Basic Laws - Chapter 2

2.1 Ohms Law.

2.2 Kirchhoffs Laws.
2.3 Series Resistors and Voltage Division.
2.4 Parallel Resistors and Current Division.
2.5 Nodes, Branches, and Loops.

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 2.1 Ohms Law (1)
Ohms law states that the voltage across a resistor is
directly proportional to the current I flowing through
the resistor.

Mathematical expression for Ohms Law is as

follows:
v iR
Two extreme possible values of R: 0 (zero) and
(infinite) are related with two basic circuit concepts:
short circuit and open circuit.

2
 2.1 Ohms Law (2)

Conductance is the ability of an element to conduct electric

current; it is the reciprocal of resistance R and is measured in
mhos or siemens.
1 i
G
R v
The power dissipated by a resistor:

2
v
p vi i 2 R
R

3
 2.2 Kirchhoffs Laws (1)

Kirchhoffs current law (KCL) states that the algebraic sum

of currents entering a node is zero.

Mathematically,
N

i
n 1
n 0

-i1+i2-i3-i4+i5 = 0

4
 2.2 Kirchhoffs Laws (2)

Kirchhoffs voltage law (KVL) states that the algebraic sum

of all voltages around a closed path (or loop) is zero.

M
Mathematically,
v
i 1
i 0 -v1+v2+v3-v4+v5 = 0

5
 2.2 Kirchhoffs Laws (3)

Example :
Applying the KVL equation for the circuit of the figure below.

-va+v1+vb+v2+v3 = 0

V1 = IR1 v2 = IR2 v3 = IR3

va-vb = I(R1 + R2 + R3)

va vb
I
R1 R2 R3
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 2.3 Series Resistors and Voltage Division (1)

Series: Two or more elements are in series if they are cascaded

or connected sequentially and consequently carry the same
current.

The equivalent resistance of any number of resistors connected

in a series is the sum of the individual resistances.

N
Req R1 R2 RN Ri
i 1

7
 2.3 Series Resistors and Voltage Division (2)
For 2 resistors connected in series the voltage divider on resistance R2 can be expressed:

For N resistors connected in series the voltage divider on resistance Rn can be expressed:

Rn
vn v
R1 R2 RN

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 2.4 Parallel Resistors and Current Division (1)

Parallel: Two or more elements are in parallel if they are

connected to the same two nodes and consequently have the
same voltage across them.

The equivalent resistance of a circuit with N resistors in

parallel is:

1 1 1 1

Req R1 R2 RN
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 2.4 Parallel Resistors and Current Division (2)

Current divides up in a circuit based on the formula:

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 Describing a Circuit The vocabulary

Consider the following circuit

Node A point where two or more circuit elements join a

Essential node A node where three or more circuit elements join b

path A trace of adjoining basic elements with no elements v 1 R1 R 5 R 6

included
branch A path that connects two nodes or two terminal element R1
Essential branch A path that connects two essential nodes without v 1 R1
passing through an essential node
loop A path whose last node is the same as the v 1 R1 R 5 R 6 R 4 v 2
starting node
mesh A loop that does not enclose any other loops v 1 R1 R 5 R 3 R 2
Planar Circuit A circuit that can be drawn on a plane with no
crossing branches
Example 4.1 For the circuit identify the following

(a) All nodes ?

(b) The essential nodes ?

(c) All branches ?

(e) All meshes ?

(g) Two loops that are not meshes ?

(a) All nodes ?

The nodes are a, b, c, d, e, f and g

(b) The essential nodes ?

A node where three or more circuit elements join

The essential nodes are b, c, e and g

(c) All branches ?

Any two terminal element

The branches are

v 1 , v 2 , R1 , R 2 , R 3 , R 4 , R 5 , R 6 , R 7 and I
 (e) All meshes ?

The meshes are

v 1 R1 R 5 R 3 R 2 v 2 R 2 R 3 R 6 R 4 R 5 R 7 R 6 R 7 I
 (g) Two loops that are not meshes ?

v 1 R1 R 5 R 6 R 4 v 2
is a loop , but it is not a mesh because there are two loops within it

I R5 R6 is a loop , but it is not a mesh because there are two loops within it
 Simultaneous Equations- How many

Let the circuit as shown

There are nine branches in which the current is unknown

Note that the current I is known

 i1 i2
i9
i6
i7 i3
i8 i4

i5
Since there are nine unknown current Therefore we need nine independent equations

Since there are 7 nodes There will be 6 independent KCL equations since the
7th one can be written in terms of the 6 equations

We still need 3 more equations They will come from KVL around three meshes
or loops
Note the meshe or loop we apply KVL around should not contain the current source I
since we do not know the voltage across it
 i1 i2
i9
i6
i7 i3
i8 i4

i5
Since KCL at the non essential (connecting two circuit elements only) like a , d , f
will have the following results

i 9 i1 i3 i7 i5 i8
Therefore we have 6 currents and 4 essential nodes (connecting three or more circuit
elements) like b, c, e, g
 Therefore

i1 i2
i6
i3
i4

i5
Applying KCL to 3 of the 4 essential nodes since KCL on the 4th node will have an
equation that is not independent but rather can be derived from the 3 KCL equations
Applying KCL to the essential nodes b, c, and e ( we could have selected any three
essential nodes) we have

KCL at node b we have i 1 i 2 i 6 I 0

KCL at node c we have i1 i 3 i 5 0

KCL at node e we have i3 i4 i2 0

Which is a linear combination
Note applying KCL on node g i5 i4 i6 I 0 of the other KCLs
 i1 i2 i6

i3
i4

i5
Therefore the remaining 3 equations will be derived from KVL around 3 meshes
Since there are 4 meshes only, we will use the three meshes with out the current source

KVL around mesh 1 R 1i 1 R 5i 2 ( R 2 R 3 )i 3 v 1 0

KVL around mesh 2 ( R 2 R 3 )i 3 R 6i 4 R 4i 5 v 2 0

KVL around mesh 3 R 5i 2 R 7 i 6 R 6 i 4 0

 i1 i2 i6

i3
i4

i5
KCL Equations

i 1 i 2 i 6 I 0
i1 i 3 i 5 0
6 equations and 6 unknown
i3 i4 i2 0 which can be solved for the
KVL Equations currents
R 1i 1 R 5i 2 ( R 2 R 3 )i 3 v 1 0
( R 2 R 3 )i 3 R 6i 4 R 4i 5 v 2 0

R 5i 2 R 7 i 6 R 6 i 4 0