Review

Unit formulas

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In this activity you will form groups of two or three people and together you will look for strategies to memorise the formulas of the unit. Then you will ask each other in turns until you all know them.

Audio: 

Coulomb's law
Ohm's law V = I · R
Resistance R = ρ · L / A

                               

SERIES CIRCUITS PARALLEL CIRCUITS
BATTERIES

RESISTANCES


V V = V 1 + V 2 + V 3 ... V = V 1 = V 2 = V 3 ...
I I = I 1 = I 2 = I 3 I = I 1 + I 2 + I 3
R R = R1 + R2 + R3

Glosary

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Next, we are going to make a small glossary with the most important terms of the unit. We will think about the origin and meaning of each of the words, since many times, thinking about this will help us remember a definition. 

  • Ampere - Amperio - Unit of measurement of electric current, named after André Ampère, because of his studies about current.
  • Charge - Carga - It comes from the late latin word "carricāre", that comes from latin "carrus", that means car (carro). Maybe it was because charged objects "carry" their charges with them that this magnitude was called like that.
  • Coulomb - Coulomb - Unit of measurement of the amount of electric charge, named after Charles Coulomb, because of his studies about charge.
  • Current - Intensidad de corriente - As the word "current" refers to a mass in motion, the magnitude current tells us about the electrons movement/velocity.
  • Electric current - Corriente eléctrica- An air current, or a sea current, is a mass in motion. In this case, they are electrons in motion.
  • Electricity - Electricidad - Electro means amber in Greek. Amber is a material that is easily electrified by friction. The first electrostatic phenomena were probably observed there and that is why electricity got its name. 
  • electron - electrón -  This word comes from electr- + -ion. Ion took its name from the participle of the verb "go" in latin, as electron was discovered because it moved to an electrode of opposite sign.
  • Electrostatics - Electrostática -Something static is something that is still. Electrostatics can be understood as the study of interactions between charges that don´t move.
  • Electromotive force - Fuerza electromotriz - Motive refers to movement. This is the force that makes electrons move.
  • Friction - Friction - From Latin frictio = to rub
  • Induction - Inducción - To induce is to persuade, to move someone to do something. As when somebody is induced to evil in films. In the induction electrification method we can say that charges are induced to move, because without even touching the object, the charges move. 
  • Interaction - Interacción - "inter" means between in Latin. An interaction is an action, or force, between two bodies
  • Ohmnio - Unit of measurement of resistance, named after Ohm, because of his studies about resistance.
  • Potential - potencial -This word comes from the latin term "potens", that means power. Potential is the ability, the power we have to do something. For example, we could say that a very skilled young footballer has a lot of potential. In physics, if a body loses potential, it means that loses energy, its ability to make a work.
  • Resistance - resistencia - A resistance is an opposition to something, in this case to the passage of current.
  • Voltage - Voltaje - Magnitude that measures the energy per unit ocharge, named after Volta because he invented the first device (the battery) that could provide energy for the electrons to move.
  • Volt - Voltio - unit of measurement of Voltage, named in honor of Alessandro Volta.

Create a concept map. Step by step guide

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A conceptual map helps us to recap the most important ideas of the unit, relate them to each other, and study. With the following instructions, try to create your own conceptual map in your notebook.

1. Divide the topic into sections . In this case we will choose three: electric charge, electric circuits and series and parallel circuits. You can use different colors to help you differentiate one section from another.

2. Think about which are the most important parts of each section  . Here we could choose these: electric charge, electric circuits and series and parallel circuits.

3. Summarize each of the parts in a schematic way and relate them to each other with arrows or the necessary concepts. You can use the following image as a guide and complete each box with the missing information:

In the following section you have a proposal for a complete conceptual map so that you can check if you have left out something important and add it, or if there is something that you could write in a more schematic way to facilitate memorization.

Audio: