Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Electric Circuits
Vocabulary
Potential
Difference/Voltage/EMF
Circuit
Current
Resistance
Power
Direct Current (DC)
Alternating Current (AC)
Compound (Complex) Circuit
Ohms Law
Voltmeter
Ammeter
Series Circuit
Parallel Circuit
What is
electricity?
The atom
An atom is a fundamental unit of matter
made up of
protons (with a positive charge)
neutrons (neutral no charge)
electrons (with a negative charge)
What is electricity?
Everything is made of atoms which contain
POSITIVE particles called PROTONS and
NEGATIVE particles called ELECTRONS.
Electron (-)
Proton (+)
Neutron
Electron (-)
Proton (+)
Neutron
Electrical Charge
Electric charge is given the symbol
Electrical Charge
Charge is measured in
Coulombs
Electrical Charge
The charge on a proton is
1.6 x 10-19C
which is the same size as the charge on an
electron.
What is electricity?
Electrons have a negative charge (Q) measured in
coulombs (C).
Electrons move round a circuit from negative to
positive (remember like charges repel, opposites
attract) giving rise to an electric current.
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What is electricity?
So electricity is
movement of charge round a
circuit.
We call this electric current.
Potential Difference
In a battery, a series of chemical
=Voltage=EMF
reactions occur in which
A Basic Circuit
All electric circuits have three main parts
1.
2.
3.
A source of energy
A closed path
A device which uses the energy
If ANY part of the circuit is open the device will not work!
Amps (A)
Q
I
t
Charge transferred
in coulombs (C)
Q It
or
Q
t
I
Current
Current is defined as the rate at which charge flows
through a surface.
Voltmeter
Fuse
Battery
Switch
Variable resistor
Cell
Ammeter
Lamp
Schematic Symbols
Before you begin to understand circuits you need to be able to
draw what they look like using a set of standard symbols
understood anywhere in the world
For the battery symbol, the
LONG line is considered to be
the POSITIVE terminal and the
SHORT line , NEGATIVE.
The VOLTMETER and AMMETER
are special devices you place IN
or AROUND the circuit to
measure the VOLTAGE and
CURRENT.
Simple Circuit
When you are drawing a
circuit it may be a wise
thing to start by drawing
the battery first, then
follow along the loop
(closed) starting with
positive and drawing
what you see.
Voltage or p.d.
Voltage (or p.d.) is measured in
volts
Resistors
The symbol for a resistor is
p.d. /
Volts
V
is approximately constant
I
The constant is resistance R
V
R
I
V
R
I
Ohms Law
V IR
Ohms Law
The voltage (potential difference, emf) is directly
related to the current, when the resistance is
constant
V I
R constant of proportionality
R Resistance
V IR
IR
Since R=V/I, the resistance is the
SLOPE of a V vs. I graph
R=
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re
ce
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e
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o
Resistance
Resistance (R) is defined as the restriction of electron
flow. It is due to interactions that occur at the atomic
scale. For example, as electron move through a
conductor they are attracted to the protons on the
nucleus of the conductor itself. This attraction doesnt
stop the electrons, just slow them down a bit and cause
the system to waste energy.
The unit for resistance is
the OHM,
Resistors
cell
A
resistor
lamp
Demonstration
Calculate
For a voltage of 12V, calculate the
current for a resistant of
(i) 1
(ii) 2
(iii)4
(iv)24
(v) 1 k
Measuring Resistance
or we can measure it directly using an
ohmmeter
I3
I1
V1
V2
V3
R1
R2
R3
I2
Vs
-
I3
I1
V1
V2
V3
R1
R2
R3
I2
Series Circuit
In in series circuit, the resistors
are wired one after another.
Since they are all part of the
SAME LOOP they each
experience the SAME
AMOUNT of current. In
figure, however, you see
that they all exist
BETWEEN the terminals of
the battery, meaning they
SHARE the potential
(voltage).
I ( series )Total I1 I 2 I 3
V( series )Total V1 V2 V3
Series Circuit
I ( series )Total I1 I 2 I 3
V( series )Total V1 V2 V3
As the current goes through the circuit, the charges must USE ENERGY to get
through the resistor. So each individual resistor will get its own individual potential
voltage). We call this VOLTAGE DROP.
