• One side pin goes to GND
• The other side pin goes to 5V
• The middle pin (wiper) connects to an analog input pin, like A0 on your Arduino

This setup allows the potentiometer to act as a voltage divider, and the middle pin will give you a variable voltage between 0V and 5V as you turn the knob.

Upload this program:

const int potPin = A0;  

void setup() {
  Serial.begin(9600);  
}

void loop() {
  int potValue = analogRead(potPin);  // Read value (0–1023)
  Serial.println(potValue);           // Output the value to Serial Monitor
  delay(100);                         // Small delay for readability
}

Once the code is uploaded, open the Serial Monitor. As you turn the knob, you’ll see values between 0 and 1023:

• Close to 0 when turned all the way to one side(towards GND)
• Close to 1023 when turned to the opposite side(towards 5V)
• Around 512 when centered