RESISTIVE CIRCUITS

Here we introduce the basic concepts and laws that are fundamental
to circuit analysis

LEARNING GOALS
• OHM’S LAW - DEFINES THE SIMPLEST PASSIVE ELEMENT: THE
RESISTOR
• KIRCHHOFF’S LAWS - THE FUNDAMENTAL CIRCUIT CONSERVATION
LAWS- KIRCHHOFF CURRENT (KCL) AND KIRCHHOFF VOLTAGE (KVL)
• LEARN TO ANALYZE THE SIMPLEST CIRCUITS
• SINGLE LOOP - THE VOLTAGE DIVIDER
• SINGLE NODE-PAIR - THE CURRENT DIVIDER
• SERIES/PARALLEL RESISTOR COMBINATIONS - A TECHNIQUE TO
REDUCE THE COMPLEXITY OF SOME CIRCUITS
• WYE - DELTA TRANSFORMATION - A TECHNIQUE TO REDUCE
COMMON RESISTOR CONNECTIONS THAT ARE NEITHER SERIES NOR
PARALLEL
• CIRCUITS WITH DEPENDENT SOURCES - (NOTHING VERY SPECIAL)
 RESISTORS
Standard Multiples of Ohm
 v(t ) 
M Mega Ohm(106 )
i (t ) k Kilo Ohm(103 )
Volt
A resistor is a passive element A common occurrence is
characterized by an algebraic mA
relation between the voltage across resulting in resistance in k
its terminals and the current
through it
Conductance
v(t )  F (i (t )) General Model for a Resistor If instead of expressing voltage as
A linear resistor obeys OHM’s Law a function of current one expresses
current in terms of voltage, OHM’s
v(t )  Ri (t ) law can be written
The constant, R, is called the 1
i v
resistance of the component and R
is measured in units of Ohm () 1
We define G  as Conductance
From a dimensional point of view
R
Ohms is a derived unit of Volt/Amp of the component and write
i  Gv
Since the equation is algebraic
the time dependence can be omitted The unit of conductance is
Siemens
 Some practical resistors

Symbol
 i Notice passive sign Two special resistor values
 convention
v R  i0
v0


Circuit Represent ation
Short Open
Circuit Circuit
i
R0 R
“A touch of
G G0
reality”

Linear approximation

v
Linear range Ohm’s Law is an approximation valid
while voltages and currents remain
Actual v-I relationship in the Linear Range
 OHM’S LAW PROBLEM SOLVING TIP G ive n Vo lta g e a n d R e sista n c e
C o m p u te C u rre n t
v  Ri i  Gv OHM' s Law I
V

One equation and three variables.

 R
Given ANY two the third can be found 12[V ] R  3
G ive n c u rre n t a n d re sista n c e  I  4[ A]
F in d th e vo lta g e
V  RI Notice use of Determine direction of the current
passive sign using passive sign convention
I  2A  convention
R  5 V  10[V ]

Table 1 Keeping Units Straight
Voltage Current Resistance
G ive n C u rre n t a n d Vo lta g e
F in d R e sista n c e Volts Amps Ohms
 I  4[ A]
Volts mA k
20[V ] R  5 mV A m

mV mA 
V
R
I
 



GIVEN VOLTAGE AND CONDUCTANCE OHM’S LAW v (t )  Ri (t ) UNITS?

REFERENCE DIRECTIONS SATISFY  4[V ]  (2)i (t )  i (t )  2[ A]
PASSIVE SIGN CONVENTION
i (t )  Gv (t ) OHM’S LAW

UNITS?

