How to back up imac before service

i am preparing to take my mid-2010 intel imac (11,3) in for service.  i'm going to have more ram installed and upgrade os x from 10.7.5 to yosemite or whatever the most timely os is appropriate for my imac.
is backing up to an external drive using time machine adequate or do i need to do more?  when i used a pc, there were various types of backups, for example,   full and incremental.  what i remember is that a full backup was suggested prior to something major.  i have no idea how time machine works, so i don't know what i should do. 
thank you for your help. 

wow, allan eckert.  thank you for your speedy reply.  i don't have another external hard drive. 
and, i have been reading about troubles upgrading to yosemite, so i am  beginning to reconsider my plans for additional ram so that i can upgrade my mid-2010 intel imac's os x.  have you heard the about up to your neck in alligators/draining the swamp?  i don't want to cause myself more trouble when the upgrade is somewhat optional....  i may just wait for the end of its useful life. 
but, your advice is still pertinent.  that's what i needed to know. 
it looks like i can't check "correct answer" after i have checked "this helped me."  sorry. 

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