Batteries and Circuits

EQ: How do batteries work?

What is stored energy?

●Potential energy waiting to be converted or transformed into another

●Batteries transform CHEMICAL energy into ELECTRICAL energy

What are battery terminals?

●Anode-

○ electrode which the electrons move to

○(-) terminal on a battery

●Cathode-

○Electrode which the electrons move from

○(+) terminal on a battery

●Batteries

How are WET and DRY batteries different?

Wet Cell

●Anode (Zinc)

●Cathode (Copper)

●Electrolyte solution

○Copper sulfate (blue liquid)

○Sulfuric acid (battery acid)

○Citric Acid (lemon juice)

Uses

●Where powerful batteries are needed and
the acid won’t spill- Cars, boats, solar
panels

Dry Cell

●Anode (negative terminal)

●Cathode (positive terminal)

●Electrolyte paste

○Chemical solution sealed to prevent leaks of
electrolytes

Uses

●Where smaller batteries are needed in
items that wet batteries could spill- toys,
flashlights, radios, smoke detectors

What do Volts measure?

●Volts-
○the force that pushes a charge through a circuit

○Measures the potential difference between two parts of a circuit

What do Amperes measure?

●Amps- Also called Amperes
○Amps- Also called Amperes

○Measure the amount of electrical CHARGE or CURRENTMeasure the amount
of electrical CHARGE or CURRENT

What is a circuit?

●complete path through which electricity flows
○From the word ‘circle’

What are THREE parts of circuits?

○Must have 3 parts to be complete
■ Source of electricity

■Devices run by electricity

■Connected by conducting wires and switches

What are Conductors?

●Conductors
○Materials that allow electricity to flow freely
■Usually has loosely bound electrons

■Mostly metals

What are Insulators?

●Insulators
○Materials that keep electricity from flowing
■Have tightly bound electrons

■Rubber, glass, plastic, and wood

What are resistors?

●Resistor
○ Object that uses electrical energy as interferes with or ‘resists’ the current
■Either converts electricity to heat or light energy

●Resistance
○ How much energy is slowed down by a material

**The greater the resistance, the less current or amps there is flowing for a given
voltage.

What are Series circuits?

●Series circuit
○Only ONE path for the electricity to flow

○Batteries- adds to amps and volts

○Lights or resistors
■ Decreases amps and volts

■Lights shine dimmer

What are Parallel circuits?

●Parallel Circuits
○ Several paths for electricity to flow

○Batteries
■ Keeps same amps and volts, but lasts longer

○Lights or resistors
■ Shine with equal brightness