1 CONDUCTORS, INSULATORS, AND SEMICONDUCTORS 1

1 Conductors, Insulators, and Semiconductors

Conductors are those materials, like silver, copper and graphite, that will allow electrical
current to pass. Insulators are those materials, like pure water and diamond, that will not.
In between these two extremes are semiconductors, which we will examine in more detail
below.
The difference between the electrical behavior of conductors and insulators are due to
the difference between their electronic structures. In conductors, especially in metals, the
atoms that make up the material have some loosely bound electrons. In a solid metal, the
atoms are said to “share” one or more of their electrons; that is, some of these electrons are
not bound any more to a specific atom but are shared between all atoms and are free to
move about. These electrons form an “electron sea”, and it is through their movement that
current is conducted1 .
On the other hand, in an insulator, all electrons are tightly bound to their atoms. None
are free to move about. There are no free charged particles, in other words, no free carriers.
Therefore, insulators do not let current flow.
There is no current flowing in a piece of conductor lying there by itself. There must be
a driving force applied. In the next section, we look at the nature of current a little more
closely.

2 Introduction to Currents, Voltages and Ohm’s Law

How do electrical currents flow? Ordinarily, when a piece of metal wire like copper, alu-
minum, silver or iron is in equilibrium, there is no electric current flowing through it. These
materials are conductors—they have free electrons—but all the free electrons in the wire are
distributed uniformly through the piece. Even if they might be randomly moving around,
there is no definite direction that a majority of them is going towards—no current is flowing.
But if we connect two ends of a battery to the two ends of the metal wire, an electric
potential difference is generated by the battery, which disturbs the equilibrium. Electrons,
being negative charges, are pulled by the higher potential point and pushed by the lower
potential point. Their random movement now has a direction—current is flowing through
the metal wire. Figure 1 has a visualization of the electron flow through the wire.
As mentioned above, electrostatic potential (“voltage”) is measured in units of volts
(V). Electric current is measured in units of amperes (A, sometimes “amps” for short)2 .
One ampere is defined as approximately 6 × 1018 electrons going through a conductor in one
second.
1
There could be other types of charged particles that carry the current; for instance, in the liquid within
a car battery, it is charged ions. But the principle is the same: For current to flow, there should be charged
particles that are free to carry it, in other words free carriers, available.
2
The unit name is in honor of André Marie Ampère (1775-1836), the French physicist renowned for
establishing the link between electricity and magnetism.
2 INTRODUCTION TO CURRENTS, VOLTAGES AND OHM’S LAW 2

e−
e−

e−
+ e−
e−
potential
difference e−
(voltage) e−

−
electron flow

Figure 1: Electrons flowing through a piece of wire due to the potential difference created
by a battery.

The relationship between electrostatic potential and current can be further explained
using an analogy. Current is a measure of how many electrons are moving in a conductor.
Electrostatic potential is the measure of the force that got the electrons moving in the first
place. The higher the potential difference between two points, the faster the electrons would
move between them, like marbles rolling down a hill.
How much current will flow when we apply a certain potential difference to the ends of
a wire? The answer depends on the type of the wire, or, more properly, on a property of
the conductor used. George Simon Ohm (1789–1854), German scientist, was the first one to
formulate the relationship between voltage and current. In 1826 he put down the law that
is known by his name.
Ohm’s Law relates the voltage drop across a piece of conductor to the amount of current
flowing through it:

V = IR (1)
Here, V is the voltage and I is the current. R is called the resistance. It is the propor-
tionality constant between the voltage applied to the ends of a conductor and the current
flowing through it.
By convention, current is defined as flowing from the positive potential to the negative
potential, or from a high potential point to the low potential point. Note that this is
actually the opposite of the direction that the electrons would be moving in the conductor;
electrons, having negative charge, are attracted to the positive potential. See Figure 2 for
the visualization.
Resistance is measured in units of ohms (Ω)3. The resistance of a piece of conductor
depends on the shape, size, and material of the conductor. Basically, the longer the conductor
is, the higher its resistance; and the wider a conductor is, the lower its resistance4 . In our
labs, we will use resistor s, pieces of conductor manufactured specifically to have a given
3
Guess where this unit name comes from?
4
Think of water flowing through pipes.
3 ELECTRICAL POWER; DC, AC 3
electron flow

current flow

e−
e−

e−
+ e−
e−
potential
difference e−
(voltage) e−

Figure 2: Current flowing across a piece of wire due to the potential difference created by a
battery; the direction of current is opposite to the direction of electron flow, by convention.

resistance.
Figure 3 shows how a resistor is represented in electric circuit diagrams. It also displays
our convention for the direction of current in an electrical circuit–from the point of high
potential to the point of lower potential.

