How to Use Solderless Breadboards

Step 2: Connecting the LED
LEDs are polarized, which simply means there's a right and wrong way to hook them up.  There are two leads (metal wires) that come out of the LED.  One is the anode (positive) and is usually the longer lead.  The shorter lead is usually the cathod (negative). You can also tell polarity by looking for a flat side on many LEDs, which will be the cathode.  You'll of course want the anode hooked into the postive power and cathode hooked into ground.



Notice in the picture above the LED's anode (positive as indicated with a PLUS "+") is oriented toward the positive power rail.  Also, it's important to note that the LEDs leads staddle the two middle rows of the breadboard.  This is because all 5 tie points (holes) in those rows are electically tied together.  If the LED was inserted into two holes in the same row, it would create a short circuit and very likely damange components.

As shown in the picture above, this is what you DON'T want to do.  Since the 5 holes in the two middle rows are all electrically connected, placing both of the LEDs leads into holes in the same row will create a short circuit.  It would essentially be like twisting or soldering the LED's leads together.

This example is useful for any component you'll be wiring into a breadboard.  For an Integrated Chip that has 4 pins or 30 pins, the rules still apply.  You each leg of the chip would want to be in a seperate row, so you'd straddle the two middle rows to achieve this.

Let's add the resistor next..

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