ELECTRICAL CIRCUITS

S.MORRIS 2006
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 The CELL
The cell stores chemical energy and transfers it to

electrical energy when a circuit is connected.

When two or more cells are

connected together we call this
a Battery.

The cells chemical energy is

used up pushing a current round
a circuit.
What is an electric current?
An electric current is a flow of microscopic particles
called electrons flowing through wires and
components.

+
-

In which direction does the current flow?

from the Negative terminal to the Positive terminal of a
cell.
 simple circuits
Here is a simple electric circuit. It has a cell, a
lamp and a switch.

cell wires

switch lamp

To make the circuit, these components are connected

together with metal connecting wires.
 simple circuits
When the switch is closed, the lamp lights up. This is
because there is a continuous path of metal for the
electric current to flow around.

If there were any breaks in the circuit, the

current could not flow.
 circuit diagram
Scientists usually draw electric circuits using symbols;

cell lamp switch wires

 circuit diagrams
In circuit diagrams components are represented by
the following symbols;

cell battery switch lamp buzzer

ammeter voltmeter motor resistor variable

resistor
 types of circuit
There are two types of electrical circuits;

SERIES CIRCUITS PARALLEL CIRCUITS

 SERIES CIRCUITS

The components are connected end-to-end, one

after the other.
They make a simple loop for the current to flow
round.
If one bulb ‘blows’ it breaks the whole circuit and
all the bulbs go out.
 PARALLEL CIRCUITS

The components are connected side by side.

The current has a choice of routes.

If one bulb ‘blows’ there is still be a complete circuit to
the other bulb so it stays alight.
 measuring current

Electric current is measured in amps (A) using

an ammeter connected in series in the circuit.

A
 measuring current
This is how we draw an ammeter in a circuit.

A A

SERIES CIRCUIT PARALLEL CIRCUIT

 measuring current
SERIES CIRCUIT

• current is the same 2A 2A

at all points in the
circuit. 2A

PARALLEL CIRCUIT

2A 2A
• current is shared
between the 1A
components
1A
copy the following circuits and fill in the
missing ammeter readings.

4A
? 3A
? 3A

1A
?
4A
?

4A 1A

1A
?
 measuring voltage
The ‘electrical push’ which the cell gives to the current
is called the voltage. It is measured in volts (V) on a
voltmeter

V
 measuring voltage
Different cells produce different voltages. The
bigger the voltage supplied by the cell, the bigger the
current.

Unlike an ammeter a voltmeter is connected across

the components

Scientist usually use the term Potential Difference

(pd) when they talk about voltage.
 measuring voltage
This is how we draw a voltmeter in a circuit.

V
V
SERIES CIRCUIT PARALLEL CIRCUIT
 measuring voltage

V V
V
 series circuit
• voltage is shared between the components

3V

1.5V 1.5V
 parallel circuit
• voltage is the same in all parts of the circuit.

3V

3V

3V
measuring current & voltage

copy the following circuits on the next two

slides.

complete the missing current and voltage

readings.

remember the rules for current and voltage

in series and parallel circuits.
measuring current & voltage

a)
6V
4A A

V V

A
measuring current & voltage

b)
6V
4A A
V

A
 answers

a) b)
6V
6V 4A 4A
6V
4A 4A

3V 3V 2A

4A 6V

2A