9.2 Current Electricity Part A) Circuits

• The four parts of a circuit are..

  1. Source: Provides electrical energy in the circuit
  2. Conducting Wire: Transmit electrical energy from one place to the other
  3. Switch: Activates and Deactivates the circuit
  4. Load: Transforms Electrical energy into something useful such motion, light, or heat
• Direct Current flows in one direction
• Alternating Current flows back and forth
• Series circuits have only one pathway for electricity to travel along.
• Parallel circuits have multiple paths for current flow.
• If a wire joins the battery to one bulb, to the next bulb, to the next bulb, to the next bulb, then back to the battery in one continuous loop that counts as a series circuit
• wiring system of a house. A single electric power source supplies all the lights and appliances with the same voltage. If one of the lights burns out, current can still flow through the rest of the lights and appliances that counts as a parallel circuit
• Circuits Symbol

  A) Wire

  B) Allows electric current to flow through

  C) DC battert

  D) Electric energy source

  E) Resisitor

  F) Converts electrical energy to heat

  G) Led

  H) Converts energy into heat

  I) Speaker

  J) Converts energy into sound

  K) Switch

  L) Open and closes circuit

  M) Motor

  N) Converts energy into motion

  O) Voltmeter

  P) Measures voltage b/w 2 places; connects in parallel

  Q) Light bulb

  R) Measures current flow in a wire; connects in series

  
• When drawing circuits

  1. Electrical charge always flows from positive to negative (big side of cell to small side)
  2. Voltmeters must be applied in parallel with whatever they are measuring (battery, resistors)
  3. Ammeters must be applied in series
  4. For parallel, the voltage are the same across all branches (If there are three branches each voltage is equal to 1/3 of the voltage that entered the parallel part of the circuit)