Combined Science key terms

The movement of electrical charge through a material.

A repeated variation in current or potential difference in an electrical circuit.

Opposition to the flow of electric current through a component.

Energy transferred when charge flows through a potential difference in a circuit; the work done equals the energy transferred.

A property of matter. Moving electrical charge produces an electric current; the amount of charge is measured in coulombs (C).

The rate of flow of electrical charge: the charge passing a point each second. Current is measured in amperes (A).

A device that uses the force on a current-carrying conductor in a magnetic field to produce rotation, transferring energy electrically into mechanical movement.

The harmful passage of an electric current through a person’s body.

An electrical conductor through which current enters or leaves an electrolyte.

The breakdown of an ionic compound using an electrical current.

A liquid or solution that conducts electricity because it contains ions that are free to move.

A solenoid with an iron core that produces a stronger magnetic field when current flows.

The production of a potential difference across a conductor when it cuts magnetic field lines or when the magnetic field passing through a coil changes.

Energy carried by electromagnetic waves, such as visible light.

The continuous range of electromagnetic waves, arranged by wavelength or frequency.

A transverse wave that transfers energy from a source to an absorber and can travel through a vacuum.

A negatively charged particle found within atoms.

The distribution of an atom's electrons among its shells, or energy levels.

The arrangement of electrons in an atom's shells.

The arrangement of electrons in an atom’s shells, often written as a sequence such as 2,8,1.

A microscope that uses electrons to produce an image, with much higher magnification and resolving power than a light microscope.

One of the allowed set distances from the nucleus at which an electron can exist in the GCSE atomic model.

An allowed energy level occupied by electrons around an atom’s nucleus; in Bohr’s model, shells are at specific distances from the nucleus.

The reduction in the attraction between the nucleus and an outer or incoming electron caused by electrons in inner shells.

The force of attraction between particles with opposite electrical charges.

An attractive or repulsive non-contact force between electrically charged objects.

A substance containing only one type of atom.