We construct electrical circuits to make electrical equipment work. Electricity flows around the circuits and passes through the various components. Electricity flows around circuits as "current" which is measured in Amperes, usually abbreviated to "Amps". Electrical current is a flow of electrical charge, and charge is measured in "Coulomb".


The simplest form of circuit is a simple series circuit consisting of a power supply (sometimes called the battery, or a cell) and a component which uses the power supply such as a light bulb or LED.


We will take a look at series and parallel circuits in the next couple of chapters. Before we do this though, there are a number of components that you need to get used to identifying.



You will also come across a few somewhat strange conventions in your study of circuits, for example electrons flow from negative to positive but the definition that you will study is that electrical current flows from positive to negative.