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Voltage

  • A force that pushes the current through
  • Measured in volts

Resistance

  • Friction that impedes the flow of current through the circuit
  • Measured in Ohms
  • Lower the resistance the easier it is for the electrons to pass through a material
  • Can be used to convert electrical energy into useful light energy and wasted heat energy (voltage drop)
  • Factors of resistance
    • Material of wire
    • Length of wire
    • Thickness of wire

Electric Circuit

  • Path travelled by the electrons to deliver the energy is called an electric circuit
  • And break in the circuit will stop the flow of electrons
  • The current goes from the negative to positive end of the battery and the circuit should start and end at the battery
  • Circuit symbols are used to show an electric circuit

Simple Circuit

  • Series Circuit
    • All resistors are placed in a row
    • 1 path for electricity
    • 1 light goes out and the circuit is broken
  • Parallel circuit
    • Many paths for electricity
    • 1 light goes out and the others stay on

Series Circuit

  • Current flowing through each resistor is the same
  • Current =
  • Voltage across each resistor is different
  • Resistance =

Parallel circuit

  • Voltage across each resister is same
  • Voltage =
  • To calculate total resistance in parallel circuit,

Cell and Battery

CellBattery
- Single Unit Device
- Typical Cell has voltage of 1.5 V
- Group of cells
- Voltage can be calculated by adding voltage of individual cells