ALL ABOUT CIRCUITS

There are countless devices in our children's lives that conduct

electricity and somehow maintain this energy!

Electricity can only flow around a complete circuit. Current electricity

is the flow of electrical charge through materials. And how does
electricity move throughout a device? Well, through circuits of
course! An electrical circuit is a complete path which electrical
energy can flow through.

Components of a Circuit
A circuit consists of four basic components. The Power Supply is a
device or machine that supplies electric power to a system or load.
The battery or an electrical outlet are examples of a power supply.
The Load is the electric component (device or machine) that
consumes power or energy in a circuit. A load converts electricity
into heat, light or motion. eg. bulb, washing machine, fan and a
desktop. The Switch is an electrical component that can disconnect
or connect the conducting path in an electrical circuit. The switch is
the on and off buttons. For a circuit to be complete, there must be
Wires/Conductive Wires connected to both the Cathode which is
the positive charge and the Anode which is the negative charge of
any power supply. The image below shows a load (battery) with the
location of the cathode and anode. The terminal is the end of the
power source, containing the anodes and cathode.

Cathode (Positive terminal))

Anode (Negative terminal)

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 ALL ABOUT CIRCUITS
How does Electricity pass through the Circuit?
Current only flows when a circuit is complete—when there are no
gaps in it. When the switch is on, electrons flow from the negative
terminal of the power source through the conductive wires, to the
load and back to the positive terminal of the power source.

Note that Electrons, which have a negative charge (anode), flow

towards the positive charge (cathode) because the positive and
negative charges attract each other.

Symbols in a Circuit
The circuit uses different symbols to represent the various
components of the circuit. They are:

a. Switch b. Power Supply c. Load eg. Bulb d. Wire

eg. Battery

Example of a Circuit.

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