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Teach Electricity: Circuits and their Components in eight steps.

For each idea: show it, ask before you tell, then say one line.

Gather two matching torch cells, a suitable incandescent bulb, textbook and two plastic-covered wires with bare ends.

Choose a bulb suitable for one cell. An adult handles bulbs only when cool. Use small cells, never wall sockets or generators.

Common misconceptions & worked visual for this chapter · 15 practice questions with answers

Why it matters

  • Torches work away from sockets because cells provide their energy.
  • LED bulbs use less electricity than filament bulbs for similar brightness.
  • Plastic wire coverings help protect people from electric shocks.

What to teach

Cells and lamps

Electric cellChemicals inside a cell provide electrical energy.BatteryCells linked positive to negative work together.Incandescent lampA lamp lit by a hot filament.LEDA light without a filament that works one way round.

Circuits and symbols

Electric circuit and switchA switch makes or breaks the current’s path.Circuit diagramAgreed symbols show parts and their connections.

Materials and fault checks

Conductors and insulatorsCurrent passes easily through conductors, but not through insulators.Circuit testingKnown working parts help locate faults.

How to teach it

Cells and lamps

A cylindrical torch cell lying on a wooden table.

1. Electric cell

Chemicals inside a cell provide electrical energy.

Show
Lay the torch cell down. After predicting, turn it around and find the raised cap again.
Ask
Will turning this cell make its raised cap negative?
Say
Its raised cap is positive. Its flat end is negative.
Used in
Electricity made using wind, sunlight, falling water, coal or gas powers household appliances.
If your child says…“Both metal ends are the same.”
Ask
Did turning it change which end has the cap?
What’s true
Turning a cell changes its position, not its terminals.
Two torch cells joined by a wire connecting one cell’s positive cap to the other’s negative end.

2. Battery

Cells linked positive to negative work together.

Show
Set two torch cells side by side. After predicting, use a wire to join one positive cap to the other cell’s negative end.
Ask
Can side-by-side cells work together?
Say
Link one positive cap to the other cell’s negative end.
Used in
Connected cells work together to power a torch.
If your child says…“Side-by-side cells cannot make a battery.”
Ask
Which ends would the joining wire connect?
What’s true
Terminal connections matter, not cell positions.
Torch bulb cutaway showing the filament’s connection to two separate metal contacts.

3. Incandescent lamp

A lamp lit by a hot filament.

Show
Look at the diagram. Find both contacts, then follow their wires to the filament.
Ask
Will the filament glow if one bulb contact is left unconnected?
Say
No; connect the metal case and bottom contact to opposite cell ends. Current heats the filament until it glows.
Used in
Replacing a fused bulb restores a working torch’s light.
If your child says…“Fresh cells fix a fused bulb.”
Ask
Can fresh cells mend a broken wire?
What’s true
A broken filament leaves a gap that fresh cells cannot mend.
LED diagram showing unequal legs, a light-producing chip and the current direction.

4. LED

A light without a filament that works one way round.

Show
Look at the diagram. Find both legs and the chip. Follow the current arrow.
Ask
Will this LED light with its connections reversed in a suitable circuit?
Say
Current enters the long leg and leaves the short leg in a suitable circuit. Reversed connections keep it dark. Its chip makes light without a filament.
Used in
Affordable LED bulbs help households reduce lighting electricity use.
If your child says…“A dark LED must be broken.”
Ask
Which leg must current enter for this LED to light?
What’s true
Reversed connections can keep a working LED dark.

Circuits and symbols

A cell and unlit torch bulb with one connecting wire left unattached.

5. Electric circuit and switch

A switch makes or breaks the current’s path.

Show
Connect one cell end to the bulb’s metal case with a wire. Attach another wire to the other cell end, leaving its free end loose. After predicting, touch that free end to the bulb’s bottom tip.
Ask
Will joining this end light it?
Say
Joining the contacts closes the circuit. Separating them opens the circuit.
Used in
Torch switches control light without removing cells.
If your child says…“An open circuit lets current through.”
Ask
Are an open switch’s contacts touching?
What’s true
A gap prevents current in this small-cell circuit.
A cell-and-bulb circuit beside its matching diagram in an open textbook.

