Circuit vocabulary
Use technical vocabulary for electrical circuits: circuit, component, cell, battery, current, voltage, resistance, conductor, insulator, switch, series circuit, parallel circuit, and apply these when describing, drawing, and designing working circuits
What a learner can do afterwards
- Use 'series' and 'parallel' correctly to describe two different circuit configurations and explain the key difference
- Apply 'current', 'voltage', and 'resistance' correctly in a written description of how a circuit works
- Name at least six standard circuit components and describe what each one does
1 · Read
A circuit is a closed loop that lets electricity flow around and back to where it started. Every part of that loop, like a battery, wire, switch, or bulb, is called a component.
A cell or battery stores energy and pushes charge around the circuit. That push is called voltage. The flow of charge moving through the components is called current.
Resistance is whatever slows the current down, like a thin wire or a bulb's filament. Conductors, such as metal wires, let current pass through easily. Insulators, such as plastic or rubber, block current. A switch is a component that opens or closes the path, turning the current on or off.
In a parallel circuit, components sit on separate branches that all connect back to the battery. If one branch breaks, current keeps flowing through the others.
Series circuits share one path; parallel circuits give current more than one path to follow.
More to read
21.1 Resistors in Series and Parallel
Series and parallel are the two ways to join circuit parts. In a series circuit the parts sit in one single chain. The same flow passes through each part in turn, so if one bulb is removed the loop breaks and all go dark. In a parallel circuit each part gets its own branch. The flow splits and rejoins, so one branch can fail while the others keep working. That key difference is why homes wire lights in parallel. One bulb going out leaves the rest lit.
20.2 Ohm’s Law: Resistance and Simple Circuits
Three words describe every circuit. Current is the flow of charge, measured in amperes. Voltage is the push behind the flow, measured in volts. Resistance is whatever slows the flow down, like a thin wire. A cell is the source of the push. A conductor, such as copper wire, lets charge pass easily. An insulator, such as plastic coating, blocks it. When you draw or describe a circuit, label each component and say what it does. Then state whether the loop is series or parallel and why.
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2 · Watch
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Where it sits
Where this leads
Jobs that lean on this skill. Follow one to see everything it is built on.
8 questions wait behind this lesson, each with its answer explained. Every answer feeds the sky: stars light as they are learned, and dim when it is time to come back.