Basic Electric Circuits & Components Chapter 2

 Introduction
 SI Units and Common Prefixes
 Electrical Circuits
 Direct Currents and Alternating Currents
 Resistors, Capacitors and Inductors
 Ohm’s and Kirchhoff’s Laws
 Power Dissipation in Resistors
 Resistors in Series and Parallel
 Resistive Potential Dividers
 Sinusoidal Quantities
 Circuit Symbols
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Introduction 2.1

 This lecture outlines the basics of Electrical Circuits

 For most students much of this will be familiar
– this lecture can be seen as a revision session for
this material
 If there are any topics that you are unsure of (or that
are new to you) you should get to grips with this
material before the next lecture
– the following lectures will assume a basic
understanding of these topics
 We will return to look at several of these topics in
more detail in later lectures
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SI Units 2.2

Quantity Quantity symbol Unit Unit symbol

Capacitance C Farad F
Charge Q Coulomb C
Current I Ampere A
Electromotive force E Volt V
Frequency f Hertz Hz
Inductance (self) L Henry H
Period T Second s
Potential difference V Volt V
Power P Watt W
Resistance R Ohm Ω
Temperature T Kelvin K
Time t Second s
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Common Prefixes 2.3

Prefix Name Meaning (multiply by)

T tera 1012
G giga 109
M mega 106
k kilo 103
m milli 10-3
 micro 10-6
n nano 10-9
p pico 10-12

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Electrical Circuits 2.4

 Electric charge
– an amount of electrical energy
– can be positive or negative
 Electric current
– a flow of electrical charge, often a flow of electrons
– conventional current is in the opposite direction to a flow
of electrons
 Current flow in a circuit
– a sustained current needs a complete circuit
– also requires a stimulus to cause the charge to flow
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 Electromotive force and potential difference
– the stimulus that causes a current to flow is an e.m.f.
– this represents the energy introduced into the circuit by
a battery or generator
– this results in an electric potential at each point in the
circuit
– between any two points in the circuit there may exist a
potential difference
– both e.m.f. and potential difference are measured in
volts

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 A simple circuit

 A water-based
analogy

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 Voltage reference points
– all potentials within a circuit must be measured with
respect to some other point
– we often measure voltages with respect to a zero volt
reference called the ground or earth

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 Representing voltages in circuit diagrams
– conventions vary around the world
– we normally use an arrow, which is taken to represent
the voltage on the head with respect to the tail
– labels represent voltages with respect to earth

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Direct Current and Alternating Current 2.5

 Currents in electrical circuits may be constant or may

vary with time
 When currents vary with time they may be
unidirectional or alternating
 When the current flowing in a conductor always flows
in the same direction this is direct current (DC)
 When the direction of the current periodically
changes this is alternating current (AC)

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Resistors, Capacitors and Inductors 2.6

 Resistors provide resistance

– they oppose the flow of electricity
– measured in Ohms ()
 Capacitors provide capacitance
– they store energy in an electric field
– measured in Farads (F)
 Inductors provide inductance
– they store energy in a magnetic field
– measured in Henry (H)
 We will look at each component in later lectures
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Ohm’s Law 2.7

 The current flowing in a conductor is directly

proportional to the applied voltage V and inversely
proportional to its resistance R

V = IR

I = V/R

R = V/I

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Kirchhoff’s Current Law 2.8

 At any instant the algebraic sum of the currents

flowing into any junction in a circuit is zero
 For example

I1 – I2 – I3 = 0
I2 = I1 – I3
= 10 – 3
=7A

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Kirchhoff’s Voltage Law 2.8

 At any instant the algebraic sum of the voltages

around any loop in a circuit is zero
 For example

E – V 1 – V2 = 0
V1 = E – V2
= 12 – 7
= 5V

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Power Dissipation in Resistors 2.9

 The instantaneous power dissipation P of a resistor is

given by the product of the voltage across it and the
current passing through it. Combining this result with
Ohm’s law gives:

P = VI

P = I 2R

P = V2/R

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Resistors in Series and Parallel 2.10 & 2.11

 Series

R = R1 + R2 + R3

 Parallel
1 1 1 1
  
R R1 R2 R3

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Resistive Potential Dividers 2.12

 General case

R2
V  V2  (V1  V2 )
R1  R2

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 Example

R2
V  V2  (V1  V2 )
R1  R2
R2
 10
R1  R2
300
 10
200  300
 6V

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 Example

R2
V  V2  (V1  V2 )
R1  R2
500
 3  12
1000  500
 34
 7V

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Sinusoidal Quantities 2.13

 Length of time between corresponding points in

successive cycles is the period T
 Number of cycles per second is the frequency f
 f = 1/T

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Circuit Symbols 2.14

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Storey: Electrical & Electronic Systems © Pearson Education Limited 2004 OHT 2.22
Key Points
 Understanding the next few lectures of this course relies on
understanding the various topics covered in this session
 A clear understanding of the concepts of voltage and current is
essential
 Ohm’s Law and Kirchhoff’s Laws are used extensively in later
lectures
 Experience shows that students have most problems with
potential dividers – a topic that is used widely in the next few
lectures
 You are advised to make sure you are happy with this material
now

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