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Kirch

kirchoffs rules summary class 11

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Joshua Kamugisha
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13 views

Kirch

kirchoffs rules summary class 11

Uploaded by

Joshua Kamugisha
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Kirchhoff’s Rules

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

By the end of this section, you will be able to:


 Analyze a complex circuit using Kirchhoff’s rules, using the conventions for
determining the correct signs of various terms.
Many complex circuits, such as the one in Figure 1, cannot be analyzed with the series-
parallel techniques developed in Resistors in Series and Parallel and Electromotive
Force: Terminal Voltage. There are, however, two circuit analysis rules that can be
used to analyze any circuit, simple or complex. These rules are special cases of the
laws of conservation of charge and conservation of energy. The rules are known
as Kirchhoff’s rules, after their inventor Gustav Kirchhoff (1824–1887).
Figure 1. This circuit cannot be reduced to a combination of series and parallel connections. Kirchhoff’s rules,
special applications of the laws of conservation of charge and energy, can be used to analyze it. (Note: The
script E in the figure represents electromotive force, emf.)

KIRCHHOFF’S RULES
 Kirchhoff’s first rule—the junction rule. The sum of all currents entering a
junction must equal the sum of all currents leaving the junction.
 Kirchhoff’s second rule—the loop rule. The algebraic sum of changes in
potential around any closed circuit path (loop) must be zero

 Explanations of the two rules will now be given, followed by problem-solving hints
for applying Kirchhoff’s rules, and a worked example that uses them.

 Kirchhoff’s First Rule


 Kirchhoff’s first rule (the junction rule) is an application of the conservation of
charge to a junction; it is illustrated in Figure 2. Current is the flow of charge, and
charge is conserved; thus, whatever charge flows into the junction must flow out.
Kirchhoff’s first rule requires that I1 = I2 + I3 (see figure). Equations like this can
and will be used to analyze circuits and to solve circuit problems.
 MAKING CONNECTIONS: CONSERVATION LAWS
 Kirchhoff’s rules for circuit analysis are applications of conservation laws to circuits. The
first rule is the application of conservation of charge, while the second rule is the
application of conservation of energy. Conservation laws, even used in a specific
application, such as circuit analysis, are so basic as to form the foundation of that
application.

 Figure 22. The junction rule. The diagram shows an example of Kirchhoff’s first rule where the sum of
the currents into a junction equals the sum of the currents out of a junction. In this case, the current
going into the junction splits and comes out as two currents, so that I1 = I2 + I3. Here I1 must be 11 A,
since I2 is 7 A and I3 is 4 A.

 Kirchhoff’s Second Rule


 Kirchhoff’s second rule (the loop rule) is an application of conservation of energy.
The loop rule is stated in terms of potential, V, rather than potential energy, but
the two are related since PEelec = qV. Recall that emf is the potential difference of
a source when no current is flowing. In a closed loop, whatever energy is
supplied by emf must be transferred into other forms by devices in the loop, since
there are no other ways in which energy can be transferred into or out of the
circuit. Figure 3 illustrates the changes in potential in a simple series circuit loop.
Kirchhoff’s second rule requires emf − Ir − IR1 − IR2 = 0. Rearranged, this is emf
= Ir + IR1 + IR2 = 0, which means the emf equals the sum of the IR (voltage)
drops in the loop.

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