CONDUCTANCE IN SIEMENS, VOLTAGE 4V
IN VOLTS. HENCE CURRENT IN AMPERES
 v (t )   Ri (t )
i (t )  8[ A] 
OHM’S LAW
THE EXAMPLE COULD BE
GIVEN LIKE THIS
 RESISTORS AND ELECTRIC POWER A MATTER OF UNITS

Resistors are passive components Working with SI units Volt, Ampere

that can only absorb energy. Watt, Ohm, there is never a problem.
Combining Ohm’s law and the One must be careful when using
expressions for power we can derive multiples or sub multiples.
several useful expressions EXAMPLE : R  40 k, i  2mA
P  vi (Power) The basic strategy is to express
v  Ri , or i  Gv (Ohm' s Law) all given variables in SI units

Problem solving tip: There are four v  (40 *103 ) * (2 *10 3 A)  80[V ]
variables (P,v,i,R) and two equations. P  Ri 2  (40 *103 ) * (2 *10 3 A) 2 
Given any two variables one can find 160 *10 3 [W ]
the other two.
Given P , i Given v, R
P v v v2
v  ,R  i  , P  vi 
i i R R

Given i, R Given P, R
v  Ri , P  vi  Ri 2 P
i , v  Ri  PR
R
If not given, the reference
direction for voltage or current
can be chosen and the other is
given by the passive sign convention
DETERMINE CURRENT AND POWER ABSORBED
BY RESISTOR


P ?

I 3
VS  IR  VS  0 .5  10 [ A]
VS   10[V ]
G 50  106 [ S ]
 6mA
2
PI R
I2
P

0.5  103[ A]
 0
2
.5  10 2
[W ]
V 2 P  (12[V ])(6[mA]) G 6
50  10 [ S ]
2
P  VI  I R  5[mW ]
R  72[mW ]

0.6[mA]
V 6[V ]
I 
R 10k

P  I 2R
80  103[W ]
VS2 P  VS I R
P
R 80[mW ]  3
4  10 A
2

VS   5[V ] R  5 k
VS2  (10  103 )(3.6  103W ) VS  6[V ] 4[mA]
 KIRCHHOFF CURRENT LAW

ONE OF THE FUNDAMENTAL CONSERVATION PRINCIPLES

IN ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING

“CHARGE CANNOT BE CREATED NOR DESTROYED”

 NODES, BRANCHES, LOOPS A NODE CONNECTS SEVERAL COMPONENTS.
BUT IT DOES NOT HOLD ANY CHARGE.

TOTAL CURRENT FLOWING INTO THE NODE

MUST BE EQUAL TO TOTAL CURRENT OUT
OF THE NODE

(A CONSERVATION OF CHARGE PRINCIPLE)

NODE: point where two, or more, elements

are joined (e.g., big node 1)
LOOP: A closed path that never goes
twice over a node (e.g., the blue line)
The red path is NOT a loop NODE

BRANCH: Component connected between two

nodes (e.g., component R4)
 KIRCHHOFF CURRENT LAW (KCL)
SUM OF CURRENTS FLOWING INTO A NODE IS
EQUAL TO SUM OF CURRENTS FLOWING OUT OF
THE NODE


5A  5A
A current flowing into a node
is equivalent to the negative
flowing out of the node
ALGEBRAIC SUM OF CURRENT (FLOWING) OUT OF
A NODE IS ZERO

ALGEBRAIC SUM OF CURRENTS FLOWING INTO A

NODE IS ZERO
A node is a point of connection of two or more circuit elements.
It may be stretched out or compressed for visual purposes…
But it is still a node
A GENERALIZED NODE IS ANY PART OF A
CIRCUIT WHERE THERE IS NO ACCUMULATION
OF CHARGE

... OR WE CAN MAKE SUPERNODES BY

AGGREGATING NODES

Leaving 2 : i1  i6  i4  0
Leaving 3 :  i2  i4  i5  i7  0
Adding 2 & 3 : i1  i2  i5  i6  i7  0
INTERPRETATION: SUM OF CURRENTS LEAVING
NODES 2&3 IS ZERO
VISUALIZATION: WE CAN ENCLOSE NODES 2&3
INSIDE A SURFACE THAT IS VIEWED AS A
GENERALIZED NODE (OR SUPERNODE)
PROBLEM SOLVING HINT: KCL CAN BE USED WRITE ALL KCL EQUATIONS
TO FIND A MISSING CURRENT
SUM OF CURRENTS INTO
b NODE IS ZERO
5 A  I X  (3 A)  0
IX  ? I X  2 A
5A
c a
Which way are charges
flowing on branch a-b?
3A
d

...AND PRACTICE NOTATION CONVENTION AT

THE SAME TIME...

