National 5 Electronics

Welcome

National 5 Electronics has three parts: circuit design, circuit simulation and circuit construction. You are marked by a question paper (30%) and a practical activity (70%) — so the hands-on work matters most. Pick a section below to learn, practise and check yourself.

🎖 My progress

Course sections

Eleven pages covering everything you need — the six circuit-design theory topics first, then simulation, construction, testing, the practical activity and exam revision.

1 · Quantities & calculations Units and prefixes; current, voltage, resistance and power; the 5-step method for any calculation. 2 · Resistor circuits Series and parallel networks, and voltage dividers — with a live voltage-divider & comparator tool. 3 · Transistor switching circuits How a small sensor input in a voltage divider switches a much bigger current on or off. 4 · Signals & capacitors Analogue vs digital, reading an oscilloscope trace, and how a capacitor sets timing. 5 · Components & devices The magnetic effect, relays and the flyback diode, and every component symbol you must know. 6 · Logic gates & ICs Logic gates and truth tables, the control circuits you must describe, and the IC pin-outs. Simulation Using simulation software: why, when and how to simulate, input/process/output design, fault-finding and costing. Construction Resistor colour code & BS1852, boards, soldering safety, cables & looming, and completing circuit/layout diagrams. Testing The multimeter, logic probe and continuity tester, the pre-power-up checklist and stage-by-stage functionality testing. Planning The practical activity: the five marked stages, project-log and testing-report templates, and open-book conditions. Exam revision Past-paper practice, key facts and a final checklist before the exam.

Practise building a system

Stage 1 of the practical activity — and a common exam question.

Block Diagram Builder Drag input, process and output blocks into place on twelve past-paper and practice system questions, then check your answer against the marking instructions.

🔧 Tools & resources

Simulators, builders, booklets and past papers.

Lesson slides Every Logic class deck as a PDF — catch up on a lesson you missed, or revise from the slides you were taught. 555 Astable simulator Stripboard builder Glossary every key word in plain English Notes & booklets Practical activity guide Your brief, the ten stages in the order you work them, where to get help at each one, and the testing videos. Electronics Club