Lecture 1

Units and Scales, Charge, Current, Voltage

Course Outcome/s:
1. Identify the different dc and ac circuit parameters and components.
2. Relate the laws and principles applied in DC and AC circuits in real-life
situations.
Objectives:
1. Define the basic concepts of electric circuits.
2. Solve problems involving the basic concepts of electric circuits
International System of Units (SI)

• Adopted by the General Conference on Weights and Measures in 1960

• Based on six defined quantities
Table 1. The SI Six Basic Quantities
Quantity Basic Unit Symbol
Length meter m
Mass kilogram kg
Time second s
Electric Current ampere A
Thermodynamic Temperature kelvin K
Luminous Intensity candela cd

Table 2. The SI Prefixes

Fundamentals of Electric Circuits | Lecture 1

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Example: Which of the three currents 𝐼𝑎 = 0.03 𝑚𝐴, 𝐼𝑏 = 45𝜇𝐴, and 𝐼𝑐 = 25 𝑥 10−4 𝐴 is the
largest?
Solution:
First, express all currents with the same unit.
𝐼𝑎 = 0.03 𝑚𝐴,
𝐼𝑏 = 45𝜇𝐴 = 0.045 𝑚𝐴,
𝐼𝑐 = 25 𝑥 10−4 𝐴 = 2.5𝑚𝐴
Therefore, the largest of the three currents is 𝑰𝒄 = 𝟐. 𝟓𝒎𝑨
DC CIRCUITS
Electric circuit – interconnection of electrical elements

Figure 1. Simple Electric Circuit

Charge
Charge (Q or q) – is an electrical property of the atomic particles of matter, measured in
coulombs (C)
𝒕
q = ∫𝒕𝟎 𝒊𝒅𝒕

qT = q(t) - q(t0)
When this charge starts to move around the loop created by the interconnection of electrical
elements, power is dissipated in another form of energy – light energy in this case.

Fundamentals of Electric Circuits | Lecture 1

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 Figure 1. An atom is made up of subatomic charged
(proton and electron) and uncharged (neutron) particles. (toppr.com)

Electric Charge Fundamentals

1. There are 6.24 𝑥 1018 electrons in 1 C of charge.
2. 1 𝑒 = −1.602 𝑥 10−19 C
3. The law of conservation of charge states that charge can neither be created nor destroyed,
it can only be transferred.

Current
Electric Current (I or i) – is the rate of flow of charges, measured in amperes (A).
𝐶𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑜𝑚𝑏 𝐶
1𝐴 = 1 =1
𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑 𝑠
𝒅𝒒
𝒊=
𝒅𝒕
Andre-Marie Ampere – French mathematician who defined the electric current and developed a
way to measure it in 1820s.

Figure 3. Electric Current due to Flow of Electronic Charge in a Conductor

Fundamentals of Electric Circuits | Lecture 1

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 Note: a negative current of -5A flowing in one direction is the same as a current of +5A
flowing in the opposite direction

Direct Current (DC) – current that remains constant with time

Figure 4. Direct Current

Alternating Current (AC) – current that varies sinusoidally with time

Figure 5. Alternating Current

Fundamentals of Electric Circuits | Lecture 1

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Electromotive Force (EMF) or Voltage (V) or potential difference - is the energy required to
move a unit charge through an element, measured in volts (V).
𝑛𝑒𝑤𝑡𝑜𝑛 − 𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟
1𝑉 = 1 𝐽𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑒/𝐶𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑜𝑚𝑏 = 1 𝐽/𝐶 = 1
𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑜𝑚𝑏
𝒅𝒘
v = 𝒅𝒒

Alessandro Antonio Volta – Italian physicist who invented the electric battery, which provided
the first continuous flow of electricity

Figure 6. Two Equivalent Representations of the Same Voltage

Fundamentals of Electric Circuits | Lecture 1

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Examples:
1. How much charge is represented by 4600 electrons?
2. The total charge entering a terminal of an element is given by q = (4t3 – 5t) mC. Find the
current i at t = 0 and t = 2 sec.
3. If in Problem 2, q = 5t sin 4πt mC, calculate the current at t = 0.5 s.
4. Determine the total charge entering a terminal between t=1s and t=2s if the current
passing the terminal is 𝑖(𝑡) = (3𝑡 2 − 𝑡)𝐴.
5. Find the charge flowing through a device if the current is:
𝑖 (𝑡) = (2𝑡 + 5)𝑚𝐴, 𝑞(0) = 0

