Basic Electrical

Components and Symbols

By Jacob Raymond
There are two types of electrical signals, those being alternate currents (AC) and direct
currents (DC).
AC
With an AC current, the direction of electricity flows throughout the circuit is
constantly reversing. Is the most cost effective way to transport large amounts of
electricity across distances.
DC
In DC currents electricity only flows in one direction between the power and the
ground. DC circuits can also be referred to as continuity circuits

On a battery:

Red is a positive charge

Black is a negative charge

Series Circuits
Series circuits create and unequal charge across multiple outputs.
Parallel Circuit
Parallel circuits share the electricity to the different outputs resulting in a more
evenly distributed output.
Resistors
● Have no polarity
● Read amount of resistance based on the color of bands
Capacitor
● Store energy in order to keep the amount of energy constant throughout the
circuit.
Diodes
Only allow electricity to flow one way meaning that they have polarity. An example
is an LED
Fuse
Designed to burn and end the circuit if electricity burns to hot. This prevents
damaging other parts of the circuit.
LED
A Light Emitting Diode which releases very little heat.
Transistors
Transistors takes small electrical currents into its base pin and amplifies it in a
much larger current that can pass through its collector and emitter pins.
Integrated Circuits
An integrated circuit is a specialized circuit that has been shrunk into one small
chip where each leg connects to the circuit.
Potentiometers

Potentiometers are variable resistors. It can be manually adjusted to change the

resistance in a circuit.
Switches
Switches are used to open and close circuits.
Batteries
A battery is a container which stores chemical energy and changes it into electrical
energy. Batteries are the power of the circuits.