Electrical principles: math for electronics; electronic principles; Ohm's Law
Electronic principles: capacitance; inductance; current flow in circuits; alternating current; definition of RF; DC power calculations; impedance
What is the ability to store energy in an electric field called?
This one can throw people off a bit; many confuse Inductance and Capacitance, which are pretty similar on this question.
A capacitor is a passive component that consists of at least one pair of conductors separated by a dielectric (an insulator). When voltage is applied to the capacitor (creating a difference in potential between the two) it creates an electric field across the dielectric which stores energy. The easiest way for me to remember these is that an inductor, being a coil of wire, is used to create an electromagnet (you can make an electromagnet by wrapping a coil of insulated wire around a nail, for example), and so an inductor stores energy in a magnetic field. The capacitor stores energy in an electric field.
Once again:
What is the ability to store energy in a MAGNETIC field called? Inductance
What is the ability to store energy in an ELECTRIC field called? Capacitance
MICE acronym for above = Magnetic & Inductance pair while Capacitance & Electric pair
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Tags: electronics definitions capacitance arrl chapter 3 arrl module 6
The basic unit of capacitance, the Farad, is named for the physicist Michael Faraday.
The other units listed here are:
"Henry was Inducted into the hall of fame, and Faraday tipped his Cap(acitance)."
An additional memory aid: Many of us have heard of a Faraday Cage. Cages CAPture things (CAPacitance)
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What is the ability to store energy in a magnetic field called?
An inductor is a coil of wire, usually around a non-ferrite (nonmagnetic)
core. The basic unit of inductance is the henry. Whenever you make a coil of
wire, it creates a magnetic field; think of an electromagnet, which is
basically an inductor with a ferrite core. The ability to store energy in such
a field is Inductance. So remember -- _inductance creates a magnetic field
Capacitance has a very similar (and in fact opposite) effect to an inductor and creates an electric field.
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An inductor is a passive electrical component that stores energy in a magnetic field; its unit is the henry, which is named for Joseph Henry.
It's good to know what the other units listed are as well, since they are all real units:
Study Tip: Consider using the line "Henry was inducted into the hall of fame, and (Farad)ay tipped his Cap(acitance)" to jog your memory.
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Hertz is the standard unit for frequency, as used in the SI unit system. It is defined as the number of cycles per second of something periodic. For example a quartz clock ticks at \(1\)Hz. The wall outlet AC (in the US) is set to \(60\)Hz. The tone of A just below middle C is \(220\) Hz. The unit is named after Heinrich Hertz](wiki/Heinrich_Hertz). Here is a graphical example from Wikipedia.
The other (incorrect) answers here are:
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What does the abbreviation "RF" refer to?
RF is "Radio Frequency" - it's not reflected force or any of these other choices. Just learn this one.
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What is a usual name for electromagnetic waves that travel through space?
Electromagnetic waves are radio waves. Radio waves are typically denoted by electromagnetic wavelengths longer then Infrared. As with all electromagnetic waves, they travel at the speed of light.
The other wrong options:
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What is the formula used to calculate electrical power in a DC circuit?
\[P={E}\times{I}\]
\[E=\frac{P}{I}\]
\[I=\frac{P}{E}\]
An easy way to remember is "Pixie". P I x E
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Tags: formulas math electrical power electrical current electromotive force (voltage) power law arrl chapter 3 arrl module 5
How much power is being used in a circuit when the applied voltage is 13.8 volts DC and the current is 10 amperes?
\(P = I \times E\) \(=\) \(10 \times 13.8\) \(=\) \(138\) watts
The formula for electrical power is \(P = I \times E\).
"Power (in watts) equals Current (in amperes) multiplied by Potential Energy (in volts)."
\(P\) (watts) = \(10\) (amps)\(\times 13.8\) (volts)
\(10 \times 13.8 = 138\)
\(138\) watts
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Tags: math dc power electrical power electromotive force (voltage) electrical current power law arrl chapter 3 arrl module 5
How much power is being used in a circuit when the applied voltage is 12 volts DC and the current is 2.5 amperes?
Power is the rate of of electrical energy generation or consumption.
\(P = V \times I\) (watts \(=\) volts \(\times\) amperes)
Where \(P\) is power (\(W\)), \(V\) is voltage (\(V\)), and \(I\) is current (\(A\)).
\(P = 12V \times 2.5A = 30W\)
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Tags: math dc power electrical power electromotive force (voltage) electrical current power law arrl chapter 3 arrl module 5
How many amperes are flowing in a circuit when the applied voltage is 12 volts DC and the load is 120 watts?
We will use the Power Law, which is most commonly written as:
\[P = I \times E\]
We are given:
\begin{align*} \text{(Power) } P &= 120\text{ watts}\\ \text{(Current) } I &= \text{?}\\ \text{(Voltage) } E &= 12\text{ volts}\\ \end{align*}
To solve for \(I\) we can divide both sides by \(E\) and get
\begin{align*} I &= \frac{P}{E}\\ I &= \frac{120}{12}\\ &= 10\text{ amperes} \end{align*}
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Tags: math ohm's law electrical current electrical power arrl chapter 3 arrl module 5
What is meant by the term impedance?
The inverse of resistance is conductance (the measure is the Mho - can you see how this is related to Ohm?). So that's not the answer.
The measure of \(Q\) is something covered on the General and Extra exams - it's too deep for the Technician exam. So that's not the answer.
Power handling capability? Power is measured in Watts, so the power handling capability would be measured in Watts. Components are certainly rated in things like Watts and Volts and even Amps, but none of those things are called impedance. So that's not the answer.
And that leaves "It is a measure of the opposition to AC current flow in a circuit."
Impedance, incidentally, is measured in Ohms.
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Impedance
is actually very similar to resistance
in many ways -- which makes sense, since impede
and resist
are roughly synonymous. Thus it makes sense that they share the same unit -- Ohms.
The main difference between resistance
and impedance
is that impedance
changes with frequency. Inductors pass direct current (frequency of \(0\)) but have a higher impedance
the higher the frequency, since inductors tend to resist changes in current. Capacitors have infinite impedance
with DC and the higher the frequency the lower the impedance (capacitors resist changes in voltage).
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