Video Transcript
Which of the following is the
correct circuit symbol for a cell?
In this question, we are asked to
choose the symbol for a cell from the list.
A cell is a power source, which
provides electrical energy to an electric circuit. The cell is connected to a circuit
by its terminals. A cell has two terminals: one that
is positively charged and one that is negatively charged. When we draw a cell in a circuit
diagram, these terminals are represented by parallel vertical lines. One of the lines is shorter and
thicker, and the other is longer and thinner. The longer line represents the
terminal that is positively charged, and the shorter line represents the terminal
that is negatively charged.
Now that we know what a cell is and
how it is drawn, we can identify it from the list of options given to us by the
question.
We see that option (A) contains two
cells connected by a dashed line. This is actually the symbol for a
battery. A battery is two or more cells
connected in series. Although this looks similar to the
symbol for a cell, it is not the symbol for a single cell. And so the answer is not (A). Option (B) is the symbol for a
light bulb. Therefore, it is not the answer we
are looking for. If we look at option (C), it
corresponds to a resistor, and so this is not correct either.
We are left with options (D) and
(E). Option (E) shows a switch that can
complete a circuit when it is closed and break a circuit when it is open. This is not what we’ve been asked
for. We can clearly see that option (D)
is a cell, since it has been drawn with two different terminals: a longer, thinner
one to represent the positive terminal and a shorter, thicker one to represent the
negative terminal. So (D) is the correct answer.
