Series Resistors and Voltage Division

- The need to combine resistors in series and in parallel

occurs frequently that it warrants special attention
- For two resistors connected in series, the current
flowing through them are the same, since there is only
one conducting path within the connection
Series Resistors and Voltage Division
For the series circuit in the previous slide, applying
Ohm’s law to both of the resistors, we obtain

,
Series Resistors and Voltage Division
If we apply KVL to the loop (moving clockwise direction),
we have
Series Resistors and Voltage Division
Combining the loop equation and Ohm’s law from the
previous slides, we get

Or
Series Resistors and Voltage Division
The equation from the previous slide can also be written
as

Implying that the two resistances can be replaced by an

equivalent resistor that is
Series Resistors and Voltage Division
The equivalent resistance of any number of resistors
connected in series is the sum of the individual
resistances
Series Resistors and Voltage Division
To obtain the voltage across each resistor in the
connection in the previous slides

Wherein is the source voltage and and are the voltage drops
across and respectively
Series Resistors and Voltage Division
- The relationship from the previous slide is known as the voltage
division theorem (or principle of voltage division), and the circuit is
known as a voltage divider.
- Notice that the source voltage is divided among the resistors in
direct proportion to their resistances; the larger the resistance, the
larger the voltage drop.
Series Resistors and Voltage Division
In general if a voltage divider has resistors ,… in series
with the source voltage , the nth resistor will have a voltage drop
of
Parallel Resistors and Current Division
Parallel Resistors and Current Division
For the two resistors connected in parallel from the
previous slide, the voltage across them are equal. From
Ohm’s law we have

Or
,
Parallel Resistors and Current Division
Applying KCL at node gives the total current as
Parallel Resistors and Current Division
Substituting the expressions obtained through Ohm’s law
to the KCL equation from the previous slide we get
Parallel Resistors and Current Division
Wherein is the equivalent resistance of the two
resistors in parallel
Parallel Resistors and Current Division
The equivalent resistance of two parallel resistors is
equal to the product of their resistances divided by their
sum as the equation from the previous slide
Parallel Resistors and Current Division
For the general case of N connected resistors in parallel,
the equivalent resistance is given by

Or
Parallel Resistors and Current Division
- Note that for the previous expression, is always
smaller than the smallest resistor in the parallel
connection
- If all of the resistances are equal,
then the equivalent resistance is
Parallel Resistors and Current Division
For the same parallel circuit in the previous slides, given
the total current i, we know that the equivalent resistor
has the same voltage or
Parallel Resistors and Current Division
Combining the previous expression with and
would result in the expression

,
Parallel Resistors and Current Division
- The previous expression is known as the Current
Division Theorem (or principle of current division, CDT)
and the circuit is know as the current divider
- The expression shows that the total current is shared
by the resistors in inverse proportion to their
resistances. Notice that the larger current flows through
the smaller resistance
Example 10
Find the equivalent resistance in the given circuit
Example 11
Find the equivalent resistance in the given circuit
Example 12
Find and in the circuit shown below. Calculate and and the
power dissipated in the and resistor as well.