Electrical Workshop

Module 3: Basic Electrical Components

PREPARED BY

Academic Services Unit

August 2011

Applied technology High Schools, 2011

ATE1010 Electrical Workshop

Module 3: Basic Electrical Components

Module Objectives
Upon successful completion of this module, students should be able to:
1. Identify basic electrical components such as:
Lamps, motors and buzzers.
Resistors, LDRs, capacitors and inductors.
Diodes.
2. Understand the application of each component.

Module Contents:
Topic

Page
No.

3.1

Introduction

3.2

Basic Electrical Components

3.3

Components Coding

3.4

Class and Lab Activities

3.5

Review Exercise

Module 3: Basic Electrical Components

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3.1 Introduction
Have you ever opened your personal computer (PC) or your radio from the inside? If
you tried so, have you seen the electrical boards with many components mounted on
them? Figure 3.1 shows an example of a PC electrical board with different
components. In this module, we will study these components and understand their
usages and applications.

Figure 3.1: PC Electrical Board

3.2 Basic Electrical Components

Component

Symbol

Function

Lamp

Light Indicator

Motor

Motion Indicator

Buzzer

Sound Indictor

Component

Symbol

Function

Picture

Picture

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Resistors limit the current flow

Resistor

Variable resistors control the current in

the circuit:
-

Adjust lamp brightness

Adjust motor speed

Variable
Resistor

LDRs are variable resistors where

resistance value changes with light

LDR
(Light
Dependent
Resistor)

Module 3: Basic Electrical Components

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Component

Symbol

Function

Picture

Capacitors store
electrical charge and
are used in:
-

Timer Circuits

Capacitor

Inductors store
magnetic field and are
used in:
-

Electric bells

Door locks

Inductor

Diodes allow current to

flow in one direction
only.
Diode has two
terminals:
Diode

1. Cathode (K)(-) :
located to the line
perpendicular to
the point of the
arrowhead
2. Anode (A) (+):
located at the
opposite end of the
cathode.

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3.3 Components Coding:

1. Resistance Coding: Resistors are specified by their resistance value and their
tolerance. One way to indicate the resistance value and tolerance is color
code method, which is explained in Figure 3.2.
1. Resistance is measured in ohms ()
2. Most resistors have 3 bands:

The 1st band gives the first digit.

The 2nd band gives the second digit.

The 3rd band indicates the number of zeros.

The 4th band gives the tolerance

Figure 3.2 Resistance color code

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Exercises:
State the resistors value and tolerance for the following resistors:

Yellow Violet Brown Silver

Red

Green Black

Gold

5 %

10 %

R = 25 5%

R = 470 10%

Violet

Red

Black

Gold

White Yellow Orange Silver

5 %

R = 72 5%

Red

000

10%

R = 94000 10%

Green Orange Silver

Blue

R = ---------------------------------------------

Green Orange Gold

R = -------------------------------------------

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2. Capacitor Coding: Capacitors are usually specified by three quantities;
capacitor value, tolerance and voltage rating. A number code is often used
on small capacitors where printing is difficult.

The 1st number is the 1st digit,

The 2nd number is the 2nd digit

The 3rd number is the number of zeros to give the capacitance in pF

Ignore any letters - they just indicate tolerance and voltage rating.

Example 1:
You have a capacitor with "104" stamped on it.
- The first two digits are: 1 0
- The third digit is: 4 so add four zeros to the 1 0 1 0, 0 0 0 0 pF

Exercises:
State the capacitance value for the following capacitors:

683

222

C = 1000 pF

C=68000 pF

C = 2200 pF

154

471

541

C = ---------

C = ---------

C = ---------

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3.4

Class and Lab Activities:

Activity 1: Identify resistors from color code

Items Required:

Resistors with various values

Steps:
1. Using the color coding method, identify the resistance value of various
resistors
2. Fill the table below:
No

st

1 band color
and value

2nd band

3rd band

color and

color and

value

value

Resistanc

Toleranc

e ()

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Activity 2: light intensity control using potentiometer

Items Required:
Potentiometer

9V Battery

9 V Light Bulb

Alligator Clips

Steps:
Connect the following circuit:

Rotate the spindle of the potentiometer. What do you observe on the light
brightness?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------State an application of potentiometers
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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Activity 3: Demonstrate LDR Operations

Items Required:
LDR

9V Battery

9 V Light Bulb

Alligator Clips

Steps:
1. Connect the following circuit:

2. Expose the LDR to light. What happen to the brightness of the lamp?
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------3. Put the LDR in the dark. What happen to the brightness of the lamp?
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------4. State some applications of LDRs.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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Activity 4: Identify capacitance for various capacitors

Items Required:
Capacitors with various values

Steps:
1. Identify the capacitance value of various capacitors.
2. Fill the table below:
No

Number displayed on the capacitor

Capacitance (F)

3. State some applications of capacitors.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------12

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Activity 5: Draw the symbols for the following components:

Components

Symbol

LDR

Diode

Variable Resistor

Capacitor

Resistor

Inductor

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Review Exercise
Exercise 1: Complete the following table
Component

Symbol

Function

Lamp

Sound Indicator
Capacitor
Non-polarized symbol:

Capacitor
Polarized symbol:

Used to control the flow of

the current

LDR

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Exercise 2:

If the value of a capacitor is 1000 pf, what is the capacitor code that should be
stamped on it?

The value of the capacitor shown below is: ___________________

Exercise 3:
Draw the electrical symbol of the diode and mark the anode and cathode:

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Exercise 4:
Complete the following:

LDR stands for: _______________________

When the LDR is exposed to light it has a ___________________ resistance.

When the LDR is exposed to darkness it has a ___________________

resistance.

An electrical component allows the current to flow in one direction only:

__________

An electrical component that stores magnetic field: _______________________

An electrical component that stores electrical charge: ____________________

An electrical component that is used to adjust the lamp brightness:

_________________

An electrical component that is used to adjust the motor speed is

__________________

An electrical component that is used to limit the flow of current is

__________________

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Module 3: Basic Electrical Components