Basic Electricity

By: Vanessa Flores

Electricity• We use electricity on

a daily basis.• Electrical outlets are

in our houses.• During

thunderstorms we see lightning.

• Electricity is what allows us to use the things we can’t live without such as TV's, laptops, iPod's, and cell phones.

The Basics• Electrons start

electricity.• They are found in atoms

and have a negative charge.

• Each atom has one or more electrons.

Insulators• Electrons are attracted

to their atoms in materials such as water, aluminum, wood, glass and other things.

• Since electrons cant move they don’t conduct electricity.

• Materials that aren't good conductors of electricity are called insulators.

Conductors• Metals such as gold

silver, copper and others have electrons that leave their atoms and roam around freely. They are called free electrons.

• Free electrons make it easy for electricity to go through the metals and make them good conductors.

• Metals that easily conduct electricity are called electrical conductors.

Circuits• An electrical circuit is a type

of device that uses electricity to light up things such as a lamp.

• They have a source of electricity, a load, and two wires which carry the electricity from the battery to the load.

• Electrons go from the source, to the load, and back to where it started.

• Resistors are present in circuits and they slow down the electricity.

• There are different types of circuits, series and parallel.

Series Circuits• Series circuits have only

one pathway for the electrons to go through.

• Its resistors are connected in a line.

• The current goes through easily through each resistor since there isn't any other way for it to go to.

Parallel Circuits

• Parallel circuits have more than one path for electricity to travel through.

• There are several pathways, each with its own resistor.

• When the current goes through it is split since it goes through the other pathways.