R
I

+ V -
Figure 3: A resistor.

Note that resistors, as electrical components, do not have a polarity; that is, whichever
orientation you plug them into a circuit does not matter.
In electronic circuitry, resistances of thousands and millions of ohms are used regularly. In
the thousands range, the common way to refer to the resistor size is to use kiloohms; donated
by kΩ or KΩ, or sometimes just K, for short. Thus, a resistance of 1000Ω = 1kΩ = 1K; of
25000Ω = 25kΩ = 25K; of 700Ω = 0.7K. In the millions range, we use the prefix mega- to
describe the size, meg or M for short: hence 1, 000, 000Ω = 1MΩ; 35, 000, 000Ω = 35MΩ.

3 Electrical Power; DC, AC

When current has been passing through a resistor for some period of time, the resistor
warms up. Energy, in the form of heat, is being dissipated. This is a result of electrical
charges losing energy as they pass through the resistor; this is why we talk about “energy
consumption” in relation to the electricity generation and consumption. It turns out that
3 ELECTRICAL POWER; DC, AC 4
the relation of the amount of negative work done (or energy dissipated) per unit time, that
is, the power dissipated as current flows through a resistor is given by

V2
P = I 2R = V I = (2)
R
The unit of power is the Watt (W)5.
The electrical power that we use for our appliances is generated in one of several types
of generators scattered around the country; the generator might be hydroelectric (uses the
potential energy of water stored in dams), might be using thermal energy (usually from fossil
fuels), or nuclear energy. These generators all generate electricity with alternating current
(AC). An alternating current signal looks like Figure 4. On this figure, the thinner wave
represents the current and the thicker line represents the voltage; V = IR always holds.

I, V
Vmax
I max

time t

Figure 4: AC waveform.

There are certain values that describe such a waveform that are important to know.
These are marked on the figure. Vmax and Imax denote the maximum levels the voltage
and current rise during their oscillation. The amplitude of the waveform is the distance
between the maximum point it reaches and zero; in other words, for the voltage waveform
the amplitude is Vmax and for the current waveform, it is Imax . The root mean square voltage
or current, another important quantity, is defined as
Vmax Imax
Vrms = √ Irms = √ (3)
2 2
.
T on the figure is the period of the waveform; it is the amount of time it takes for the
waveform to repeat itself. When we are talking about electrical signals, we more commonly
refer to the frequency—that is, the times per second the waveform repeats itself, which is
given by
1
f= (4)
T
5
After English scientist James Watt(1736-1819), who is renowned for creating the first efficient steam
engine.
4 NETWORKS OF RESISTANCES, KIRCHHOFF’S LAWS 5
The unit of frequency is the Hertz6 (Hz). 1 Hz is equivalent to “once per one second.”
As with the units of resistance, we will be mentioning kiloHertz (kHz) and megaHertz (mHz)
quantities.
The reason electricity is generated and distributed in AC form is that direct current,
DC, form is quite inefficient for the distribution of power—this is when the current does not
change with time but stays constant. If a DC network is used, power plants have to be very
close to the point of consumption.
One interesting point to note is that although the acronyms AC and DC contain the word
“current” in their expansions, they are used for any time-varying and time-invariant signal
in electrical engineering, be it a current, a voltage, or a mathematical construct. And, on a
related note, the AC signal represented above belongs to a very common (and important)
class of signals called “sinusoidal signals.” Section ?? goes into a little detail about sinusoidal
signals, or functions, that is good to know.
So electricity is generated and distributed in AC form. But electrical appliances and most
circuits require a supply of DC. Therefore, most plug-in-the-wall appliances, from computers
to microwave ovens to TV sets, have a built-in “power supply” that converts the AC power
off the wall plug to a specific level of DC voltage that that particular appliance needs. For
our laboratory experiments, we will be using power supplies that we will plug in to ordinary
outlets and which will supply us with a (hopefully) time-invariant voltage level, converting
the AC signal in the wall outlet to a DC signal at a level of our choice. Section ?? has more
about these power supplies. For other appliances like a walkman or a portable radio, we use
batteries, which are also DC sources that convert chemical energy to a constant potential
difference.
When we need an AC signal in our experiments, we use a signal generator that is described
in more detail in Section ??.

