EE-111 Linear Circuit Analysis

02 Basic Components and Electric

Circuits

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 Introduction
• In electrical / electronics engineering, there is a need to
transfer energy/ communicate from one point to another.
• This requires an interconnection of certain devices.
• Such interconnection is called electrical/electronic circuit.
• Each component of the circuit is called an element.
• Circuit Analysis means a study of the behavior of the
circuit.
• We, therefore, need to study basic concepts of:-
– Units and scales
– Charge,
– Current,
– Voltage or Potential Difference,
– Work/Energy
– Power
– Circuit Elements.
2
 Units & Scales
• The value of any measurable quantity requires both a
number and a unit.
• Since 1960, General Conference on Weights and Measures
adopted the International System of Units.
• The 7 basic SI units of physical quantities, assumed to be
mutually independent, are :-

Quantity Basic Unit Symbol

Length meter m
Mass kilogram kg
Time second s
Electric Current ampere A
Thermodynamic kelvin K
Temperature
Luminous Intensity candela cd
Amount of Substance mole mol

3
 Units & Scales ..
• All else all derived from these basic units.
Multiplier Prefix Symbol
1012 tera T
109 giga G
106 mega M
103 kilo k
10-6 micro μ
10-9 nano n
10-12 pico p

• SI uses decimal system to relate larger and smaller

units to the basic units.
• Some of the other SI prefixes are :-
– Generally we use micron and Angstrom for 10-6m and 10-10 m.
• We prefer 48 mW to 0.048 W or 48,000 µW.
4
 Charge
• All matter consists of atomic particles.
• Charge is an electrical property of the atomic particles.
• Unit of measure of charge is coulomb ‘C’ (Coulomb 1736 – 1806).
– Charge ‘e’ of an electron is negative & equal in magnitude to 1.602 X 10-19
C. Concurrently, a single proton has a charge of + 1.602 X 10-19 C.
– One coulomb of charge is present on 1 / 1.602 X 10-19 electrons. This is
equal to 6.24 X 1018 electrons.
• Charge is represented by ‘Q’ (time-invariant) and q(t) or ‘q’ when
it varies with time.
• Law of conservation of charge states that charge can neither be
created nor destroyed.
– Flow of electric current has nothing to change the total amount of charge

5
 Current
• A unique feature of charge is that it is mobile.
• Charge in motion is called electric current represented by ‘I’ or i(t) or ‘i’.
• When force is applied or work is done,
– negative charges can be made to move in one direction (electron current or
actual current)
– positive charges can be made to move in the opposite direction
(conventional current).
• It is conventional to take current flow as movement of positive charges.
– A convention is a standard way of describing something so that others in the
profession can understand.
• Mathematically current ‘i’ and charge ‘q’ are related by:
𝑑𝑞
𝑖=
𝑑𝑡
– current ‘i’ is measured in amperes (A)
– 1 ampere = 1 coulomb / second

6
 AC & DC Current
• A unidirectional current is called • Alternating current (ac) is
direct current (dc). current that changes direction
• Current does not change its cyclically.
direction with time. • An alternating current (ac) is,
conventionally, a current that
varies sinusoidally with time.
i i

t t

Exponential and damped sinusoid currents!!

7
 Practice Problem
The charge flowing in a wire is plotted as follows; sketch the
corresponding current.

• At t = 1 sec the charge q(1) is q (C)

measured as 25 coulomb.
• So between 0 sec and 1 sec the 50

charge flow is 25 coulomb in 1

sec; hence current i(1) = 25 A. 2 4 6 8 t (s)
• Again at t = 7 sec the charge is - 50
q(7) = - 25 A. From q(6) of – 50 C i (A)
the change is final value – initial
value that is – 25 – (- 50) = 25 so
i(7) = 25 A. 25

2 4 6 8 t (s)

- 25

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 Voltage
• The energy needed to move a unit charge from one point to another is
called voltage or potential difference or electromotive force (emf).
– So vab is the energy (or work) needed to move a unit charge from point ‘a’ to ‘b’.
• Energy is the capacity to do work.
– The fundamental unit of work or energy is the joule (J).
• Mathematically, the relationship is
𝒅𝒘
𝑽𝒂𝒃 =
𝒅𝒒
– where ‘w’ is energy in joules (J) & ‘q’ is charge in coulombs.
– So 1 volt = 1 joule / coulomb

a b
+ -
• Note current is related to the charge flowing through a circuit element
whereas voltage is a measure of potential energy difference across
the element

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 Voltage ..
• Pushing charge or sending current through one end (terminal) and
out another requires an expenditure of energy or work to be done.

• We say a potential difference or an electrical voltage exists

between the two terminals.

