04.00 Circuits and Current introduction

Module 04 — Circuits and Current

The big idea This module is about moving charge: how a circuit carries it, how electric and magnetic fields connect to that motion, and how resistors and capacitors change the result.

Ideas this module will use

Later lessons assume charge, a closed path, and the words current, voltage, and resistance. Get those labels straight before 04.01.

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What this module is about

A spark from a doorknob, a compass near a wire, and lightning are the same kind of event: charge in motion. In 1820, Hans Christian Ørsted showed that moving charge creates a magnetic field. Later work showed the reverse as well: a changing magnetic field can produce electric current. That two-way link is electromagnetism. Module 04 uses it to explain circuit parts, electric and magnetic fields, capacitors, schematic drawings, Ohm's law, and how resistor layout changes current.

Driving questions

Use these as a checklist while you work through 04.01 through 04.05. How do circuit components influence the flow of electricity? How are electric fields measured and calculated? What is the relationship between electric current and magnetism? How are capacitors used in circuits and in electronics? How are circuits shown with schematic symbols? What are the applications of Ohm's law? How does the organization of resistors change current?

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What 04.00 asks you to do

There is no assessment for this lesson besides keeping the module checklist and completing the 04.00 pretest in Canvas. The pretest is a Canvas item. This page is only the map. The first content quiz in this module is 04.01.

Final checklist

Tick these off as you go. Saved in this browser.