sciencegcse← P2 lessons

Physics Paper 1 · P2 · Lesson 2.12

Plug wires and electrical safety

Brown live, blue neutral, green-and-yellow earth.

Key ideas1 of 4

Three wires, three jobs

Live: brown, carries alternating potential difference from the supply.
Neutral: blue, completes the circuit.
Earth: green and yellow, a safety connection to an exposed metal case.

Brown insulation: live. Blue insulation: neutral. Green and yellow striped insulation: earth.

These are the wire insulation colours used in modern UK three-core cables.

Next: Electrical power and energy →
Topic resources and sources

Daily 5 · Exam practice · Extra calculation practice · A4 revision sheet

Start with lessons 2.1–2.6 for the circuit basics. Lesson 2.15 offers extra calculation practice. The P2 specification content is shared by Foundation and Higher Tier; extra practice is not Higher Tier-only.

AQA Combined Science Trilogy specification · 6.2.3.2. Original notes, questions and diagrams. Circuit animations are simplified; motion is deliberately slowed. Measurements and example values are illustrative. All practical circuits use suitable supervised low-voltage apparatus.

Photographs: Photograph of the inside of a UK plug by Alby Reid, Public domain, released by the copyright holder; Electricity pylons near Grafham Water by Mat Fascione, CC BY-SA 2.0; Photoresistor 2 by oomlout, CC BY-SA 2.0. Images displayed without cropping or alteration.