Flip the switch on a lively tour of charges, circuits, lightning, power plants, and bright ideas.
These questions cover the science that keeps electrons moving and modern life humming.
Charged Up Basics
Q: What subatomic particle carries a negative electric charge?
A: The electron.
Q: What subatomic particle carries a positive electric charge?
A: The proton.
Q: What happens when two charges with the same sign approach each other?
A: They repel.
Q: What happens when charges with opposite signs approach each other?
A: They attract.
Q: What is the flow of electric charge called?
A: Electric current.
Q: What pushes charge through an electric circuit?
A: A potential difference, or voltage.
Q: What property opposes current in a material?
A: Electrical resistance.
Q: What kind of electricity involves a buildup of charge rather than a continuous flow?
A: Static electricity.
Q: What electric field surrounds every electric charge?
A: A region where the charge exerts electric force.
Q: What is a material that allows charge to move easily?
A: A conductor.
Q: What is a material that strongly resists the movement of charge?
A: An insulator.
Q: Which metal is commonly used in household wiring?
A: Copper.
Q: Is rubber generally a conductor or an insulator?
A: An insulator.
Q: What law describes the force between two point charges?
A: Coulomb's law.
Q: What happens to electric force when the distance between two point charges doubles?
A: It becomes one-fourth as strong.
Current, Voltage, and Units
Q: What is the SI unit of electric current?
A: The ampere.
Q: What symbol represents the ampere?
A: A.
Q: What is the SI unit of electric charge?
A: The coulomb.
Q: One ampere equals one coulomb passing a point in how much time?
A: One second.
Q: What is the SI unit of electric potential difference?
A: The volt.
Q: What is the SI unit of electrical resistance?
A: The ohm.
Q: What is the SI unit of electric power?
A: The watt.
Q: What unit do electric companies commonly use to bill energy consumption?
A: The kilowatt-hour.
Q: Is a kilowatt-hour a unit of power or energy?
A: Energy.
Q: What is the SI unit of energy?
A: The joule.
Q: Which equation expresses Ohm's law?
A: V = IR.
Q: Which equation gives electrical power from voltage and current?
A: P = VI.
Q: How many watts are in one kilowatt?
A: 1,000.
Q: How many joules equal one watt-second?
A: One joule.
Q: Which instrument measures electric current?
A: An ammeter.
Inside a Circuit
Q: What must a circuit provide for current to flow continuously?
A: A closed conducting path.
Q: What is a break in a circuit called?
A: An open circuit.
Q: What dangerous low-resistance path can allow excessive current?
A: A short circuit.
Q: What component opens or closes a circuit on command?
A: A switch.
Q: In a series circuit, how many paths does current have?
A: One.
Q: In a parallel circuit, do components share one path or separate branches?
A: Separate branches.
Q: What quantity is the same through every component in a series circuit?
A: Current.
Q: What quantity is the same across each branch of an ideal parallel circuit?
A: Voltage.
Q: What happens to total resistance when resistors are added in series?
A: It increases.
Q: What happens to total resistance when another branch is added in parallel?
A: It decreases.
Q: Which instrument measures voltage between two points?
A: A voltmeter.
Q: How is an ammeter connected to measure current through a component?
A: In series.
Q: How is a voltmeter connected to measure voltage across a component?
A: In parallel.
Q: What component is designed to limit current?
A: A resistor.
Q: What is the part of a circuit that uses electrical energy called?
A: A load.
Components at Work
Q: What component stores separated electric charge?
A: A capacitor.
Q: What is the SI unit of capacitance?
A: The farad.
Q: What component stores energy in a magnetic field when current flows?
A: An inductor.
Q: What is the SI unit of inductance?
A: The henry.
Q: What electronic component ideally allows current mainly in one direction?
A: A diode.
Q: What does LED stand for?
A: Light-emitting diode.
Q: What semiconductor device can act as a switch or amplifier?
A: A transistor.
Q: What device changes alternating voltage using electromagnetic induction?
A: A transformer.
Q: Can an ordinary transformer operate steadily on direct current?
A: No.
Q: What circuit component melts to interrupt dangerously high current?
A: A fuse.
Q: What reusable safety device trips open during excessive current?
A: A circuit breaker.
Q: What device converts chemical energy into electrical energy?
A: A battery.
Q: What is a single electrochemical unit within a battery called?
A: A cell.
Q: What material has conductivity between that of a conductor and an insulator?
A: A semiconductor.
Q: Which element is widely used to make semiconductor chips?
A: Silicon.
Static Sparks and Lightning
Q: What transfer of electrons can occur when unlike materials are rubbed together?
A: Triboelectric charging.
Q: Why can a charged balloon stick to a wall?
A: It polarizes charges in the wall and attracts them.
Q: What is the sudden movement of charge through air called?
A: An electric discharge.
Q: What enormous atmospheric electric discharge occurs during storms?
A: Lightning.
