An electric circuit is a path for the transmission of electric current. When electric current moves through a circuit, electrical energy in the current is transferred to devices that change it into other forms of energy that can do work, such as providing power to lights, appliances, and other devices. Electric circuits may be simple or complex, but all circuits have three main components: wires that carry the current through the circuit; a device such as a lamp or motor that uses the current to do some type of work; and a power source, such as a battery or generator.
There are two main types of electric circuits—series circuits and parallel circuits: