1. IP2.18.4 Circuit diagrams © Oxford University Press 2011 Circuit diagrams

2. IP2.18.4 Circuit diagrams © Oxford University Press 2011  Circuit symbols are used together in a circuit diagram to represent a real physical electrical circuit.  The main features and reasons scientists use circuit diagrams are:  Wires are simplified to straight lines to make the diagrams clear and easy to understand.  They are much simpler to draw than trying to reproduce an accurate sketch of a real-life circuit.  You can easily use circuit diagrams to set up or describe a circuit or to interpret how a particular circuit might behave.

3. IP2.18.4 Circuit diagrams © Oxford University Press 2011 How would you draw a circuit diagram using the components below?  A battery of 3 cells  A lamp  A variable resister  An on/off switch