More on Electricity

So this week we learned more about distinguishing between parallel and series setups... when resistors are added in series, the total resistance goes up. I drew a picture of one for this blog's picture. It's actually from my notes, so if you follow along with my short narrative, you can see what I mean in the picture. We learned that one path is equal to one current. Likewise, in a parallel situation, there are multiple paths, and therefore have multiple currents. To calculate these things, we find the equivalent resistance using the resistance total = resistor 1 + resistor 2 +resistor 3... etc. Once Req is found, we then find the current of the battery by using the total voltage divided by the Req. Then we use Ohm's Law (V=IR) to calculate the voltage drops across each resistor, then we find the current through each resistor. It's pretty easy once you get the hang of it. The current will follow the path of least resistance, so in a parallel setup, the first encountered resistor usually gets the most current.
Also! I learned that our homes are set up in a parallel fashion so that way, if a resistor is blown or broken, the rest of the house still lights up and still works! How smart! :)

Electricity Challenge

So this week we are challenging ourselves to use less electricity! My parents wouldn't let me film them, so I have just decided to share what I will be doing to use less electricity... and save money on the energy bill! I will unplug my computer charger at night once my laptop is done charging, and use less water by taking shorter showers (of course I'll still take showers! As much as I want to save energy, I do want to stay CLEAN...) as well as making sure that all the lights are turned off when my family is not using that room. Hopefully, our electric bill will be less next month... We haven't really used the air conditioning due to the cold front that's been blowing in, but I do think we use more electricity when our family and friends stay at our house, which is why our electric bill (that I brought in) was so high. I'm pretty sure that our electric bill will decrease by next month... we'll unplug the TV as well in order to save money and energy, which are both conservable. I'll let you know how we did next month. :) See ya!

Electricity, Current, Resistance

To sum up this lesson, you first need to know three very important definitions. The first one is voltage— the amount of work each charge performs. The second is current— the number of charges passing a point per second. Finally, the last is resistance— any opposition to the flow of the charge. 

In order for charges to move, we need voltage, or electric potential difference, to move them. A moving charge is called a current, which is measured in amperes, or "amps" for short. There are two kinds of current: direct current and alternating current. Direct current has a one way charge, like your phone, computer, or lightbulb, while alternating current has a two way charge, like what comes out of your wall plug. The photo of my charger is an example of something with direct charge, as it is plugged into the wall. Anyways, hope this straightforward definition of things helped to explain these concepts to you! :)