Every Tuesday, TSCW offers up a Quiz, Brainteaser, or Riddle to test your smarts and expand your mind. Think you know a thing or two about a thing or two? Find out below!
The volt is a unit for electromotive force and electric potential difference (voltage). It is named for the Italian physicist Alessandro Volta (1745–1827). Electrical resistors control the flow of electrical current within a circuit. False! Electricity travels at the speed of LIGHT, at about 300,000 kilometers per second. Effective electrical conductors include metals like silver, gold, copper and aluminum as well as water, especially seawater. Glass, plastic, air, rubber and wood are good insulators that slow or stop the flow of electricity. True! Electricity causes the muscle cells in your heart to contract, or beat. An electrocardiogram (ECG) measures the electricity passing through the heart. Electric eels will shock prey when hunting, or they will lash out with a self-protective jolt of electricity when feeling threatened. True! Geckos have toe pads that create a difference in charge between their feet and the surfaces they cling to. This electrostatic charge helps geckos “stick” to even smooth surfaces.
Results
#1. What is a volt?
#2. How many volts does the average taser emit?
#3. Electrical resistance is opposition to:
#4. True or False: Electricity travels at the speed of sound.
#5. What substance allows the flow of free electrons?
#6. What substance slows or stops the flow of electrons?
#7. A conductor with an excess of electrons has a ____________ charge.
#8. True or False: Electricity causes your heart to beat.
#9. How many volts can an electric eel generate?
#10. True or False: Geckos use electrostatic forces to stick to surfaces.
