Definitions - electricity

• Charge


  The physical property of matter that causes it to experience a force when paced in an electromagnetic field. here are two types of electric charges; positive and negative
• Component 


  Devices that can be selected individually and put together to make a circuit e.g. a motor, lamp, switch
• Conductor 


  A material that permits electrons to flow freely from particle to particle thus allowing electricity to flow through - usually a wire
• Current


  The rate of flow of charge. It has the symbol ‘I’ and is measured in Amps (A)
• Insulator


  A material that does not permit electrons to flow freely from particle to particle thus preventing electricity from flowing through.
• Junction


  A point where at least three circuit paths meet
• Light dependent resistor


  A type of resistor which has a resistance that changes with the amount of illumination it is exposed to
• Parallel circuit 


  A closed circuit in which he current divides into two or more paths before recombining to complete the circuit
• Resistance


  A measure of how hard it is to produce a big current in a circuit
• Series circuit


  A closed circuit in which the current follows one path
• Thermistor


  A type of resistor which has a resistance that changes with the temperature it is exposed to
• Voltage


  The energy transferred per unit charge passed. It has the symbol ‘V’ and is measured in Volts (V)