Standard circuit diagram symbols — AQA GCSE Physics
Test yourself on Standard circuit diagram symbols with AQA GCSE practice questions.
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Standard circuit diagram symbols explained
Circuit diagrams work because every component has one agreed symbol, so any physicist can read any diagram.
Read the full explanation
You need the cell, a long thin line and a short thick line, and the battery, two or more cells in line; the switch, open and closed; the fixed resistor, a plain rectangle; the variable resistor, a rectangle with an arrow through it; the lamp, a circle with a cross; the fuse; the voltmeter, a circle marked V; the ammeter, a circle marked A; the diode, a triangle against a bar, and the light emitting diode with arrows leaving it; the thermistor and the light dependent resistor, each a resistor with its own added symbol. Wires are drawn as straight lines meeting at right angles, and junctions are marked with a dot.
Students should be able to draw and interpret circuit diagrams.
Drawing a circuit diagram is a skill with rules. Components in series sit on one loop so the same current passes through each; components in parallel sit on separate branches across the same two points. Meters have fixed positions: an ammeter always goes in series with the component whose current it measures, because the current has to pass through it, and a voltmeter always goes in parallel across the component, because it compares the potential at two points. A variable resistor in series lets you change the current, and so the potential difference across the component under test. Interpreting a diagram runs the same rules backwards: follow each loop, check what is in series with what, and decide what each meter is actually reading.
Your focus
- Draw the standard symbol for a cell, battery, switch, lamp, resistor, variable resistor, fuse, diode, thermistor, LDR, ammeter and voltmeter.
- Name the component represented by a given symbol in an unfamiliar circuit diagram.
- Distinguish between symbols that look similar, such as cell and battery or resistor and variable resistor.
Show all 8 objectives
- Complete a partly drawn circuit diagram so that it forms a closed loop.
- Draw a circuit that measures the current through and the potential difference across a single component.
- Explain why an ammeter is connected in series and a voltmeter in parallel.
- Interpret an unfamiliar circuit diagram to state which components carry the same current.
- Modify a circuit diagram so that the potential difference across a component can be varied.
Standard circuit diagram symbols exam tips
Marking Points
- one mark for drawing the correct standard symbol for the component named
- one mark for a diagram in which the symbols are joined by straight lines forming a complete circuit
- one mark for correct identification of a component from its symbol on a given diagram
- one mark for distinguishing similar symbols, such as the fixed resistor from the variable resistor
- one mark for a battery or cell connected in series with the component and the ammeter
- one mark for the voltmeter connected in parallel across the component
- one mark for including a variable resistor, variable power supply or potentiometer where the pd has to be varied
- one mark for a diagram that forms a complete circuit using standard symbols
Examiner Tips
- 💡Draw with a ruler and a sharp pencil; examiners must be able to tell a resistor rectangle from a battery.
- 💡Add a dot at any junction where three or more wires meet so the connection is unambiguous.
- 💡Learn the symbols as pairs that are easy to confuse: cell and battery, resistor and variable resistor, diode and LED.
- 💡Say it as you draw: ammeter in series, voltmeter in parallel, and check both before moving on.
- 💡When a circuit has to be varied, include the variable resistor, as it is usually a mark on its own.
- 💡Follow each wire with a pencil tip when interpreting a given diagram so no branch is missed.
Common Mistakes
- drawing a cell with the long and short lines the same length, so the terminals cannot be told apart
- using a zigzag for a resistor, which is not the symbol used by this specification
- confusing the lamp symbol with the symbol for a motor or a cell
- leaving gaps between wires and components so the circuit drawn is not complete
- placing the ammeter in parallel and the voltmeter in series, which measures nothing useful
- drawing a voltmeter across the battery when the question asked for the pd across one component
- leaving the circuit open so no current could flow in the diagram drawn
- adding extra components that change the circuit being investigated