Chapter 1 : Circuit Elements & Basic Laws I

Introduction
Circuit Variables
Circuit Elements
Ohm’s Law
Simple Resistive Circuits
Summary
 Introduction
• Circuit theory
– Fundamental theory upon which all branches of electrical and
electronics engineering is built
– Used to describe analysis techniques for electric circuits

• Electric circuit
– A mathematical model that approximates the behavior of an actual
electrical system
 Circuit Variables (1/5)
• Current I
– Rate of charge flow, I = dq/dt
– The unit for current is ampere (A)

If current I is positive, positive

charge is flowing from point A to
point B; otherwise if current I is
negative, positive charge is
flowing from point B to point A
 Circuit Variables (2/5)
• Voltage V
– Refers to the potential difference between two points
– Energy required to move a unit charge, V = dW/dq
– The unit for voltage is volt (V)

If voltage V is positive, voltage

drops from point A to point B;
otherwise if voltage V is
negative, voltage drop from point
B to point A
 Circuit Variables (3/5)
• Power P
– Rate of doing work or rate of energy transfer, P = dW/dt
– The unit for power is watt (W)
– The electrical power consumed or supplied by a circuit element
equals the voltage-current product; when voltage and current are
expressed in the passive sign convention, this means P = VI

Whenever the reference

direction for the current in an
element is in the direction of
the reference voltage drop
across the element, a positive
sign is used in the expression
relating the voltage and current
If power P is positive, power is
consumed by the circuit element;
otherwise if power P is negative,
power is supplied by the circuit
element
 Circuit Variables (4/5)
• Power P (cont.)
– In the contrary, when voltage and current are not expressed in the
passive sign convention, then P = −VI

Not using passive

sign convention
 Circuit Variables (5/5)
• Power P (cont.)
– Some examples

P = VI = (4)(3) = 12W P = −VI = −(4)(3) = −12W

P = VI = (4)(−3) = −12W P = −VI = −(−4)(3) = 12W

Only circuits 1 and 3 adopt the passive sign convention. Since power is
consumed when P > 0, circuit elements 1 and 4 consume power (load)
whereas circuit elements 2 and 3 supply power (electrical source).
 Circuit Elements (1/4)
• Electrical source
– Device that is capable of generating electrical energy
– Ideal voltage and current source
• An ideal current source is a circuit element that maintains a prescribed
current through its terminals regardless of the voltage across those
terminals
• An ideal voltage source is a circuit element that maintains a
prescribed voltage across its terminals regardless of the current
flowing in those terminals
3A

3A

The ideal current

source maintains 3A
through its terminals
 Circuit Elements (2/4)
• Electrical source (cont.)
– Ideal voltage and current source (cont.)
1 4

+ +
10V − − 10V 5A 5A

2 5

Only circuits 1, 5 10V

+
−
+
− 5V 5A 5A
and 6 are valid,
the rest are invalid
Which of the two
3 6
sources is
supplying power?

+ − +
10V − + 10V 10V − 5A
 Circuit Elements (3/4)
• Electrical source (cont.)
– Independent and dependent source
• An independent source establishes a voltage or current in a circuit
without relying on voltages or currents elsewhere in the circuit; the
value of the voltage or current supplied is specified by the value of the
independent source alone
• A dependent source establishes a voltage or current whose value
depends on the value of a voltage or current elsewhere in the circuit; a
diamond is used to represent a dependent source
R1

+
+
Vs − R2 V1 Is = kV1
−

The dependent
current source
 Circuit Elements (4/4)
• Passive element
– Device that cannot generate electric energy
– Resistors, inductors and capacitors
• A resistor is an electrical component that impede, or limit, the
flow of electrical current in a circuit
• An inductor is an electrical component that opposes any
change in electrical current; it is composed of a coil of wire
wound around a supporting core
• A capacitor is an electrical component that consists of two
conductors separated by an insulator or dielectric material; the
capacitor is the only device, other than a battery, that can store
electrical charge
 Ohm’s Law (1/6)
• Ohm’s law
– Describes the relationship between voltage and current of a resistor
– Ohm’s law states that voltage V and current I are directly
proportional in a resistive circuit and the proportionality constant R
is the resistance, i.e., V = IR
– Combining Ohm’s law with P = VI gives two equivalent
expressions for the power consumed by a resistor, PR = I 2 R = V 2 / R

R
+ −
V
Power PR will always be positive
I for the resistor, i.e., resistor can
Using passive never supply electrical power!
sign convention
 Ohm’s Law (2/6)
• Ohm’s law (cont.)
– Voltage and current relationship of a resistor
V

Slope of the VI curve

is the resistance

I
0
 Ohm’s Law (3/6)
• Example 1
– Q: Determine the voltage Vx in the circuit below.

S: The total (supplied and consumed) power in the

circuit should sum up to zero since power is
conserved.
 Ohm’s Law (4/6)
• Example 1 (cont.)
S: Calculate the power consumed or supplied by each
circuit element.

S: For the sum of power to equal zero, Vx = 18V.

 Ohm’s Law (5/6)
• Example 2
– Q: Determine the voltage Vx in the circuit below.
6V
I1

6A
+
10A Vx 22V 0.4I1
−

S: The total (supplied and consumed) power in the

circuit should sum up to zero since power is
conserved.
 Ohm’s Law (6/6)
• Example 2 (cont.)
S: Calculate the power consumed or supplied by each
circuit element.

S: For the sum of power to equal zero, Vx = 16V.