4 Networks of Resistances, Kirchhoff ’s Laws

Take two resistors. In how many ways can you connect them to each other?
There are two basic connection schemes through which two resistors can be connected.
The first one is called series connection; it is basically connecting the two resistors end to
end as seen in Figure 5.

R1 R2
I I I

V1 V2
+ V -
Figure 5: Series connection of two resistors.
6
For the German physicist Heinrich Hertz (1857-1894), famed on his work on electromagnetic waves.
4 NETWORKS OF RESISTANCES, KIRCHHOFF’S LAWS 6
We can see from the figure that V = V1 + V2 . Also, note that the current flowing through
R2 has to be the same as the current flowing through R1 ; we can explain this by charge
conservation: There is nowhere else the electrons can turn to between the resistors 1 and 2.
Using these two facts, we can deduce the effective resistance of the series connection of two
resistors:

V = V1 + V2 = IR1 + IR2 = IRseries ⇒ Rseries = R1 + R2 (5)

Eq. 5 can be generalized to the serial connection of more than one resistor as well; so in
general, if n resistors are connected in series,
X
n
Rseries = R1 + R2 + R3 + · · · + Rn = Ri . (6)
i=1

Remember that the longer a conductor is, the higher its resistance; serial connection is
effectively adding the lengths of resistors together.
The second mode of connecting two resistors would be the parallel connection, shown in
Figure 6.

R1
I1

I I
R2
I2

+ V -
Figure 6: Parallel connection of two resistors.

Here, the voltage across the two resistors is obviously the same—it is the potential dif-
ference between two ends of the circuit—but the initial current I splits into two: I = I1 + I2 .
Using these we can derive the effective resistance of this connection mode:
V V V
I = I1 + I2 = + = (7)
R1 R2 Rparallel
1 1 1
⇒ = + (8)
Rparallel R1 R2
1
⇒ Rparallel = 1 1 (9)
R1
+ R2
4 NETWORKS OF RESISTANCES, KIRCHHOFF’S LAWS 7
Hence, connecting two resistors in parallel reduces the effective resistance. Remember
that the wider a resistor is, the lower its resistance; parallel connection is in essence adding
the widths of the resistors.
Same as in serial connection, the expression above can be generalized to networks of more
than two resistors in parallel:

1 X
n
1
= (10)
Rparallel i=1 Ri

4.1 A Voltage Divider

While constructing electrical circuits, there will be cases when a point in our circuit needs
to be set to a specific voltage. We use serially connected resistors for this purpose.
Example
In the circuit in Fig. 7, if we need the voltage at point B to be at 3 V, what should the
value of R1 be?

I A
+
I

V1
Battery or
power supply R1

5V V I
B

V2
R2 = 270 Ω

- I
Ground; at zero potential

Figure 7: Series connection used as a voltage divider.

Solution. First, notice the two new circuit element symbols. Batteries or DC power
supplies are sometimes represented with the symbol in the figure; the longer line denotes the
+ pole. Ground (circuit ground or earth ground, often the two are equivalent) is denoted by
the parallel lines whose length are decreasing. Ground is the universal zero potential point.
Therefore, with the – pole of the battery in the figure being connected to ground, the +
pole to point A, point A is at a potential of 5 volts: VA = V = 5V.
We are given that point B should be at 3 volts. Now, we know that for a series connection,
the current running through both resistors is the same, denoted by just I in the figure. We
can write
4 NETWORKS OF RESISTANCES, KIRCHHOFF’S LAWS 8

V V1 V2
I= = = (11)
R1 + R2 R1 R2
We also know

V = V1 + V2 (12)
therefore
V1 R1
⇒ = (13)
V2 R2
and
R2
⇒ V2 = V (14)
R1 + R2
Equations 13 and 14 summarize the workings of a voltage divider nicely. It is obvious
from 12 that V1 = V − V2 = V − VA = 2V; therefore either 13 or 14 give the necessary value
of R1 as 180Ω.

4.2 Experiment: Current/Resistance Relationship

In this experiment we will use light-emitting diodes (LEDs) to observe the relation between
resistance and current and the effect of serial and parallel connection of resistors. We will be
looking into how diodes work in a bit more detail in Chapter ??; for our purposes here it is
sufficient to know that LEDs give out light when they have current running through them,
and the higher the current, the brighter the light.
Before it is time to work hands-on in the lab, please have a look through the Section
?? of this chapter, which will familiarize you with the equipment we are using. For this
first experiment, it is especially important to be able to use the power source, the bread-
board and the multimeter for resistance measurement, so make sure you have completed the
introductory experiment involving these, Part A in Section ??.

