AUTO 131 — Week 02 Worksheet

Your Name: Raúl Villena Amézquita

Instructions: Please answer the following questions. When finished, grade yourself at the
bottom of the page. Your instructor will quickly review your responses and enter your score in I-
Learn. As you work consider D&C 58:27-28. This assignment is graded on effort only. Do not
worry if you are unsure about an answer, just give it your best!  A set of correct answers will be
posted in next week's class announcement.

1. What is the difference between “power” and “ground” in an automotive electrical system,
and what causes voltage levels to drop as current flows through a circuit?

"Power" in an automotive electrical system, refers to the positive side of the circuit (from
the positive terminal of the battery to each resistor); "Ground" refers to the negative side
of the circuit (from the negative battery terminal to the resistors).
The voltage drops due to the resistance of each component in the circuit. Even when we
think that a conductor has no resistance, it has a small amount. That is why the main
resistor does not drop the total amount of voltage generated by the battery. The shorter
the wire, the less resistance it has.

2. What is the difference between a complete/closed circuit and an incomplete/open

circuit? Please provide a real-world example of each.

A closed circuit is when the electrons flow through it, and an open circuit is when the
electrons doesn’t flow, because some part of the circuit is not connected. The best
example of it is what happens when we turn on/off a light bulb with the switch.

As we see in this image, when the light is turned on, a mechanism

closes the circuit to allow current flow. And if we turn off the light,
the same mechanism opens the circuit, interrupting the electrons
flow.

3. What are the equations for Ohm’s Law and Watt’s Law? Please explain what you
understand about each law.

The Ohm’s law equation is:

 Voltage = Intensity Current X Resistance (V=ER)

This equation explains the relationship between the voltage, current and resistance; it
says that the amount of current is directly proportional to the voltage, but inversely
proportional with resistance. Or in other words, the current depends of the voltage of the
battery and of the resistance that opposes to the electrons flow. This means that if I
increase the voltage, the current increases and if I increase the resistance, the current
decreases.

The Watt’s equation is

Wattage = Voltage x Intensity of current

The wattage is the power produced by an appliance per second. Knowing that the
Current is the quantity of electrons which is measured in Coulombs, that flows per
second, and the voltage is the quantity of Joules (unity of energy) that flows per
Coulomb, multiplying them, we obtain the energy produced per second.

4. Explain the process you would use to find the total circuit resistance and the total circuit
current of a 12V series circuit containing two light bulbs. Assume both bulbs have a
resistance of 8Ω. Please show all calculations.

When a circuit is in series, the amount of resistance is summed and that would be the
total resistance of the circuit.
This means that if we sum 8Ω + 8Ω = 16Ω.

Knowing this, according to the Ohm’s law the current would be the ratio of the voltage
over the total resistance:

12V/16Ω = 0.75A

5. Explain the process you would use to find the total circuit resistance and the total circuit
current of a 12V parallel circuit containing two light bulbs. Assume bulb #1 has a
resistance of 8Ω and bulb #2 has a resistance of 4Ω. Please show all calculations.

To find the total resistance in a parallel circuit, we should know the current of each bulb.
For that, we have to divide the voltage over the resistance in each case:
12V/8Ω = 1.5A and 12V/4Ω = 3A

Knowing this, the total amount of current is the sum of the currents of each bulb:
1.5A+3A= 4.5A
 Then, according to the Ohm’s law:
12V = 4.5A X R

Solving for R=2.67 Ω

Grade Your Efforts: Indicate “yes” or “no” for each requirement.

1 POINT: I have made an honest attempt to present my responses using professional written
English (i.e complete sentences with correct spelling, punctuation, grammar, etc.).

yes

1 POINT: I have made an honest attempt to answer ALL questions in a detailed manner.
This generally requires a paragraph per answer or more (graphics, weblinks, etc. are
encouraged).

yes

1 POINT: I will collaborate in Perusall with other members of the class and/or my instructor
within 24 hours if I need help understanding this material.

yes