The Physics Classroom: What is an Electric Circuit?

home » Website Detail Page

Detail Page

written by Tom Henderson

This is an interactive tutorial for introductory physics on the topic of electric circuits, current, and power. It explains the following concepts: electric potential, requirements of a circuit, light bulb anatomy, current flow, and electric power, and common misconceptions relating to electricity. Each section contains self-guided quizzes that allow students to check their understanding.

This page is part of The Physics Classroom tutorials for students of introductory physics. SEE RELATED ITEMS on this page for a link to a closely related tutorial on inverse square relationships by the same author.

https://www.physicsclassroom.com/Class/circuits/U9L2a.cfm

Subjects	Levels	Resource Types
Electricity & Magnetism - DC Circuits	- High School - Middle School	- Instructional Material = Problem/Problem Set = Tutorial

Intended Users	Formats	Ratings
- Learners - Educators	- text/html - image/gif	Currently 0.0/5 Want to rate this material? Login here!

Access Rights:: Free access
Restriction:: © 1996 Tom Henderson
Keywords:: circuits, current, electric current, electric potential, electric power, electricity tutorial, interactive tutorial, kilowatt, tutorial
Record Cloner:: Metadata instance created June 18, 2010 by Caroline Hall
Record Updated:: June 27, 2011 by Tom Henderson
Last Update when Cataloged:: December 12, 2008
Other Collections:: The Physics Front

Post a new comment on this item

AAAS Benchmark Alignments (2008 Version)

8. The Designed World

8C. Energy Sources and Use

6-8: 8C/M4. Electrical energy can be generated from a variety of energy resources and can be transformed into almost any other form of energy. Electric circuits are used to distribute energy quickly and conveniently to distant locations.

AAAS Benchmark Alignments (1993 Version)

4. THE PHYSICAL SETTING

G. Forces of Nature

4G (9-12) #4. Different kinds of materials respond differently to electric forces. In conducting materials such as metals, electric charges flow easily, whereas in insulating materials such as glass, they can move hardly at all. At very low temperatures, some materials become superconductors and offer no resistance to the flow of current. In between these extremes, semiconducting materials differ greatly in how well they conduct, depending on their exact composition.

ComPADRE is beta testing Citation Styles!

Record Link

<a href="https://www.compadre.org/portal/items/detail.cfm?ID=10097">Henderson, Tom. The Physics Classroom: What is an Electric Circuit?. December 12, 2008.</a>

AIP Format

T. Henderson, (1996), WWW Document, (https://www.physicsclassroom.com/Class/circuits/U9L2a.cfm).

AJP/PRST-PER

T. Henderson, The Physics Classroom: What is an Electric Circuit? (1996), <https://www.physicsclassroom.com/Class/circuits/U9L2a.cfm>.

APA Format

Henderson, T. (2008, December 12). The Physics Classroom: What is an Electric Circuit?. Retrieved October 14, 2024, from https://www.physicsclassroom.com/Class/circuits/U9L2a.cfm

Chicago Format

Henderson, Tom. The Physics Classroom: What is an Electric Circuit?. December 12, 2008. https://www.physicsclassroom.com/Class/circuits/U9L2a.cfm (accessed 14 October 2024).

MLA Format

Henderson, Tom. The Physics Classroom: What is an Electric Circuit?. 1996. 12 Dec. 2008. 14 Oct. 2024 <https://www.physicsclassroom.com/Class/circuits/U9L2a.cfm>.

BibTeX Export Format

@misc{ Author = "Tom Henderson", Title = {The Physics Classroom: What is an Electric Circuit?}, Volume = {2024}, Number = {14 October 2024}, Month = {December 12, 2008}, Year = {1996} }

Refer Export Format

%A Tom Henderson %T The Physics Classroom: What is an Electric Circuit? %D December 12, 2008 %U https://www.physicsclassroom.com/Class/circuits/U9L2a.cfm %O text/html

EndNote Export Format

%0 Electronic Source %A Henderson, Tom %D December 12, 2008 %T The Physics Classroom: What is an Electric Circuit? %V 2024 %N 14 October 2024 %8 December 12, 2008 %9 text/html %U https://www.physicsclassroom.com/Class/circuits/U9L2a.cfm

Disclaimer: ComPADRE offers citation styles as a guide only. We cannot offer interpretations about citations as this is an automated procedure. Please refer to the style manuals in the Citation Source Information area for clarifications.

Citation Source Information

The AIP Style presented is based on information from the AIP Style Manual.

The APA Style presented is based on information from APA Style.org: Electronic References.

The Chicago Style presented is based on information from Examples of Chicago-Style Documentation.

The MLA Style presented is based on information from the MLA FAQ.

This resource is stored in 18 shared folders.

You must login to access shared folders.

The Physics Classroom: What is an Electric Circuit?:

Has Student Extra Flickr Physics

Visit The Physics Classroom's Flickr Galleries and enjoy a photo overview of the topic of electric circuits.

relation by Tom Henderson

Has Teaching Guide The Laboratory

Looking for a lab that coordinates with this page? Try the Sparky the Electrician Lab from The Laboratory.

relation by Tom Henderson

Has Teaching Guide Flashlight Construction

This activity for high school physics presents the challenge of using miscellaneous items to construct a working flashlight. Presented in a PBL format.

relation by Tom Henderson

Has Teaching Guide Cirque du Circuit: A Unit on Electric Circuits for High School Physics

This is a 10-day multimedia unit that explores the fundamentals of electric circuits in a web-based, interactive format; it demonstrates the use of Compadre filing cabinets.

relation by Tom Henderson

Has Student Extra The Voltaic Pile

What is a battery? How were they invented? Learn the answers here.

relation by Tom Henderson

View 2 more related materials...

Know of another related resource? Login to relate this resource to it.