POWER!!

Electric current is the continuous flow of electric charges through a material. The amount of charge that passes through the wire in a unit of time is the rate of electric current. Ampere (amp) is the unit for the rate of current. The number of amps describes the amount of charge flowing past a given point each second or amount of electric current. Voltage (V) is the difference in electrical potential between two points. It causes a current in an electric circuit or it is the amount of force pushing an electric current.

An electric circuit provides a complete, closed path for an electric current. Cell, energy source Switch – opens and closes the circuit wires Lamp – a resistor that transforms electrical energy to light

Types of Circuits Series Circuit Parallel Circuit

Household Electricity – Alternating current Standard wiring in houses is 120 volts. Higher powered appliances (stoves, dryers, etc.) are 240 volts.

Short Circuit is a connection that allows current to take the path of least resistance. The unintended path usually has less resistance than the intended path and the current can be very high.

Power Grid

Generator – Transforms mechanical energy into electrical energy or produces electric current. Transformer – Devices that either increase (Step-up transformer) or decrease (Step-down transformer) voltage.

Electricity travels in a circuit. When you switch on an appliance, you complete the circuit. Electricity flows along power lines to the outlet, through the power cord into the appliance, then back through the cord to the outlet and out to the power lines again. Electricity travels fast (186,000 miles per second). If you traveled that fast, you could travel around the world eight times in the time it takes to turn on a light! And if you had a lamp on the moon wired to a switch in your bedroom, it would take only 1.26 seconds after you flipped the switch for electricity to light the lamp 238,857 miles away!