Design Your Circuit

Stage: 2, 3, 4 and 5 Challenge Level:

A circuit is a set of switches, wires, bulbs and components called logic gates .

There are seven different types of logic gates, each with a technical-sounding name:

AND

XOR (exclusively OR)

NAND (not AND)

NOR (not OR)

XNOR (not XOR)

NOT

You can experiment by building your own circuits with interesting properties using the interactivity below. You will be able to see when current flows and bulbs light up according to the circuits and settings of the logic gates. Instructions are given at the bottom of the page.

You can also read and learn more about logic circuits and logic gates in our article .

Full Screen Version

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INSTRUCTIONS

To build a circuit follow these steps. You can delete mistakes by clicking on the cross which appears when you hover above the icon.

1. Left-click on the components to drag them on to the circuit board space.

2. FIRST click next to a red dot and drag to the right to create a wire; THEN you can stretch this wire to join with any other red dot in the circuit.

3. Click on the switches to turn them on or off. Wires 'fill' with current unless blocked by an un-triggered logic gate.

4. Click on the logic gates to change their type.

5. Left-click and drag to move the components around.