Science vocab chapter 12

  1. Direct current (DC)
    • A current in which charged
    • particles travel through a circuit in only one direction

    E.g. anything that uses a battery
  2. Alternating current (AC)
    • A current in which electrons move
    • back and forth in a circuit

    • E.g. anything that is powered by
    • an electrical grid
  3. Transformer
    • An electrical device that changes
    • the size of the potential difference of an alternating current

    • E.g. an object may only need 110V, and a
    • transformer will change 1,000V into that
  4. Circuit breaker
    • A safety device that is placed in
    • series with other circuits that lead to appliances and outlets

    • E.g. usually put in place in case of lightning
    • strikes, so that appliances don’t short circuit
  5. Fuse
    • A safety device that is found in
    • older buildings and some appliances; like a circuit breaker, it is placed in
    • series with other circuits that lead to appliances and outlets

    E.g. old houses electrical panels have fuses
  6. Electrical power
    • The rate at which an appliance
    • uses electrical energy

    E.g. a dryer takes greater electrical power than a toaster
  7. Watt (W)
    • A unit of electrical power; 1
    • kilowatt = 1,000W

    E.g. a dryer uses 4,510 watts
  8. Kilowatt (kW)
    • A practical unit of electrical
    • power; 1kW = 1,000W

    E.g. a dryer uses 4.51kW
  9. Electrical energy
    • The energy that is used by an
    • appliance at a given stetting; is determined by multiplying its power rating by
    • the length of time it is used

    • E.g. even though a dryer uses more power, a water heater is
    • running for longer, making use more energy
  10. Kilowatt-hour (kW∙h)
    The practical unit of electrical energy

    • E.g. the amount of kW∙h of a appliance that uses 5 kW over 2 hours is
    • 10kW∙h
  11. EnerGuide label
    A label that gives details about how much energy an appliance uses in one year of normal use

    E.g. the rating of a dryer is 912 kW∙h
  12. Smart meter
    • A meter that records the total electrical energy used hour
    • by hour and sends this information to the utility company automatically

    E.g. found commonly on the side of houses
  13. Time of pricing
    • A system of pricing in which the cost of each kW∙h
    • of energy used is different at different times of the day

    • E.g. earlier in the day costs less than in the
    • afternoon
  14. Phantom load
    • The electricity that is consumed by an appliance or device
    • when it is turned off

    E.g. toasters, cellphones, tv’s
  15. Efficiency
    The ratio of useful energy output to total energy input, expressed as a percentage

    E.g. incandescent light bulbs are 5% efficient
  16. Base load
    The continuous minimum demand for electrical power

    E.g. Ontario’s is 12, 000MW
  17. Hydroelectric power generation
    • The generation of electrical power using a source of moving
    • water

    E.g. using a dam as hydroelectric power generation
  18. Intermediate load
    • A demand for electricity that is greater than the base load
    • and is met by burning coal and natural gas

    E.g. Ontario’s is 15, 000MW to 20, 000MW
  19. Peak load
    • The greatest demand for electricity, which is met by using hydroelectric
    • power and natural gas

    E.g. Ontario’s is above 20, 000MW
  20. Renewable energy source
    • A source of energy that can be replaced in a relatively
    • short period of time

    E.g. solar power, wind energy, hydropower
  21. Non-renewable energy source
    A source of energy that cannot be replaced as quickly as it is used

    E.g. fossil fuels
  22. Solar energy
    • Energy that is directly converted from the energy of the sun
    • into electricity

    E.g. solar panels
  23. Photovoltaic effect
    • The generation of a direct current when certain materials
    • are exposed to light

    E.g. solar panels
  24. Biomass energy
    Energy that is generated from plant and animal matter

    E.g. burning plants
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dilanf
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Science vocab chapter 12
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Science vocab chapter 12
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