1. Construct the circuit in Figure 8. Initially, put in a 1 kΩ resistor. Note how bright the
light looks. You might look at the LED through a hole in a box covering it or through
a piece of cardboard rolled up into a tube to minimize the effect of room lights and to
see brightness changes more clearly.

2. Add a 10 kΩ resistor between point B and the 1 K resistor. This is a serial connection
and your net resistance is now 11 K. The LED, when it is turned on, has some fixed
voltage drop VD , leaving the rest of the battery voltage V to be dropped over the
resistors. When the resistance is increased from 1 K to 11 K, the current will fall to
one-eleventh of its previous value—observe the effect of this on the brightness of the
LED.
4 NETWORKS OF RESISTANCES, KIRCHHOFF’S LAWS 9
I A
+
LED

VD
Battery or
power supply

B
5V V

VR
R1

− I
Ground; at zero potential

Figure 8: Setup to visualize current changes with resistance.

3. Experiment with different values of resistors in serial connection7 . Note down the
resistor values you used (measure them with the multimeter in the ohmmeter mode
before you put them in) and comment on the relative brightness of the LED.

4. Return to the original circuit, with a single 10K resistor. Note the brightness once
more. Now add another 10K resistor in parallel to the first one, i.e. connect it between
point B and the ground. This will have the effect of halving the effective resistance—
two 10K resistors in parallel connection will have an effective resistance of 5K (verify
this with calculations using Eqn. 9 and by using the ohmmeter). What should halving
the resistance do to the current? Observe the effect on the brightness of the LED.

5. Experiment with putting other resistors in parallel. Be careful if the LED looks like
it is getting too bright—too much current through can burn it! Make sure you always
have at least a net resistance of about 1 K in series with the LED.

6. Construct the circuit in Figure 9. Let R1 and R2 initially be 4 kΩ. Compare the
brightnesses of LED1 and LED2.

7. Alter R2 to 2 K. Observe and note the difference between the brightnesses of LED1
and LED2. Which LED seems to be receiving more current? Explain how this fits
with Ohm’s Law.

8. Try different serial/parallel combinations of resistors in place of R2 and note down your
observations.
7
Note that you can also measure the effective resistance across a network of resistances using the ohmmeter
probes directly on the breadboarded circuit—with the power to the circuit turned off.
4 NETWORKS OF RESISTANCES, KIRCHHOFF’S LAWS 10
I A
+
I
B

I1 I2
LED1
LED2

VD2 VD2

5V V

VR1 R1 R2 VR2

I1 I2
−

Figure 9: Circuit to observe currents in parallel.

4.3 Experiment: Voltage Dividers

1. Construct the circuit in Fig. 7 with R1 = 1kΩ and R2 = 10kΩ. Let the voltage supply
be at 5 V. What do you expect the voltages at points A and B to be? What do you
measure them to be?

2. By using resistors of your choice, construct dividers that will set the voltage at point
B to be a) 4 V b) 2.5 V c) 1 V. Verify the results for your designs experimentally.

3. Note that there is nothing in the theory that prevents a voltage divider from functioning
properly when its input signal changes in time. To observe that, take the power supply
out of the circuit in Figure 7 and insert the signal generator output in its place. Connect
Channel 1 of the oscilloscope directly across the signal generator. Connect the probe
of Channel 2 to point B and the ground jack to the circuit ground. Set the signal
generator to give a 10 V peak-to-peak sinusoidal at 1 kHz. Have the V/div knobs at
2 V/div and the time/div knob at 1 ms/div. Observe, measure and sketch the input
and output waveforms.

4. Construct the circuit in Figure 10. Let R1 = 1kΩ and R2 = 8kΩ. What value would
(R3 + R4 ) need to take for the voltage at point B to be VB =4 V? What values would
R3 and R4 would need to take for VC =2 V? Verify your design experimentally.

