Chapter 2

Basic Components
and Electric
Circuits

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Base units:
 meter (m), kilogram (kg), second (s), ampere (A)
 also: kelvin, mole, and candela

Derived units:
 work or energy: joule (J)
 power (rate of doing work): watt (W)
 1 W = 1 J/s

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Any measurement can be expressed in terms
of a unit, or a unit with a “prefix” modifier.
FACTOR NAME SYMBOL
10-9 nano n

10-6 micro μ

10-3 milli m

103 kilo k

106 mega M

Example: 12.3 mW = 0.0123 W =1.23 x 10-2 W

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 charge is conserved: it is neither created nor
destroyed
 symbol: Q or q; units are coulomb (C)
 the smallest charge, the electronic charge, is
carried by an electron (−1.602×10-19 C) or a
proton (+1.602×10-19 C)
 in most circuits, the charges in motion are
electrons

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Current is the rate of charge flow:
1 ampere = 1 coulomb/second (or 1 A = 1 C/s)

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 Current (designated by I or i) is the rate of
flow of charge
 Current must be designated with both a
direction and a magnitude
 These two currents are the same:

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 When 1 J of work is required
to move 1 C of charge from A
to B, there is a voltage of 1
volt between A and B.

 Voltage (V or v) across an
element requires both a
magnitude and a polarity.

 Example: (a)=(b), (c)=(d)

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The power required to push a
current i (C/s) into a voltage v
(J/C) is p = vi ( J/s = W).

When power is positive, the

element is absorbing energy.

When power is negative, the

element is supplying energy.

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How much power is absorbed by the three elements above?

Pa = + 6 W, Pb = +6 W, Pc = -20 W.
(Note: (c) is actually supplying power)
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 A circuit element usually has
two terminals (sometimes three
or more).

 The relationship between the

voltage v across the terminals
and the current i through the
device defines the circuit
element model.

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 An ideal voltage source is a circuit element that will maintain
the specified voltage vs across its terminals.
 The current will be determined by other circuit elements.

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 An ideal current source is a circuit element that maintains the
specified current flow is through its terminals.
 The voltage is determined by other circuit elements.

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• A voltage source is an idealization (no limit on current) and
generalization (voltage can be time-varying) of a battery.
• A battery supplies a constant “dc” voltage V but in practice a
battery has a maximum power.

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Dependent current sources (a) and (b) maintain a current
specified by another circuit variable.

Dependent voltage sources (c) and (d) maintain a voltage

specified by another circuit variable.

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Find the voltage vL in the circuit below.

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A (linear) resistor is an element for which
 v=iR
 where the constant R is a resistance.
 The equation is known as “Ohm’s Law.”
 The unit of resistance is ohm (Ω).

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(a) typical resistors (b) power resistor
(c) a 10 TΩ resistor (d) circuit symbol

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For a resistor, the plot of current versus voltage
is a straight line:
In this example, the
slope is 4 A / 8 V or
0.5 Ω-1.

This is the graph for a

2 ohm resistor.

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Resistors absorb power: since v=iR

p=vi = v2/R = i2R

Positive power means the device is absorbing energy.
Power is always positive for a resistor!

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A 560 Ω resistor is connected to a circuit which
causes a current of 42.4 mA to flow through
it.
Calculate the voltage across the resistor and the
power it is dissipating.

v = iR = (0.0424)(560) = 23.7 V

p = i 2R = (0.0424)2(560) = 1.007 W
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 The resistance of a wire is determined by the resistivity
of the conductor as well as the geometry:

R=ρl/A

[In most cases, the resistance of wires can be assumed to be 0 ohms.]

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 We sometimes prefer to work with the
reciprocal of resistance (1/R), which is called
conductance (symbol G, unit siemens (S)).
A resistor R has conductance G=1/R.

 The i-v equation (i.e. Ohm’s law) can be

written as
i=Gv
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 An open circuit between A and B means i=0.
 Voltage across an open circuit: any value.
 An open circuit is equivalent to R = ∞ Ω.

A short circuit between A and B means v=0.

 Current through a short circuit: any value.
 A short circuit is equivalent to R = 0 Ω.

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