 Simple Resistive Circuits (1/15)
• Resistors in series
– When two circuit elements connect at a single node, they are said
to be in series
– Circuit elements connected in series carry the same current
– In general, if N resistors are connected in series, the equivalent
single resistor has a resistance equal to the sum of the N
resistances, i.e., N
RT = ∑ Ri
i =1
R1 R2

Current I is the I
same across every R3
element in series

The equivalent
single resistor
 Simple Resistive Circuits (2/15)
• Resistors in parallel
– When two circuit elements connect at a single node pair, they are
said to be in parallel
– Circuit elements connected in parallel have the same voltage
across their terminals
– In general, if N resistors are connected in parallel, the equivalent
single resistor has resistance equal to
−1
 N 1
RT =  ∑ 
 i =1 Ri 

−1
Voltage V is the 1 1 1 
RT =  + + 
same across every
 R1 R2 R3 
element in parallel

The equivalent
single resistor
 Simple Resistive Circuits (3/15)
• Example 3
– Q: Determine the total resistance RT.

S: The total resistance is RT = 35//(15+80) + 50 +

(30+10)//20 = 35//95 + 50 + 40//20 = 25.58 + 50 +
13.33 = 88.91Ω.
 Simple Resistive Circuits (4/15)
• Example 4
– Q: Determine the current Ix.

70Ω 30Ω

Ix
+
50V −

20Ω 5Ω
 Simple Resistive Circuits (5/15)
• Example 4 (cont.)
I0

+
V1 R1
−
+
50V −
+
V2 R2
−

S: Firstly, R1 = 70//30 = 21Ω and R2 = 20//5 = 4Ω. Then I0 =

50/(R1 + R2) = 2A. With I0 found, we can then find V1 =
I0R1 = 42V and V2 = I0R2 = 8V.
Thus, we have I1 = V1/70 = 0.6A and I2 = V2/20 = 0.4A,
which means that Ix = I1 – I2 = 0.2A.
 Simple Resistive Circuits (6/15)
• Voltage divider rule
– The voltage divider rule states that the voltage applied to a series
resistive circuit will be dropped across all resistors in proportion to
the magnitude of the individual resistors

R1 R1
V1 = Vs = Vs
RT R1 + R2 + R3
The largest resistor
will have the largest
voltage drop
 Simple Resistive Circuits (7/15)
• Current divider rule
– The current divider rule states that the current applied to a parallel
resistive circuit will be divided across all resistors in a manner
which is inversely proportional to the magnitude of the individual
resistors

RT R // R2 // R3
I1 = Is = 1 Is
R1 R1 The smallest resistor
will conduct the
largest amount of
current
 Simple Resistive Circuits (8/15)
• Example 5
– Q: Find the voltage drop across the 100Ω resistor.

S: The voltage across the 100Ω resistor is V =

(100/125) × 100 = 80V.
 Simple Resistive Circuits (9/15)
• Example 6
– Q: What is the voltage at node B?
5V
A

R1 = 6Ω

R2 = 4Ω

C
−10V

S: The voltage across both resistors is VAC = 5 – (−10)

= 15V. According to the voltage divider rule, the
voltage across resistor R1 is VAB = (6/10) × 15 = 9V.
Thus, the voltage at node B is VB = VA – VAB =
−4V.
 Simple Resistive Circuits (10/15)
• Voltage sources in series
– When two or more voltage sources are connected in series, the
total voltage equals to the sum of all individual voltage sources
 Simple Resistive Circuits (11/15)
• Current sources in parallel
– When two or more current sources are connected in parallel, the
total current equals to the sum of all individual current sources

IT = I1 + I2 + I3
 Simple Resistive Circuits (12/15)
• Example 7
– Q: What is the value of current Ix?
20Ω 15Ω

8V
+ +
5V − Ix −
20V

S: Since the voltage sources are in series, we may add

up the individual voltage sources; likewise for the
resistors.
 Simple Resistive Circuits (13/15)
• Example 7 (cont.)
20Ω 15Ω Ix

8V
+ + +
5V − Ix −
20V VT −
RT

S: The total voltage is VT = 5 + 8 −20 = −7V and the

total resistance is RT = 20 + 15 = 35Ω. Thus the
current in the loop is Ix = VT/RT = −0.2A.
 Simple Resistive Circuits (14/15)
• Open circuit
– An open circuit is a pair of terminals not connected by a circuit
element of any kind, i.e., a break exists in a complete conducting
path.
– The current between the two terminals is zero although there may
be a nonzero voltage between the terminals
– VAB= Vs since there is no current flow and therefore no voltage
drop across the resistors.

There is an open circuit at

AB and current IAB = 0
but VAB = Vs ≠ 0
 Simple Resistive Circuits (15/15)
• Short circuit
– A short circuit is a pair of terminals connected by a wire (of zero
resistance)
– There will be a zero-resistance connection between terminal A and
B and therefore the 2 terminals are at the same voltage.
– The voltage between the two terminals is zero although there may
be a nonzero current between the terminals
– IAB=Is since current flow through the least resistance path, i.e.,
from A to B.
There is no current
across resistor R2

There is a close circuit

across AB and voltage
VAB = 0 but IAB = Is ≠ 0
 Summary
• What have you learnt?

– Calculating power consumed or supplied by each circuit element

– Using Ohm’s law to calculate circuit variables
– The conservation of power in an electrical circuit
– Simplifying resistive networks
– Applying the voltage and current divider rule
– Combining voltage sources in series and current sources in parallel