V( series )Total V1 V2 V3 ; V IR
( I T RT ) series I1 R1 I 2 R2 I 3 R3
Rseries R1 R2 R3
Rs Ri
Example
V12 V
12=I(6)
I = 2A
c)
d)
V3=(2)(3)= 6V
V2=(2)(2)= 4V
Vs
I3
I1
V1
V2
V3
R1
R2
R3
I2
What is the relationship between the three currents?
The current is the same at each point.
I1 I 2 I 3
Vs
I3
I1
V1
V2
V3
R1
R2
R3
I2
What is the relationship between the four voltages?
They add to equal the supply voltage.
Vs V1 V2 V3
Vs
I3
I1
V1
V2
V3
R1
R2
R3
I2
How do you find total resistance in series?
Add each resistance together.
Rtotal R1 R2 R3
Vs
-
IT
V1
R1
IT
I1
V2
R2
I2
V3
R3
I3
Vs
-
IT
V1
R1
IT
I1
V2
R2
I2
V3
R3
I3
Parallel Circuit
In a parallel circuit, we have
multiple loops. So the
current splits up among the
loops with the individual
loop currents adding to the It is important to understand that parallel
circuits will all have some position where
total current
the current splits and comes back
together. We call these JUNCTIONS.
I ( parallel )Total I1 I 2 I 3
Regarding Junctions :
Junctions
I IN I OUT
Parallel Circuit
Notice that the JUNCTIONS both touch the
V( parallel )Total V1 V2 V3
I ( parallel )Total I1 I 2 I 3 ; V IR
This junction
touches the
POSITIVE
terminal
This junction
touches the
NEGATIVE
terminal
VT
V1 V2 V3
( ) Parallel
RT
R1 R2 R3
1
1
1
1
RP R1 R2 R3
1
1
RP
Ri
Example
1 1 1 1
RP 5 7 9
1
1
0.454 RP
Rp
0.454
2.20
8 I ( R ) 3.64 A
c) What is the voltage across EACH resistor?
8 V each!
d) What is the current drop across each resistor?
(Apply Ohm's law to each resistor separately)
V IR
8
8
8
I 5 1.6 A I 7 1.14 A I 9 0.90 A
5
7
9
Vs
-
IT
V1
R1
IT
I1
V2
R2
I2
V3
R3
I3
What is the
relationship
between the
four
currents?
The four currents
add to give the
total current.
I T I1 I 2 I 3
Vs
-
IT
V1
R1
IT
I1
V2
R2
I2
V3
R3
I3
What is the
relationship
between the
four
voltages?
Each voltage is
equal to the
supply voltage.
VS V1 V2 V3
Vs
-
IT
V1
R1
IT
The
resistance
in parallel?
I1
V2
R2
I2
V3
R3
I3
1
1 1 1
RT R R R
1
decrease
This is because there are more
branches through which the
electricity can flow.
10
10
V1
V2
10
10
V1
V2
10
V1
V2
Compound (Complex)
Many times you will have series and parallel in the SAME circuit.
Circuits
Solve this type of circuit
from the inside out.
WHAT IS THE TOTAL
RESISTANCE?
1
1
1
; RP 33.3
RP 100 50
Rs 80 33.3 113 .3
Compound (Complex)
1
1
1
Circuits
; R
RP
100
50
33.3
Rs 80 33.3 113 .3
Suppose the potential difference (voltage) is equal to 120V. What is the total
current?
VT I T RT
V80 I 80 R80
V80 (1.06)(80)
V80
84.8 V
Compound (Complex)
R 113 .3
Circuits
V 120V
T
I T 1.06 A
V80 84.8V
I 80 1.06 A
What is the VOLTAGE DROP across
the 100 and 50 resistor?
VT ( parallel ) V2 V3
VT ( series ) V1 V2&3
120 84.8 V2&3
V2&3 35.2 V Each!
I T ( parallel ) I 2 I 3
I T ( series ) I1 I 2&3
35.2
I100
0.352 A
100
35.2
I 50
0.704 A
50
Add to
1.06A
POWER
It is interesting to see how certain electrical
variables can be used to get POWER. Lets
take Voltage and Current for example.
Power
For example, an appliance with a power
rating of 250 W converts 250 Joules of
electrical energy into another form each
second.
Power
How can this be written as a formula?
Power in Watts (W)
E
P
t
Demonstration / experiment
Formula?
E
P
t
P = VI