OHM’S LAW

In electric circuit, the resistor is the simplest passive element. The mathematical
relationship of the calculation of each element in an electric circuit was introduced by a
German physicist named, Georg Simon Ohm, which is known as Ohm’s Law.

 Georg Simon Ohm. A German Physicist and Mathematician developed one

of the most important laws of electric circuit in 1827, the Ohm’s Law.

Ohm’s Law: The voltage across any types of conducting materials is directly
proportional to the current flowing through the material, in
mathematical form.

V  IR
V
I
R
V
R
I

where:
R  Proportionality constant The resistance R of an
= Resistance (Ohm, ) element denotes its ability
to resist the flow of current.
I  Current (Ampere, A)
V  Voltage (Volt, V)

POWER:

P  VI
P  I 2R
V2
P
R

where:
P  Power (Watt, W)
I  Current (Ampere, A)
V  Voltage (Volt, V)

ENERGY:

W  Pt
W  VIt
 where:
W  Energy, (J, kW-hr)
P  Power (W or kW)
t  time (second, hour)

Sample Problems:

1. What is the potential drop across a 10  resistor if the current through it is 1.5 A?

Given: R  10 , I  1.5 A

Required: V ?
Solution:

V  IR
V  1.5 A 10 
V  15 V
2. How much resistance is required to limit the current to 1.5 mA if the voltage drop across the
resistor is 12 V?

Given: V  12V , I  1.5mA

Required: R?
Solution:

V
R
I
12V

1.5 X 10 3 A
 8000
R  8k 
3. The voltage across a 500 is 12 V. what will be the current through the resistor?
Given: V  12V , R  500

Required: I ?
Solution:
 V
I
R
12V

500
I  0.024 A
4. If 1,500 J of energy are absorbed by a resistor in 10 minutes, what is the power to the
resistor?

Given: W  1, 500 J , t  10 minutes

Required: P?
Solution:

W
P
t
1500 J

 60 sec 
10 min  
 1 min 
P  2.5 Watts
5. A 1.5 kW electric heater is connected to a 240 V source. If the heater is on for 30 minutes,
how much energy is consumed in kilowatt-hour?

Given: P  1.5 kW, t  30 minutes

Required: W  ?, in kW-hr
Solution:

W  Pt
  1 hr  
 1.5kW 30min  
  60min  
W  0.75 kW-hr