parallel circuit controls only the devices in that branch. But a switch in series with all the branches controls all of them. Switches are important in series because sometimes it is necessary to turn off the electricity in part or the entire home.

Conventional switches are practical and convenient for a home. But for the tiny circuits in advanced electronics, ______must be used instead. Transistors are often referred to a ______components because they are made of a solid material with no moving parts. Transistors can act as ______. Microcircuits also called ______circuitsand are made up of microscopic ______and ______. A microcircuit is a circuit on an extremely small scale. The latest microcircuits contain more than a million components in a square centim

Check and Reflect p. 316

  1. What are the two types of electrical circuits? Draw a diagram of each type. Use the same components in each diagram.
  1. What is a schematic? Illustrate the schematic symbols for a lamp, switch, rheostat, motor, fuse, and ammeter.
  1. What is the difference between a cell and a battery in a schematic diagram?
  1. How does resistance change as you add bulbs to a series circuit? Explain.
  1. Is the wiring in your home likely to have series of parallel circuits? Explain
  1. Why are motors, lamps, and other resistors considered “loads” in electrical circuits?
  1. You have been asked to design a toy that looks like a dancing chicken. The toy must have an on/off switch and a motor that operates whenever a light shines on the toy. Draw a schematic for the toy.

1