• Voltage cannot be defined at a single point; it is by definition the

difference in potential between two points.

• Electric current is always through an element and voltage is always

across the element or between two points.

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 Power
• The force is one newton when a mass of one kg is moved at
the rate of one meter per sec per sec.
𝐹 = 𝑚𝑎
• Work is a measure of energy transfer that occurs when an
object is moved over a distance by an external force.
𝑊 =𝐹×𝑑
• Fundamental unit of work (or energy) is joule.
– One joule of work is done when a force of one newton moves an
object through one meter.
• One newton is the force needed to accelerate one kg of mass at the rate of one
metre per second squared.
– One joule in SI base units is Nm or kg m2 s-2.
– And one Btu is 1055 joules.

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 Power ..
• Power is defined as the rate at which work is done or energy
is expended.
𝑑𝑊
𝑝=
𝑑𝑡
– where ‘p’ is power in watts (W), ‘w’ is energy in joules (J) & ‘t’ is time
in seconds.
• Also
𝑑𝑤 𝑑𝑊 𝑑𝑞
𝑝= = × = 𝑣𝑖
𝑑𝑡 𝑑𝑞 𝑑𝑡
– where dw/dq is the voltage (energy required to move a unit charge)
– The fundamental unit of power is the watt.
– One watt is defined as 1 joule/sec. 1 joule = 1 watt × 1sec (dw = p dt)
– 3600 J = 1 watt × 3600 sec or 1 Wh or 3600kJ=1kWh

12
 Practice Problem 1
A typical incandescent reading lamp runs at 60 W.
If it is left on constantly, how much energy (J) is
consumed per day, and what is the weekly cost if
energy is charged at a rate of 12.5 cents per
kilowatthour?

13
 Passive sign convention
• The passive sign convention is satisfied when the 3A
current arrow is directed into the element at the +
plus marked terminal.
• It says that if the current arrow and the voltage
5V 15 w
polarity signs are placed such that the current (absorbed)
enters that end of the element marked with the
positive sign, then the power absorbed can be _
expressed by the product of the specified current _
and voltage variables.
• If the numerical value of the product is negative,
then we say that the element is absorbing -5V 15 w
negative power, or that it is actually generating -3A
(absorbed)

power (and delivering it to some external

element). +
• In the first case the +ve terminal is at 5 volts wrt +
the other terminal. -3A -15 w
• In the second case the +ve terminal is at – 5 volts 5V
(absorbed)
OR
wrt the other terminal. 15 w
_ (generated)

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 Practice Problem 2
In the wire, electrons are moving left to right to create a
current of 1 mA. Determine I1 and I2. Also, determine the number of
electrons flowing in one second?

I1 = −1 mA; I2 = +1 mA.

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 Practice Problem 3
• Determine the power being absorbed by the circuit
element in Fig. a.
• Determine the power being generated by the circuit
element in Fig. b.
• Determine the power being delivered to the circuit
element in Fig. c at t = 5 ms

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 The Circuit Elements
• Each component of the circuit is called an element.
• The circuit elements can be described as
– Active elements
• Voltage sources and current sources are classified as active elements.
These are capable of delivering power to some external device.
– Passive elements
• Passive elements include resistors, capacitors and inductors.
• Incidentally, the voltage current relationship is
𝑣 ∝ 𝑖
Resistive
𝑣 ∝ න 𝑖 𝑑𝑡 Capacitive
𝑑
𝑣 ∝ 𝑖 Inductive
𝑑𝑡
• An ideal independent source is an active element that provides a
specific voltage or current that is completely independent of other
circuit variables.
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 Independent Voltage Sources
• The symbols for independent voltage sources are
– Small ‘v’ is used for time varying or constant voltages.
– Capital ‘V’ is used for constant voltages only.
– These are also the general conventions

+
v
_

+ +
V or V_
_

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 Independent Current Sources
• The symbols for independent current
sources are
– Small ‘i’ is used for time varying or constant
currents.
– Capital ‘I’ is used for constant currents only.
– Again, it’s a general convention. i

• Note: Do not think that the voltage

across the current source is zero. IT
SHALL DEPEND ON THE CIRCUIT
TO WHICH IT IS CONNECTED.
I
• Also,
– Small letters represent instantaneous values
(time varying)
– Capital letters are used for pear, average, rms
values (fixed numbers).

19
 Dependent Sources
• An ideal dependent (or controlled) source is an active element in
which the source quantity is controlled by another voltage or
current existing in the circuit being analyzed.
• There are four types of dependent sources
– A voltage controlled voltage source
– A current controlled voltage source
– A voltage controlled current source
– A current controlled current source

20
 Dependent Sources
• The symbols for dependent voltage
sources are
– Voltage controlled voltage source
has ‘k’ which is a dimensionless
scaling constant. kvx +
_ rix +
_
– Current controlled voltage source
has a scaling constant ‘r’ with units
of V/A.

