In DC circuits, what is the conventional direction of current flow?

In DC circuits, what is the conventional direction of current flow?

• A. From negative to positive
• B. From positive to negative
• C. Around in circles
• D. It flows randomly

Answer: (B)

In DC circuits, current is defined as the flow of positive charge from higher electric potential to lower electric potential. That means conventional current travels from the positive terminal of the power source, through the wiring and components, and returns to the negative terminal. In reality, electrons move opposite to this direction, from negative to positive, but engineers use the conventional direction for analysis. The other descriptions don’t fit a powered DC circuit: moving from negative to positive would be the actual electron flow, not the conventional current; flowing around in circles lacks a finished path; and flowing randomly would imply no defined direction in a closed circuit.

In DC circuits, current is defined as the flow of positive charge from higher electric potential to lower electric potential. That means conventional current travels from the positive terminal of the power source, through the wiring and components, and returns to the negative terminal. In reality, electrons move opposite to this direction, from negative to positive, but engineers use the conventional direction for analysis. The other descriptions don’t fit a powered DC circuit: moving from negative to positive would be the actual electron flow, not the conventional current; flowing around in circles lacks a finished path; and flowing randomly would imply no defined direction in a closed circuit.