Electronics Basics

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Electronics Basics
Making an Electronic Light Kit

• Students Involved with Technology
• Presented by
• Chris Miller, Faculty at Heartland Community
  College
• Assisted by
• Kimberly Travers, Faculty at Heartland Community
  College

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Basic Electronics Terms

• Source (battery)
• Path
• Load
• Light
• LED
• Speaker
• Resistor

• Switch
• Ground
• Capacitor
• Diode
• Transistor

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Source (such as a battery)

• Picture shows two cells
• When 2 or more cells are combined, the result is
  a battery
• Measured in volts
• Such as a 9 volt battery

4
Path

• In a picture of an electronic circuit, a path
  is drawn as a line. This line represents
  connections between components.
• In an actual circuit, the path is the actual
  connection (typically made with wire or metal)
  between actual components.

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Loads Lights LEDs Speakers

• The load on a circuit is typically where you
  can actually see something happen.
• The light is on/off.
• The LED is on/off.
• The speakers are silent/not silent.

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Resistor

• Two types fixed and variable values
• The value of a fixed resistor is shown by the
  color coding on the outside

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Switch

• A switch provides a simple and convenient way of
  opening and closing a circuit without having to
  disconnect and reconnect wires to a source.
• Examples light switch on a wall, power button
  on a calculator, power button on a computer

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Ground

• A ground is a connection between a circuit and
  the earth or a metallic object that takes the
  place of the earth.
• Used to complete a circuit and provide safety.

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Capacitor

• A capacitor stores electrons until needed (or
  until discharged).
• Once a capacitor is discharged, it must be
  recharged before it can provide electrons to the
  circuit again.

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Transistor

• Transistors are used to amplify and/or switch
  the flow of electrons in a circuit. The two
  pictures show different types of transistors
  can you tell the difference?

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Ohms Law

• Voltage is represented by an E
• Current is represented by an I
• Resistance is represented by an R

• Voltage current x resistance
• Current voltage / resistance
• Resistance voltage / current

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Types of Circuits

• Series Circuit(flashlight)

• Parallel Circuit(radio with multiple speakers)