1. Electric Circuits
7th Grade Science

2. Circuits
Circuits are made up of wires and electrical parts such as batteries, light bulbs, motors and switches.
Circuit diagrams are used to illustrate these items.
Electrical symbols are used to make these diagrams quicker and easier.

3. Circuits
Circuits can be Open or Closed. Electric current can only flow when there is a complete and unbroken path from one end of the circuit to the other.
A circuit with no breaks in current is called a Closed Circuit. This is when things are “on”.
A circuit with breaks in it, stopping the flow of the current, is an Open Current.

4. Know for next weeks’s quiz

5. Just kidding. -Wire -Battery -Bulb -Resistor -Switch -Motor -Ammeter -Voltmeter

6. Wire: Usually a metal drawn out to conduct electricity.
Battery: The source of energy for a circuit. It converts chemical to electrical energy.
Bulb: Regular light bulb. Some diagrams use “buzzers” to show currents.

7. Resistor: An electrical device that uses energy carried by an electrical current in a specific way.
Switch: Used to turn electricity on and off. “On” lets the current flow, “Off” cuts it.
Motor: Converts electrical energy to mechanical energy.

8. Ammeter: An electrical meter that measures the electrical current going through a circuit.
(Amperes, or amps, is the measure of electric current.).
Voltmeter: Measures volts.
(Voltage: The measure of Electric Potential Energy. It is measured in Volts).

10. Simple!

11. Complex!