Electricity Vocabulary

2. A unit of measurement for electrical resistance to a current.
3. A loop-shaped path through which electric current travels from the source through some device using electricity, such as a light-bulb, and back to the source.
4. A completed, low-resistance circuit that allows electrons to follow a shorter, unintended path back to the power source rather than follow the longer path that goes through the load.
7. To connect any part of an electrical wiring system to the ground or to another conducting body, such as a metal water pipe or a metal rod driven into the earth.
9. A solid state device that converts alternating current to pulsed direct current.
11. The opposition against the free transfer of electrons in a conductor. Measured in ohms.
12. A unit of potential difference, or a unit of measurement of electrical pressure or force. Abbreviated V.

1. The difference, measured in volts, in electric potential between two points, especially two points in an electric circuit.
5. A resistor built so that the current traveling through the circuit can be adjusted at will. Volume controls and dimmer switches are examples.
6. A substance or device through which electricity passes.
8. A unit measuring the strength of an electrical current, based on the number of electrons transferring past a given point per second. Abbreviated amp.
10. Unit that measures electrical power at the point where it is used in a circuit. Abbreviated W.