Learn the standard international symbols for electrical components and how to read/draw circuit diagrams.
Introduction to standard symbols.
Drawing realistic pictures of batteries, wires, and bulbs every time you design a circuit is difficult and time-consuming. To solve this, scientists use standard symbols to represent electrical components.
A representation of an electrical circuit using these standard symbols is called a circuit diagram.
Chart of the 7 key electrical symbols from the chapter.
International symbols used to represent common circuit components.
Specific rules for the cell and LED symbols.
When reading or drawing a circuit diagram, there are a few critical visual rules you must always remember.
In the symbol for an electric cell, the longer vertical line ALWAYS represents the positive (+) terminal. The shorter, thicker line represents the negative (-) terminal.
Match descriptions to their symbol features.
Terms
Definitions
Side-by-side of a physical circuit and its schematic.
Translating a physical setup into a universal circuit diagram.
Application question on reading a circuit diagram.
You see a circuit diagram with a single cell symbol, an unbroken line passing through a switch symbol (two dots connected by a flat line), and an incandescent lamp symbol. Will the lamp in this diagram glow?