Transcript Glossary
Intermediate 1 Physics
Practical Electricity Glossary
ammeter to circuit
circuit breaker to consumer unit
continuity to earth wire
extension block to lamp
live wire to neutral wire
ohmmeter to power
power station to series connection
variable resistor to voltmeter
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ammeter to circuit
ammeter
an instrument for measuring current
it is connected in series
ampere
the unit for electric current
appliance
a device which is plugged into the mains
e.g. television, washing machine etc.
broken circuit
a circuit with a gap in it
no current can flow
circuit
a path round which electricity can flow
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circuit breaker to consumer unit
circuit breaker an automatic switch which breaks a
circuit when a fault develops
circuit symbol
a simple picture to represent a
component in a diagram
complete circuit a circuit with no gaps in it
electricity can flow
component
a part used in an electric circuit,
e.g. lamp, resistor, fuse etc.
consumer unit
the board where the electricity supply
comes into a house and goes through
the meter and fuses
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continuity to earth wire
continuity
this means whether a circuit has a
break in it or not
continuity
tester
a circuit for testing whether a circuit
has a break in it
current
the flow of electricity round a circuit
double
insulated
this means that an appliance has no
outer parts which can become “live”. It
does not need an earth wire in its flex.
a safety connection. This helps to
prevent a person from getting an
electric shock if a fault occurs in an
appliance.
earth wire
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extension block to lamp
extension
block
a block of sockets which allows more
appliances to be connected to the mains
at one time
function
the “job” something does
fuse
a safety component. It melts and
breaks the circuit if too high a current
flows.
this changes electrical energy to heat
energy. It can be made from a piece of
resistance wire.
a component which changes electrical
energy to light energy because it
contains a wire (the filament) which
heats up
heater
lamp
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live wire to neutral wire
live wire
the brown wire in a plug which is at a
high voltage
mains
electricity
electricity supplied at 230 volts to
homes in Britain
motor
a component which changes electrical
energy to kinetic energy (it rotates)
multimeter
a meter which can be set to be used as
an ammeter or as a voltmeter or as a
resistance meter (ohmmeter)
neutral wire
the blue wire in a plug
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ohmmeter to power
ohmmeter
a meter used to measure the resistance
of a component
ohms
the units of resistance
open circuit
an electrical path which has a break in it
parallel
connection
this type of connection has a split in
the wiring to allow a choice of paths for
the current
power
the amount of energy per second,
measured in watts.
1 kW = 1 kilowatt = 1000 W
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power station to series connection
power station
a place where mains electricity is
generated (often by burning coal)
power supply
a device (like a labpack) which gives out
a variable voltage
resistance
the opposition to current
it is measured in ohms (W)
resistor
a component which restricts the
current in a circuit
series
connection
components connected so that the
current has only one path though the
circuit
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variable resistor to voltmeter
variable
resistor
a resistor whose value can be changed
voltage
the electrical “push” of a supply,
e.g. a 9.0 V battery provides more
energy than a 3.0 V one
voltmeter
this device measures the voltage across
any supply or component
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Intermediate 1 Physics
Practical Electricity Glossary
End of
Glossary
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