Free ASVAB Practice Tests

Resistors are used to limit voltage and/or current in a circuit and can have a fixed or variable resistance.  Variable resistors (often called potentiometers or rheostats) are used when dynamic control over the voltage/current in a circuit is needed, for example, in a light dimmer or volume control.

A concentrated load acts on a relatively small area of a structure, a static uniformly distributed load doesn't create specific stress points or vary with time, a dynamic load varies with time or affects a structure that experiences a high degree of movement, an impact load is sudden and for a relatively short duration and a non-uniformly distributed load creates different stresses at different locations on a structure.

Spark plugs receive current from the distributor and use it to spark combustion in the combustion chamber of a cylinder.

The transistor is the foundation of modern electronic devices. It is made entirely from semiconductor material (making it a solid state device) and can serve many different functions in a circuit including acting as a switch, amplifier, or current regulator. A transistor works by allowing a small amount of current applied at the base to control general current flow from collector to emitter through the transistor.

A compound is a substance containing two or more different chemical elements bound together by a chemical bond. In ionic compounds, one atom borrows an electron from another atom resulting in two ions (electrically charged atoms) of opposite polarities that then become bonded electrostatically.

The Pythagorean theorem defines the relationship between the side lengths of a right triangle. The length of the hypotenuse squared (c²) is equal to the sum of the two perpendicular sides squared (a² + b²): c² = a² + b² or, solved for c, \(c = \sqrt{a + b}\)

Velocity and displacement are vector quantities which means each is fully described by both a magnitude and a direction.  In contrast, scalar quantities are quantities that are fully described by a magnitude only.  A variable indicating a vector quantity will often be shown with an arrow symbol:  \(\vec{v}\)

Circuits are not limited to only series or only parallel configurations. Most circuits contain a mix of series and parallel segments. A good example is a household circuit breaker. Electrical outlets in each section of the house are wired in parallel with the circuit breaker for that section wired in series making it easy to cut off electricity to the parallel parts of the circuit when needed.