6. Circuit diagram

Agreed symbols show parts and their connections.

Show
Put the circuit beside its matching textbook diagram. After predicting, match each part and wire.
Ask
Which line in the cell symbol will match the cell’s positive end?
Say
The symbols stand for parts, and the lines show their connections. The cell’s longer line means positive, and its shorter line means negative.
Used in
Shared symbols make circuit drawings understandable across countries.
If your child says…“I must draw realistic parts.”
Ask
Does a detailed picture show connections more clearly?
What’s true
Symbols can show parts without realistic pictures.

Materials and fault checks

A cell-and-bulb circuit with a wire’s plastic covering touching the bulb contact and its metal end kept clear.

7. Conductors and insulators

Current passes easily through conductors, but not through insulators.

Show
First make sure the bulb lights. Disconnect one wire from the bulb. After predicting, touch that wire’s plastic covering to the same bulb contact. Keep its exposed metal away from the contact.
Ask
Will touching plastic to the contact light it?
Say
Exposed metal must touch the contact.
Used in
Plastic wire coverings separate conductors and help protect people from shocks.
If your child says…“It connects through the plastic.”
Ask
What separates the metal surfaces here?
What’s true
Plastic prevents the needed contact in this circuit.
A working bulb circuit with another matching cell beside it, ready for testing.

8. Circuit testing

Known working parts help locate faults.

Show
Check that the circuit lights with firm contacts. After predicting, swap only the cell. Restore the original cell to check again.
Ask
Will the other cell light this bulb?
Say
The working bulb and wires let you test the other cell.
Used in
Repairing loose torch connections avoids replacing working cells.
If your child says…“I need a special meter to test a cell.”
Ask
What does the glowing bulb tell you about the cell?
What’s true
A working bulb circuit can test a suitable cell without a meter.

A real problem

UJALA LED lighting programme

UJALA launched on 5 January 2015.

The programme aimed to make efficient LED bulbs affordable for households.

Using less electricity for lighting helped suppliers cope when demand was highest.

Inside LED lighting products, current passes through a microchip to produce visible light.

Press Information BureauInternational Energy AgencyENERGY STAR

An LED bulb in a table lamp illuminating a wooden study table.

Concept Lab · Common misconception

The tempting mistake in Electricity: Circuits and their Components

Open standalone misconception page →

Does current get used up by a bulb?

Wrong

Less current leaves the bulb than enters it in a steady series circuit.

Why it feels right. The bulb uses energy, so I imagine it using up current.

Right

The bulb transfers energy. Charge continues around the closed circuit.

Worked example

The two possible meter positions are in one series loop. Measuring at either position gives the same current.
  1. Place an ammeter before and then after the bulb in the same steady single loop.
  2. The readings match.

Ask your child eight quick questions.

One per step. The answer and the reason are given.

  1. After turning this cell, how many of its metal ends may be called positive?

    One: the raised cap. Turning the cell does not change which terminal is positive.

  2. Two cells power a lamp. Their positions change, but their connections stay unchanged. What happens to the light?

    The lamp stays lit. The connecting path determines how cells work together, regardless of their positions.

  3. What needs replacing when a torch bulb’s filament breaks?

    The bulb. Fresh cells cannot restore the path through a broken filament.

  4. Why can reversed connections keep a working LED dark in a suitable cell circuit?

    Current passes only one way. Reversed connections can keep a working LED dark.

  5. The switch contacts move far apart. What happens to current in this small-cell circuit?

    There is no current. The separated contacts leave no complete path through the lamp.

  6. Which line in the cell symbol represents its positive end?

    The longer line. Line length identifies the terminal.

  7. Which part of a covered wire must touch the bulb’s contact?

    The exposed metal. Plastic between the metal surfaces prevents electrical contact in this circuit.

  8. Can this glowing bulb show that the cell supplies current without using a special meter?

    Yes. The known working bulb and wires let you test the cell.

15 more questions with answers, 5 with pictures