ASVAB Electronics Information 2022
Electricity - General term for the variety of phenomena resulting from the presence and flow
of electric current
Volts; Amperes (amps); Ohms - 3 ways Electricity is measured
Volts - Measure the difference of potential between 2 points
Amperes (amps) - Measure the number of electrons that move past a specific point in 1
second (i.e. electrical currents)
Ohms - Measure resistance, including anything that could limit the flow of electrons
Current - Electrical ___ occurs when electrons move from one place to another.
Conductors (e.g. copper, silver, water) - A substance, body, or device that conducts
electricity; allows the electrons to move freely.
Insulators (e.g. rubber, wood) - A material of such low conductivity that does not easily
allow the flow of electrical current to pass through it; discourages electrical current
Watt - This measures power, the rate at which electrical energy is consumed or transformed
into another type of energy, such as light or heat
Power - The rate at which electrical energy is consumed or transformed into another type of
energy, such as light or heat
Watt-hour - This is the amount of energy used in 1 hour at a rate of 1 watt.
Kilowatt-hour - The amount of energy used in 1 hour at a rate of 1,000 watts(i.e.1-kilowatt)
True or False: Most electricity is measured in kilowatt-hours - True
- To find watt-hours multiply ___ by ___.
Wattage x Time (expressed in hours)
- How many kilowatt-hours is enough energy to run a 10,000-watt speaker system for 1 hour?
10 kilowatt-hours
- 10 kilowatt-hours is enough energy to run a 5,000-watt air conditioner for how long?
2 hours
- 10 kilowatt-hours is enough energy to run a 1,000-watt waffle iron for how long? 10 hours
- The path of an electrical current > Circuit
- When there is literally an open space in the circuit that prohibits current from flowing
>Open
- When the open space of a circuit has been closed to allow current to flow >Short
, - The difference of the pressure between 2 points in a circuit (sometimes called voltage drop
or difference of potential) >Voltage
True or False: To see what the voltage is anywhere in a circuit, you have to compare the
voltage at that point to ground > True
Ground (e.g. base of a lamp, chassis of a car) - Any part of a circuit (or other object that has
electricity running through it) that measures 0 volts
Voltmeter or multimeter - Measures voltage in a circuit
Voltmeter - An instrument used for measuring electrical potential difference between two
points in an electric circuit (i.e. voltage)
- How to use a voltmeter:
A voltmeter has 2 leads. To measure voltage, you place one lead somewhere in the circuit and
one lead at another location in the circuit. The voltmeter tells you what the voltage is between
those 2 points.
Cell - A storage compartment for electricity in a battery that has a specific voltage.
True or False: You can figure out the number of cells a battery has by dividing the voltage of
the battery by the volts. >True
Electrical current - The flow (rate of flow) of electrons in a conductor
- Current flow can be expressed in terms of ___.
>Coulombs (C), which measure charge
Coulomb - The amount of electricity provided by a current of 1 ampere flowing for 1 second.
True or False: If 1 coulomb (about 6,241,500,000,000,000,000 electrons) flows past a
specified point in 1 second, that's a flow rate of 1 ampere (amp, abbreviated A). >True
Ammeters - Measure the flow of current through a circuit
True or False: Typically current is tiny, so small that it's measured in milliamperes; 1
milliampere is one-thousandth of an ampere. >True
Circuit breaker - A device that automatically interrupts the electrical current.
True or False: Sometimes a circuit must be opened in order to add or remove resistance. In
other words, the flow of electricity must be interrupted in order to physically change the
resistance.
Electricity - General term for the variety of phenomena resulting from the presence and flow
of electric current
Volts; Amperes (amps); Ohms - 3 ways Electricity is measured
Volts - Measure the difference of potential between 2 points
Amperes (amps) - Measure the number of electrons that move past a specific point in 1
second (i.e. electrical currents)
Ohms - Measure resistance, including anything that could limit the flow of electrons
Current - Electrical ___ occurs when electrons move from one place to another.
Conductors (e.g. copper, silver, water) - A substance, body, or device that conducts
electricity; allows the electrons to move freely.
Insulators (e.g. rubber, wood) - A material of such low conductivity that does not easily
allow the flow of electrical current to pass through it; discourages electrical current
Watt - This measures power, the rate at which electrical energy is consumed or transformed
into another type of energy, such as light or heat
Power - The rate at which electrical energy is consumed or transformed into another type of
energy, such as light or heat
Watt-hour - This is the amount of energy used in 1 hour at a rate of 1 watt.
Kilowatt-hour - The amount of energy used in 1 hour at a rate of 1,000 watts(i.e.1-kilowatt)
True or False: Most electricity is measured in kilowatt-hours - True
- To find watt-hours multiply ___ by ___.
Wattage x Time (expressed in hours)
- How many kilowatt-hours is enough energy to run a 10,000-watt speaker system for 1 hour?
10 kilowatt-hours
- 10 kilowatt-hours is enough energy to run a 5,000-watt air conditioner for how long?
2 hours
- 10 kilowatt-hours is enough energy to run a 1,000-watt waffle iron for how long? 10 hours
- The path of an electrical current > Circuit
- When there is literally an open space in the circuit that prohibits current from flowing
>Open
- When the open space of a circuit has been closed to allow current to flow >Short
, - The difference of the pressure between 2 points in a circuit (sometimes called voltage drop
or difference of potential) >Voltage
True or False: To see what the voltage is anywhere in a circuit, you have to compare the
voltage at that point to ground > True
Ground (e.g. base of a lamp, chassis of a car) - Any part of a circuit (or other object that has
electricity running through it) that measures 0 volts
Voltmeter or multimeter - Measures voltage in a circuit
Voltmeter - An instrument used for measuring electrical potential difference between two
points in an electric circuit (i.e. voltage)
- How to use a voltmeter:
A voltmeter has 2 leads. To measure voltage, you place one lead somewhere in the circuit and
one lead at another location in the circuit. The voltmeter tells you what the voltage is between
those 2 points.
Cell - A storage compartment for electricity in a battery that has a specific voltage.
True or False: You can figure out the number of cells a battery has by dividing the voltage of
the battery by the volts. >True
Electrical current - The flow (rate of flow) of electrons in a conductor
- Current flow can be expressed in terms of ___.
>Coulombs (C), which measure charge
Coulomb - The amount of electricity provided by a current of 1 ampere flowing for 1 second.
True or False: If 1 coulomb (about 6,241,500,000,000,000,000 electrons) flows past a
specified point in 1 second, that's a flow rate of 1 ampere (amp, abbreviated A). >True
Ammeters - Measure the flow of current through a circuit
True or False: Typically current is tiny, so small that it's measured in milliamperes; 1
milliampere is one-thousandth of an ampere. >True
Circuit breaker - A device that automatically interrupts the electrical current.
True or False: Sometimes a circuit must be opened in order to add or remove resistance. In
other words, the flow of electricity must be interrupted in order to physically change the
resistance.