I ab  2 A, NODES: a,b,c,d,e
BRANCHES: a-b,c-b,d-b,e-b
I cb  3 A
d
I bd  4 A -3 A
c 4A
I be  ?
Ibe = ?
b
2A THE FIFTH EQUATION IS THE SUM OF THE
a e FIRST FOUR... IT IS REDUNDANT!!!

I be  4 A  [(3 A)]  (2 A)  0

 FIND MISSING CURRENTS

KCL DEPENDS ONLY ON THE INTERCONNECTION.

THE TYPE OF COMPONENT IS IRRELEVANT
KCL DEPENDS ONLY ON THE TOPOLOGY OF THE CIRCUIT
WRITE KCL EQUATIONS FOR THIS CIRCUIT
•THE LAST EQUATION IS AGAIN LINEARLY
DEPENDENT OF THE PREVIOUS THREE
•THE PRESENCE OF A DEPENDENT SOURCE
DOES NOT AFFECT APPLICATION OF KCL
KCL DEPENDS ONLY ON THE TOPOLOGY
 Find I1 Find I T

I1  50mA IT  10mA  40mA  20mA

Find I1 and I2
Find I1
I 2  3mA  I1  0 I1  4mA  12mA  0

10mA  4mA  I1  0
 Find ix

10i x  i x  44mA  0
i x  10i x  120mA  12mA  0
i x  4mA

I 3  I 2  I1  0 I5  I 4  I3  0
I1 I3 I5
I 1 = 14
_ _mA
_____
+
-
I 5 = _ _4_mA
____
I2 I4

I 2 = 6 m A, I 3 = 8 m A, I4 = 4 m A
 I3 DETERMINE THE CURRENTS INDICATED

2I 2
I1 I 4  2mA
I4
+
-

+
-
I6
I 5  5mA
5mA I5 I 2 8mA
THE PLAN

I1  2mA, I 2  3mA, I 3  53mA MARK ALL THE KNOWN CURRENTS

FIND NODES WHERE ALL BUT ONE CURRENT

I 6  I1  2 I 2  0  I 6  8mA 2 ARE KNOWN

I5  I 2  I6  0
I 4  I3  I5  0
 FIND I x
Ix  3mA

I X  I1  2 I X  0

I1  4mA  1mA  0
VERIFICATION
I b  1mA  I X  2mA
I1  3mA 1mA 2 I X  4mA  I b
Ib

2I x 4mA
 KIRCHHOFF VOLTAGE LAW

ONE OF THE FUNDAMENTAL CONSERVATION LAWS

IN ELECTRICAL ENGINERING

THIS IS A CONSERVATION OF ENERGY PRINCIPLE

“ENERGY CANNOT BE CREATE NOR DESTROYED”
 A “THOUGHT EXPERIMENT”
KIRCHHOFF VOLTAGE LAW (KVL)
KVL IS A CONSERVATION OF ENERGY PRINCIPLE
B VB
W  qV AB

