AQA · GCSE · Combined Science
Course version: 8464 · Version from Sept 2018
Standard circuit diagram symbols: Circuit diagrams use standard symbols.
Circuit diagrams are drawn with agreed standard symbols so any physicist or engineer can read them.
- 2 key terms
Study notes
From the checked teaching notes for this specification point.
The idea
Circuit diagrams are drawn with agreed standard symbols so any physicist or engineer can read them. A cell is a long and short parallel line, a battery is two or more cells, a resistor is a rectangle, and a variable resistor adds a diagonal arrow. A lamp is a circle with a cross, an ammeter is a circle with A, and a voltmeter is a circle with V. A switch is two terminal circles with a movable contact line, and a diode is a triangle with a bar. An LDR has a rectangle with arrows pointing towards it, while a thermistor is a rectangle with a diagonal line ending in a flat horizontal segment. Wires are straight lines with right-angled corners. Using these symbols correctly lets you build, test and communicate circuits accurately.
What earns the marks
- Recognise and draw the standard symbol for a cell, battery, resistor, lamp, switch, ammeter and voltmeter.
- Distinguish a cell from a battery by showing two or more cells in series for a battery.
- Draw connecting wires as straight lines with right-angled corners and no gaps at component symbols.
- Place an ammeter in series and a voltmeter in parallel with the component being measured.
- Identify the symbols for a diode, LDR, thermistor and variable resistor, noting the thermistor's diagonal line and the LDR's incoming arrows.
Common mistakes and how to put them right
Drawing a battery as a single cell.
Put it right by drawing two or more cell symbols in series.
Confusing the thermistor and LDR symbols.
Put it right by remembering the LDR has arrows representing light, while the thermistor has a diagonal line.
Leaving gaps or curved wires between symbols.
Put it right by drawing straight lines with right-angled corners that touch each symbol.
Drawing a switch as just a gap in the wire.
Put it right by including the two terminal circles and the movable contact line.
Exam tips
- Learn each symbol by drawing it several times rather than only reading it, paying special attention to the diagonal line on a thermistor.
- When asked to complete a circuit, trace the path from the cell around the loop to check every component is connected.
Try the lesson
The start of the Standard circuit diagram symbols: Circuit diagrams use standard symbols. lesson, made from checked teaching notes for this specification point.
Have a go first
In a circuit diagram, which standard symbol is used to represent a cell?
Key words
Say what each word means before you turn the card.
Standard symbols
Try answering aloud or in your head before turning the card.
Circuit representation
Try answering aloud or in your head before turning the card.
See every definition
- Standard symbols
- Agreed symbols used in circuit diagrams so any physicist or engineer can read them.
- Circuit representation
- Drawing circuits with standard symbols, straight lines with right-angled corners, and no gaps at component symbols.
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