Paper 1 | Electricity

• Why might you need to watch the electricity topic videos a few times?

  The concepts can be tricky
• According to the video, what should you be able to describe by the end?

  Series circuits and electric current
• What do scientists use to represent electric circuits?

  A range of different symbols
• Which of the following is one of the four symbols shown in the video?

  A cell
• What term do scientists use to refer to circuit elements like cells and lamps?

  Components
• What happens when the switch in the circuit is closed?

  Electrons flow around the circuit
• What is the flow of electrons around a circuit called?

  Electric current
• From which end of the cell do electrons flow?

  Negative to positive
• Why are electrons important in an electric circuit?

  They carry energy from the cell
• What happens to the electrical energy in a lamp?

  It is transferred to light and thermal energy
• What happens to electrons when they return to the positive end of the cell?

  They are carrying less energy
• How is electric current usually represented in circuit diagrams?

  An arrow
• What is the "conventional current"?

  Current from positive to negative end
• What are circuits with no branches called?

  Series circuits
• What is a key characteristic of a series circuit?

  Current flows in one path
• What is the unit of electrical current?

  Ampere
• What is the short form of Ampere?

  Amp
• What is the symbol for Ampere?

  A
• What instrument is used to measure current in a circuit?

  Ammeter
• What is a key characteristic of current in a series circuit?

  It is the same all around
• What happens to current as it flows through a series circuit?

  It remains constant
• List four symbols used in circuit diagrams.

  • Cell
  • Lamp
  • Open switch
  • Closed switch
• If an ammeter at one point in a series circuit reads 0.5 amps, what will an ammeter at any other point in the same circuit read?

  0.5 amps
• How does the energy carried by electrons change as they move through a lamp in a circuit?

  It decreases as energy is transferred
• What is an electric current?

  A flow of electrical charge
• Which direction does the electric current move?

  Negative end of cell to positive
• What direction do scientists always draw the current?

  Opposite to electron flow
• What is conventional current?

  Current drawn opposite to electron flow
• What instrument is used to measure current?

  Ammeter
• How is an ammeter placed in a circuit?

  In the circuit
• Why is a circuit without branches called a series circuit?

  Current flows in one path
• What is the current like in a series circuit?

  The same all the way around
• What is a key characteristic of parallel circuits?

  Contains branches
• What happens to the current in a parallel circuit?

  The current splits
• What happens to some of the current in a parallel circuit?

  Passes through both of the branches
• What is the key fact about parallel circuits?

  Current in branches adds to total
• If the current leaving the cell is 0.5 amp and the current in the upper branch is 0.3 amp, what is the current in the lower branch?

  0.2 amp
• If the current in the upper branch is 0.4 amp and the current in the lower branch is 0.3 amp, what is the current leaving the cell?

  0.7 amp
• What is electric current?

  A flow of electrons around a circuit
• In the described circuit, where do electrons move from and return to?

  Out of the cell and back to the cell