🔍 Key Concepts

• Molded-case circuit breaker handle positions and how they indicate ON, OFF, or TRIPPED • Relationship between the physical handle position and the internal contact symbols (closed, open, or tripped) shown in diagrams 1, 2, and 3 • How a breaker in the TRIPPED condition usually sits between the normal ON and OFF positions

💭 Think About

• Look closely at the exact angle and location of each handle in A, B, and C – which one is fully up, fully down, or in between? • Compare each breaker image with the three schematic diagrams 1, 2, and 3. Which diagram shows all contacts closed, which shows all open, and which shows the characteristic trip-contact pattern? • Think about what the internal contacts must be doing when a breaker has automatically opened due to a fault versus when you have manually turned it OFF.

✅ Before You Answer

• Match each physical handle position (A, B, C) to one of the three internal contact diagrams (1, 2, 3) before looking at the answer choices • Confirm which contact diagram represents all poles closed (energized), which shows all poles open (de‑energized), and which shows the tripped pattern • Verify that the order you assign (ON / OFF / TRIPPED) to A, B, and C is consistent with the usual industry convention: ON at one end, OFF at the opposite end, TRIPPED in between.