4.4 Kirchhoff’s Laws

A general electrical circuit could consist of many resistors (and other components), forming
a network with combinations of series and parallel connections. The size and complexity of
the circuits might go up to tens of thousands of components, requiring the aid of a computer
4 NETWORKS OF RESISTANCES, KIRCHHOFF’S LAWS 11
A

R1

B
R3
5V

R2 C

R4

Figure 10: Another voltage divider.

to design and analyze the circuit. But, be it a simple circuit with a handful of components
that we analyze by hand or a large-scale integrated circuit that is analyzed by the computer,
there are two basic starting-point principles that we use in network analysis. These principles,
which are actually results of the law of conservation of energy and the law of conservation of
charge, were first formulated by the German scientist Gustav Robert Kirchhoff (1824-1887)
around 1846: Kirchhoff ’s Voltage Law (KVL) and Kirchhoff ’s Current Law (KCL).
Kirchhoff’s Voltage Law states

KVL The algebraic sum of the increases and decreases in potential around any
closed circuit loop must be zero.

What this means is best explained on a figure: Refer to Figure 11.

First a word about our conventions: as indicated by the little +s and -s on the figure, we
assume that the potential increases in the direction of the loop. Note that this is the reason
why the voltage difference between points G and B is treated as an increase for loop 1, but
a decrease for loop 2. Also, the potential difference between two points X and Y is defined
in the following way:

VXY := VX − VY ; VY X = VY − VX . (15)
All of the sections in the figure represent “branches”; we usually assume that there is one
circuit element on each branch. A circuit element is an electronic component in a circuit
that can effect the voltage across it or the current through it.
Using these conventions, for loop 1 we can write the sum of all potential increases in loop
1, taking point A as our starting point:
4 NETWORKS OF RESISTANCES, KIRCHHOFF’S LAWS 12
C
+A − −
+
VDC
VBA
VAJ + VCB
B −
− + +
− D
−
+ J V V
1 GB BG 2 ...
+
+ −G E
− I − + −
+
...

− +
H
−
+
F

Figure 11: An electrical network to demonstrate KVL.

VBA + VGB + VHG + VIH + VJI + VAJ = VB − VA + VG − VB (16)

+ VH − VG + VI − VH
+ VJ − VI + VA − VJ
= 0

It is a trivial exercise to follow the same line of thought for loop 2.

Kirchhoff’s Current Law states
KCL The algebraic sum of all the currents entering or leaving a node must be
zero.
A “node” is just a point of intersection between two branches in an electrical network;
in Fig. 11, all of the points marked by a letter are nodes.

I1 I9 I8
I2
I7
I3 A
I6
I4 I5

Figure 12: An electrical network node to demonstrate KCL.

Refer to Figure 12. Our convention when applying this law to a node is that currents
entering the node are considered to be positive and those leaving, negative; hence for this
figure KCL states
4 NETWORKS OF RESISTANCES, KIRCHHOFF’S LAWS 13

I1 + I2 + I3 + I4 − I5 − I6 − I7 − I8 − I9 = 0 (17)
⇒ I1 + I2 + I3 + I4 = I5 + I6 + I7 + I8 + I9

While these two laws sound very basic once explained, they are very powerful tools in
circuit analysis.

4.5 Voltage Sources in Series

A direct result of Kirchhoff’s Voltage Law is that when there are more than one voltage
sources connected serially in a circuit, their combined effect over the circuit elements can be
found by adding their individual effects. Figures 13 and 14 offer a clarification.
Vout1
I
1
VACmax
+
− VAC R Vout1

AC voltage source
time

Vout2
I
2 VDC
VDC
R Vout2
DC voltage source time

Figure 13: Two circuits with different voltage sources.

In Figure 13, there are two different circuits depicted together with their voltage output in
time. For circuit 1, the voltage source supplies a sinusoidal AC signal: VAC = VACmax sin(ωt).
For circuit 2, the voltage source is simply a DC voltage source, which supplies a voltage signal
that does not change with time at the level VDC . For both circuits, the resistor we take the
output across is the only resistance in the circuit, therefore the full voltage drop supplied by
the voltage sources is reflected on this resistor.
Now consider Figure 14. This circuit has two voltage sources together, in series. As can
be seen in the voltage output vs. time plot, their overall effect on the voltage across the
resistor is the sum of what their individual effects had been.
This is, of course, equivalent to what goes on when you add DC offset to the AC output
of the signal generator.
This can be generalized to any circuit with more than one voltage source, with the sources
serially connected. To find the overall effect on the circuit, we can take the sources one by
one—choose just one and assume the rest of the sources are set to zero. Solve for the effect
5 REFERENCES AND FURTHER READING 14
Vout= Vout1 +Vout2
I
VDC+VACmax
+
VDC
VAC
−
R Vout VDC−VACmax
time
VDC

Figure 14: A circuit with two voltage sources.

of just that one source and note down the results on every branch of the circuit. Set that
source to zero and take up another source; and repeat the procedure until all sources are
accounted for. The last step is to add the effects of all the sources together, paying attention
to those that might be of different polarity.

