How is electricity defined?

• A. The flow of electrons
• B. The flow of protons
• C. Energy transfer without matter
• D. Magnetic fields around wires

Answer: (A)

Electricity is the movement of electric charge. In most circuits, that means electrons flow through a conductor, and this flow of charge creates an electric current. Protons aren’t the carriers that move in wires the way electrons do, so the flow of protons doesn’t fit as the general definition. Energy transfer without matter describes radiation or other wave phenomena, which isn’t what we mean by electricity in circuits. Magnetic fields around wires are effects produced by current, not the definition itself. So the flow of electrons best matches what electricity is.