New Jersey State Board Esthetics Practice Exam

What is a measure of electric energy being used called?

1. A watt

2. A joule

3. A volt

4. A coulomb

The correct answer is: A watt

The measure of electric energy being used is referred to as a watt. A watt is defined as one joule per second and is the standard unit of power in the International System of Units (SI). It quantifies the rate at which energy is consumed or converted; thus, when you are measuring how much energy an appliance uses during operation, the reading will typically be in watts. In contrast, a joule measures energy and is a unit that represents the amount of work done when a force of one newton moves an object one meter. This means it's a total energy measure rather than an energy consumption rate. A volt, on the other hand, is a unit that measures electric potential difference, or the force that pushes electric charge through a circuit, while a coulomb is the unit of electric charge, quantifying the amount of electricity. All of these terms are related to electricity but specifically, when discussing the power or electric energy being utilized, the watt is the correct terminology.