Potentiometer with LEDs and "if" commands

In this beginners project I will show you two key parts, one being a component the potentiometer and the other is a software command called "if".

*What is a potentiometer*

A potentiometer or "pot" as it is commonly know is a voltage divider (WIKI LINK) but rather than two preset resistors as you will find used in any old text book, this one you can change the resistance and measure the voltage out.

Potentiometers are used all over the place for all sorts of things, if you have volume controls in-line on headphone then that is possibly going to be one.

Serial - Computer to Arduino

This is a two part project, in this first part we will use the serial "instruction" from a computer to turn on an LED.

In the second part we will use the Arduino to send and "instruction" to the computer. (coming in a few weeks)

* What you need *

 For this project you will need:

1. Arduino UNO or NANO
2. Your Computer with the Arduino IDE and a USB cable
3. 2 x LED (two different colours)
4. 2 x Resistor 150k Ohm
5. Jumper wires
6. Breadboard