Solutions:
1. Note that in 1 electron, there are −1.602𝑥10−19 𝐶 of charge.
Therefore,
−1.602𝑥10−19 𝐶
4600 𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑛𝑠 𝑥 = −𝟕. 𝟑𝟔𝟗𝒙𝟏𝟎−𝟏𝟔𝑪
1 𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑛
2. Note:
𝑑𝑞 𝑑 (4𝑡 3 − 5𝑡)𝑚𝐶
𝑖= =
𝑑𝑡 𝑑𝑡
𝑖 = [4(3)𝑡 2 − 5]𝑚𝐴
𝑖 = (12𝑡 2 − 5)𝑚𝐴
At 𝑡 = 0 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑:
𝑖 = (12(0)2 − 5)𝑚𝐴
𝒊 = −𝟓 𝒎𝑨
At 𝑡 = 2 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑𝑠:
𝑖 = (12(2)2 − 5)𝑚𝐴
𝒊 = 𝟒𝟑 𝒎𝑨
3. Note:
𝑑𝑞 𝑑 (5𝑡 sin(4𝜋𝑡))𝑚𝐶
𝑖= =
𝑑𝑡 𝑑𝑡
𝑖 = [5𝑡(cos 4𝜋𝑡)(4𝜋) + 5𝑠𝑖𝑛4𝜋𝑡] 𝑚𝐴
𝑖 = [20𝜋𝑡 cos 4𝜋𝑡 + 5𝑠𝑖𝑛4𝜋𝑡]𝑚𝐴

Fundamentals of Electric Circuits | Lecture 1

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 At 𝑡 = 0.5 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑𝑠:
𝑖 = [20𝜋(0.5)(cos 4𝜋(0.5)) + 5 sin(4𝜋(0.5))]𝑚𝐴
𝒊 = 𝟏𝟎𝝅 𝒎𝑨 𝒐𝒓 𝟑𝟏. 𝟒𝟐 𝒎𝑨

4. Note:
𝑡=2 𝑠𝑒𝑐
𝑞 = ∫ 𝑖𝑑𝑡 = ∫ (3𝑡 2 − 𝑡)𝑑𝑡
𝑡=1 𝑠𝑒𝑐

3𝑡 3 𝑡 2
𝑞=[ − ]
3 2

22 12
𝑞 = [(2)3 − ] − [(1)3 − ]
2 2

𝒒 = 𝟓. 𝟓 𝑪
5. Note:

𝑞 = ∫ 𝑖𝑑𝑡 = ∫(2𝑡 + 5)𝑑𝑡

2𝑡 2
𝑞=[ + 5𝑡] 𝑚𝐶
2

𝒒 = (𝒕𝟐 + 𝟓𝒕)𝒎𝑪

Fundamentals of Electric Circuits | Lecture 1

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Textbook:

Alexander, C. K. & Sadiku, M. N. (2017). Fundamentals of Electric Circuits (6th ed.). New
York: McGraw-Hill Education

References:
Alexander, C. K. & Sadiku, M. N. (2017). Fundamentals of Electric Circuits (6th ed.). New
York: McGraw-Hill Education.
Ergul, O. (2017). Introduction to electrical circuit analysis. New Jersey: John Wiley &
Sons.
Kang, J. S. (2018). Electric Circuits. Australia: Cengage Learning
Nahvi, M., Edminister, J. A. (2018). Electric Circuits (7th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill
Education
Nilsson, J. W. & Riedel, S. A. (2015). Electric Circuit (10th ed.). Boston: Pearson

Web References:
Nahvi, M., Edminister, J. A. (2018). Schaum's outline of electric circuits (6th ed.). New York:
McGraw-Hill Education. Retrieved from eBook Collection (Access
Engineering) database.
Olivier, J. C. (2018). Electric circuits: A primer. Artech House. Retrieved from eBook
Collection (EBSCOhost) database.

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