Q: What sound is produced when lightning rapidly heats and expands air?
A: Thunder.
Q: Why is lightning seen before thunder is heard?
A: Light travels much faster than sound.
Q: What device gives lightning a preferred conducting path to ground?
A: A lightning rod.
Q: Who famously demonstrated the electrical nature of lightning with a kite experiment?
A: Benjamin Franklin.
Q: What machine uses a moving belt to build up very high static voltage?
A: A Van de Graaff generator.
Q: What instrument detects the presence of electric charge?
A: An electroscope.
Q: What effect makes hair stand apart near a charged dome?
A: Repulsion between like charges.
Q: What process safely transfers excess charge to Earth?
A: Grounding.
Q: Does humid air usually reduce or increase static charge buildup?
A: Reduce it.
Q: What blue-violet glow can appear when air ionizes around high-voltage conductors?
A: Corona discharge.
Q: What state of matter forms when a gas becomes ionized?
A: Plasma.
AC, DC, and the Power Grid
Q: What kind of current periodically reverses direction?
A: Alternating current.
Q: What kind of current flows in one direction?
A: Direct current.
Q: Do standard batteries supply AC or DC?
A: DC.
Q: Do ordinary U.S. wall outlets supply AC or DC?
A: AC.
Q: What is the standard grid frequency in the United States?
A: 60 hertz.
Q: What does a generator convert mechanical energy into?
A: Electrical energy.
Q: What does an electric motor convert electrical energy into?
A: Mechanical energy.
Q: Why is voltage stepped up for long-distance transmission?
A: To reduce current and energy losses.
Q: What network carries electricity from power plants to consumers?
A: The power grid.
Q: What lines carry electricity at high voltage over long distances?
A: Transmission lines.
Q: What local lines deliver electricity from substations to customers?
A: Distribution lines.
Q: What facility changes voltage and routes power on the grid?
A: A substation.
Q: What renewable device converts sunlight directly into electricity?
A: A photovoltaic cell.
Q: What spinning machine in many power plants drives a generator?
A: A turbine.
Q: What storage plant pumps water uphill when extra electricity is available?
A: Pumped-storage hydropower.
Electricity in Daily Life
Q: What appliance converts electrical energy mainly into thermal energy to brown bread?
A: A toaster.
Q: What effect heats a resistive wire when current passes through it?
A: Joule heating.
Q: What household device uses an electric motor to move air?
A: A fan.
Q: What does a phone charger convert wall-outlet AC into?
A: Low-voltage DC.
Q: What does GFCI stand for in electrical safety?
A: Ground-fault circuit interrupter.
Q: Where are GFCI outlets especially useful?
A: In wet locations.
Q: Why should a damaged power cord be replaced?
A: Exposed conductors can cause shock or fire.
Q: What hazard can result from plugging too many high-power devices into one circuit?
A: An overload.
Q: Why can wet skin increase electric-shock risk?
A: It lowers the body's electrical resistance.
Q: What three-prong plug connection provides a safety path for fault current?
A: The ground prong.
Q: What does an electricity meter record for billing?
A: Electrical energy use.
Q: Which label compares an appliance's rate of energy use?
A: Its power rating in watts.
Q: What type of bulb produces light with a semiconductor junction?
A: An LED bulb.
Q: What does an inverter convert DC into?
A: AC.
Q: What does a rectifier convert AC into?
A: DC.
Bright Sparks in History
Q: Which ancient Greek thinker described amber attracting light objects after rubbing?
A: Thales of Miletus.
Q: Which scientist coined the Latin term electricus from the Greek word for amber?
A: William Gilbert.
Q: Who invented the electric battery known as the voltaic pile?
A: Alessandro Volta.
Q: Which unit of potential difference honors Alessandro Volta?
A: The volt.
Q: Which scientist's name became the unit of electric current?
A: André-Marie Ampère.
Q: Which physicist formulated the relationship among voltage, current, and resistance?
A: Georg Ohm.
Q: Which scientist discovered electromagnetic induction in 1831?
A: Michael Faraday.
Q: Which unit of capacitance honors Michael Faraday?
A: The farad.
Q: Which scientist developed equations unifying electricity and magnetism?
A: James Clerk Maxwell.
Q: Which inventor developed a practical incandescent lighting system and commercial power network?
A: Thomas Edison.
Q: Which inventor championed polyphase alternating-current systems?
A: Nikola Tesla.
Q: Which scientist discovered that an electric current could deflect a compass needle?
A: Hans Christian Ørsted.
Q: Which industrialist helped promote and deploy AC power systems in the United States?
A: George Westinghouse.
Q: Which physicist discovered the electron in 1897?
A: J. J. Thomson.
Q: Which physicist measured the elementary electric charge with an oil-drop experiment?
A: Robert Millikan.
You Brought the Spark
If you powered through all 120, consider this quiz officially illuminated. Keep the current flowing with our science trivia and history of inventions trivia.
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