5 References and Further Reading

1. Olenick, R.P., Apostol, T.M. and Goodstein, D.L., Beyond the Mechanical Universe:
From Electricity to Modern Physics. Cambridge University Press, USA, 1986. College
freshman level physics.

2. Streetman, B.G. Solid State Electronic Devices. 4th Edition. Prentice-Hall, USA.
1995. This is a slightly advanced text about semiconductor devices.
3. Parker, G. Introductory Semiconductor Device Physics. Prentice-Hall, USA, 1994.
This is an excellent, more basic-level text on semiconductor devices; the author’s self-defined
intention is to write for students with no strong mathematical background.

4. Desoer, C.A., Kuh, E.S. Basic Circuit Theory. McGraw-Hill, USA, 1969. Starting text
for freshman or sophomore level electrical engineering about electrical network theory and
basic circuit analysis and design.

5. Thomas, G.B., Finney, R.L. Calculus and Analytic Geometry. 8th Edition. Addison-
Wesley, USA, 1992. A classic undergraduate freshman calculus text.
6. Horowitz, P., Hill, W. The Art of Electronics. 2nd Edition. Cambridge University
Press, USA, 1989. By now the standard reference/handbook/hobbyist/beginners supple-
mental text, Horowitz & Hill is an extremely easy-to-read and very comprehensive book on
basic electronics.
6 EXERCISES 15
6 Exercises
1. In a cathode-ray tube, the distance between the cathode and the anode is 10 cm. The
potential difference between the cathode and the anode is 200 V.

(a) What is the electric field between the anode and the cathode? Assume that the
field will be uniform between the two ends.
(b) How much kinetic energy would an electron that travels from the cathode to the
anode would gain?
(c) Assuming its initial speed was zero, at what velocity would the electron be trav-
eling when it reaches the anode?
(d) The distance between the anode and the phosphorescent screen is 20 cm. How
long does it take the electron to traverse this distance after it passes the anode?

2. A flashlight bulb has a resistance of 2 MΩ (2,000,000 Ω) and is run by two 1.5 V

batteries in series connection. What is the current running through the bulb?

3. How many nodes are in the following circuits?

a) b)

c) d)
6 EXERCISES 16
4. For the following circuits, find the equivalent (effective) resistance between points A
and B.

(a)

1K 5K 2K
A B

(b)
1K

A B

2K

(c)
1K

5K
A B

2K

(d)

1K

2K 5K
A B

3K
6 EXERCISES 17
(e)

4Ω
A

8Ω 24 Ω 16 Ω

18Ω 18Ω 18Ω 40 Ω 10Ω

(f)
60 Ω
10 Ω
A

30 Ω

25 Ω 50 Ω

55 Ω
120 Ω 40 Ω
60 Ω
B

120 Ω

5. For each of the circuits in question 4, find the current through and voltage across each
resistor, assuming point A is set to 5 V and point B is connected to ground.
6 EXERCISES 18
6. For the following circuits, find the quantities requested with question marks. Show
that KVL holds for the overall loop of the circuit. Show that KCL holds for each node.

(a)

R1 =10K R2=5K VA−VB

VB =?
B
5V

R3=5K VB −VGND=VB−0=VB

(b)

I1 =? A

R1 =5K

B
5V I2 =? I3 =? VB =2.5 V

R2=? R3=?
6 EXERCISES 19
(c)

I1 =? A

R1 =1K

B
5V I2 =? I3 =? VB =?

R 2=5K R3=1K

(d)

I1 =? A

R1 =1K

B
5V I2 =? VB =?
I3 =?

R 2=1K I4 =? I5 =?

VC =? C R4=10K R5=10K

R3=4K
6 EXERCISES 20
7. For the following circuits, find the voltage across and current through each resistor.

(a) Hint: First, get the equivalent resistance of the whole circuit. For that, start
calculating effective resistances at the farthest branch from the source.

5Ω 1Ω 4Ω

63 V 6Ω 3Ω 2Ω

(b)

5Ω 3Ω 4Ω

24 V
1Ω 6Ω 3Ω

(c)

7Ω 1Ω 6Ω

63 V 21 V
6Ω 3Ω