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Intermediate 1 Physics
Practical Electricity Glossary
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ammeter to circuit
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circuit breaker to consumer unit
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continuity to earth wire
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extension block to lamp
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live wire to neutral wire
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ohmmeter to power
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power station to series connection
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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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