• The symbols for dependent current

sources are
– Current controlled current source has a kix gvx
scaling constant ‘k’ which is a
dimensionless scaling constant.
– Voltage controlled current source has a
scaling constant ‘g’ which has units of A/V.

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 Practice Problem 4
Find the power absorbed by each element in the circuit

−56 W; 16 W; −60 W; 160 W; −60 W

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 Practice Problem 5
33. Refer to the circuit represented in Fig. 2.33, while
noting that the same current flows through each
element. The voltage-controlled dependent source
provides a current which is 5 times as large as the
voltage Vx .
(a) For VR = 10 V and Vx = 2 V, determine the power
absorbed by each element.
(b) Is element A likely a passive or active source?
Explain.

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 Practice Problem 6
37. The dependent source in the circuit provides a
voltage whose value depends on the current ix .
What value of ix is required for the dependent source
to be supplying 1 W?

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 Networks & Circuits
• Network: interconnection of two or more elements

• Circuit: a network providing one or more closed paths

• Active Network: contains at least one active element (current or

voltage source)

• Passive Network: no active element

• Networks have branches, nodes, paths, loops and meshes etc.

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 Ohm’s Law
• Relationship between current and voltage for a resistor : found in
1827 by Ohm (German physicist 1787 – 1854)
• Forty-six years earlier Henry Cavendish, a semi recluse, had also
discovered this relationship.
• Ohm’s Law states that the voltage ‘v’ across a resistor is directly
proportional to the current ‘i’ flowing through the resistor
• Mathematically,
𝑣 ∝𝑖
• Ohm defined constant of proportionality as ‘R’, resistance
𝑣 = 𝑖𝑅
– where ‘R’ is in ohms (Ω) which is defined as 1 V/A v
• A resistor that obeys Ohm’s law is a linear
resistor (an idealized terms).
Slope R
• Resistance is normally a positive quantity,
although negative resistance may be simulated
with special circuitry. i
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 The Resistor
• In general, materials resist the flow of
electric charge.
• This physical property or ability to ρ
resist current is known as resistance A
and is represented by symbol ‘R’. Length ‘l’
• For the material shown
𝑅 ∝𝑙
1
𝑅 ∝ Circuit Symbols
𝐴
• Considering the proportionality
R
constant
𝑙
𝑅= 𝜌
𝐴 R
– Where ρ is resistivity in ohm – meters.

R
27
 The Resistor ..
• Resistivity is the measure of the ease with which electrons can
travel through a material. High resistivity means greater difficulty,
more resistance.
– Silver has 1.64 X 10-8 Ωm : conductor
– Silicon has 6.4 X 102 Ωm : semi conductor
– Paper has 1010 Ωm : insulator
• Resistor is the simplest passive element. It always absorbs power
from the circuit.
• Conductance:
– Another useful quantity in circuit analysis is reciprocal of resistance ‘R’,
known as conductance and denoted by ‘G’ where
1 𝑖
𝐺= =
𝑅 𝑣

– The SI unit is Siemens (S or ℧) 1S = 1 A / V

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 Power absorption
• Mathematically
2
𝑣
𝑝 = 𝑣𝑖 = 𝑖 2 𝑅 = Resistance
𝑅
2
𝑖
𝑝 = 𝑣𝑖 = 𝑣 2 𝐺 = Conductance
𝐺
• The absorbed power appears as heat/light and is
always positive.
• An element supplies positive power if positive
current flows out of the positive voltage terminal.
• An element absorbs positive power if positive
current flows into the positive voltage terminal.
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 Practice Problem 7
42. Figure depicts the current-voltage characteristic
of three different resistive elements. Determine the
resistance of each, assuming the voltage and current
are defined in accordance with the passive sign
convention.

30
 Practice Problem 8
44. Determine the magnitude of the current flowing
through a 10 mS conductance if the voltage across it
is (a) 2 mV; (b) −1 V; (c) 100e−2t V; (d) 5 sin(5t)
V; (e) 0 V

G = 10 mS; R = 1/G = 100 

31
 Practice Problem 9
48. For each of the circuits in Fig. 2.38, find the
current I and compute the power absorbed by the
resistor.

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 Home work
• Examples
– 2.1, 2.2, 2.3
• Practice:
– 2.4, 2.6, 2.7, 2.8, 2.9
• Exercise
– 9, 14, 17, 22, 27, 33, 34, 35, 37, 42, 43, 44, 48

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