V B
A POSITIVE CHARGE GAINS ENERGY AS IT MOVES

AB
TO A POINT WITH HIGHER VOLTAGE AND RELEASES

V

C
ENERGY IF IT MOVES TO A POINT WITH LOWER


VOLTAGE q  W  qVBC
B VC
W  q (VB  VA ) VB VA  VCA 
W  qVCA
IF THE CHARGE COMES BACK TO THE SAME
q  INITIAL POINT THE NET ENERGY GAIN
VA MUST BE ZERO (Conservative network)
OTHERWISE THE CHARGE COULD END UP WITH
INFINITE ENERGY, OR SUPPLY AN INFINITE
AMOUNT OF ENERGY
q q (V AB  VBC  VCD )  0
  Vab 
LOSES W  qVab
a b KVL: THE ALGEBRAIC SUM OF VOLTAGE
q
  Vcd  DROPS AROUND ANY LOOP MUST BE ZERO
GAINS W  qVcd
c d V    (V ) 
A B A B
A VOLTAG E RISE IS
A NEGATIVE DROP
 PROBLEM SOLVING TIP: KVL IS USEFUL
TO DETERMINE A VOLTAGE - FIND A LOOP
INCLUDING THE UNKNOWN VOLTAGE
THE LOOP DOES NOT HAVE TO BE PHYSICAL


Vbe

 VS  VR  VR  VR  0
1 2 3

VR  12V EXAMPLE : VR1 , VR3 ARE KNOWN

2

DETERMINE THE VOLTAGE Vbe

VR  18V
VR  Vbe  VR  30[V ]  0
1

1 3

LOOP abcdefa
BACKGROUND: WHEN DISCUSSING KCL WE SAW A SNEAK PREVIEW ON THE NUMBER OF
THAT NOT ALL POSSIBLE KCL EQUATIONS LINEARLY INDEPENDENT EQUATIONS
ARE INDEPENDENT. WE SHALL SEE THAT THE IN THE CIRCUIT DEFINE
SAME SITUATION ARISES WHEN USING KVL
N NUMBER OF NODES
B NUMBER OF BRANCHES
N 1 LINEARLY INDEPENDEN T
KCL EQUATIONS
B  ( N  1) LINEARLY INDEPENDEN T
KVL EQUATIONS

EXAMPLE: FOR THE CIRCUIT SHOWN WE HAVE

N = 6, B = 7.
HENCE THERE ARE ONLY TWO INDEPENDENT
KVL EQUATIONS

THE THIRD EQUATION IS THE SUM OF THE

OTHER TWO!!
 DEPENDENT SOURCES ARE HANDLED WITH THE
FIND THE VOLTAGES Vae ,Vec SAME EASE

GIVEN THE CHOICE USE THE SIMPLEST LOOP

 Vad  ______
Vac  4  6  0 10V
Vac  ______
6V
Vbd  ______

11V
Vbd  _______
MUST FIND VR FIRST
Vbd  2  4  0 1

 12  V R  1  10V R  0  V R  1V
1 1 1

DEPENDENT SOURCES ARE NOT REALLY

DIFFICULT TO ANALYZE
REMINDER: IN A RESISTOR THE VOLTAGE AND
CURRENT DIRECTIONS MUST SATISFY THE
Veb  4  6  12  0 PASSIVE SIGN CONVENTION

Vad  12  8  6  0

V
Vad  _______, Veb  ________   V 
 SAMPLE PROBLEM

 4V  b  Vx  DETERMINE
 R  2k 
Vx  4V
V1 + +
V2
Vab  -8V
- -

 
Power disipated on
V1  12V , V2  4V a
the 2k resistor Remember
past topics
P2k 
We need to find a closed path where only one voltage is unknown

FOR V X V X  V2  Vab  0
V X  V2  V1  4  0
Vab  V X  V2
V X  4  12  4  0
 There are no loops with only
10k 5k one unknown!!!

  Vx  - Vx/2 +
+ Vx
25V
+
- V1 -
4
 
The current through the 5k and 10k
resistors is the same. Hence the
voltage drop across the 5k is one half
VX VX
of the drop across the 10k!!!V1   0
4 2
VX VX
 25[V ]  V X   0 V
2 4 V1   X  5[V ]
V X  20[V ] 4