EE211 – Basic Electrical Engineering

II. Series, Parallel, Delta & Wye- Connected Resistors

TOPIC b. 17
c. 5
OUTLINE
d. 4
1. Nodes, Branches, and Loops 3. Resistors commonly used in power circuits are
2. Series-connected Resistors a. Carbon resistors
3. Parallel-connected Resistors b. Etched circuit resistors
4. Delta & Wye-connected Resistors c. Deposited metal resistors
d. Wire wound resistors
4. Which of the following has negative coefficient
LEARNING of resistance?
OBJECTIVES a. Wire wound resistor
b. Non-metals
After studying this module, you as a future Engineer
c. Thermistor
should be able to:
d. Metals
1. Solve series, parallel, and/or combination of 5. International ohm is defined in terms of
both connection of resistors. resistance of
2. Convert delta-connected to wye-connected a. A column of mercury
resistors or vice versa b. Unit length of metal wire
3. Analyze some complicated circuits. c. A cube of carbon
d. A cube of copper

OVERVIEW
Module 2 gives a brief discussion about the different
connections of resistors. We shall discuss some
techniques commonly applied in circuit design and
analysis. These techniques include combining
resistors in series or parallel, and delta-to-wye and
wye-to-delta transformations.
ACTIVATING
PRIOR KNOWLEDGE
Before you proceed to the learning module, I would
like to know your insights. Choose the letter of the
best answer in each questions.
1. The reciprocal of resistance is:
a. Voltage
b. Conductance
c. Current
d. Coulombs
2. A network has 12 branches and 8 independent
loops. How many nodes are there in the network?
a. 19
NODES, BRANCHES,
AND LOOPS
Since the elements of an electric circuit can be
interconnected in several ways, we need to
understand some basic concepts of network
topology. To differentiate between a circuit and a
network, we may regard a network as an
interconnection of elements or devices, whereas a
circuit is a network providing one or more closed
paths. The convention, when addressing network
topology, is to use the word network rather than
circuit. We do this even though the word network
and circuit mean the same thing when used in this
context. In network topology, we study the
properties relating to the placement of elements in
the network and the geometric configuration of the
network. Such elements include branches, nodes,
and loops.
Branch
A branch represents a single element such as a
voltage source or a resistor.

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In other words, a branch represents any two-terminal
element. The circuit in the figure below has five
branches, namely, the 10-V voltage source, the 2-A
current source, and the three resistors.
any other independent loop. Independent loops or
paths result in independent sets of equations.
RESISTORS

Resistor is a passive element of a circuit with a

definite value of resistance. Resistor is either fixed
or variable. Most resistors are of the fixed type,
meaning their resistance remains constant. The two
common types of fixed resistors (wirewound and
composition) are shown in the figure with its
electrical symbol

Node
A node is the point of connection between two or
more branches.

A node is usually indicated by a dot in a circuit. If a

short circuit (a connecting wire) connects two
nodes, the two nodes constitute a single node. The
circuit in the above figure has three nodes a, b, and
c. Notice that the three points that form node b are
connected by perfectly conducting wires and
therefore constitute a single point. The same is true
of the four points forming node c. We demonstrate
that the circuit in the above figure has only three
nodes by redrawing the circuit

Fixed resistors: (a) wirewound type, (b) carbon film type.

The composition resistors are used when large

resistance is needed. Variable resistors have
adjustable resistance. The symbol for a variable
resistor is shown together with its corresponding
actual image

The two circuits in the two figures are identical.

However, for the sake of clarity, nodes b and c are
spread out with perfect conductors as in the first
figure. Variable resistors: (a) composition type, (b) slider pot.

Loop
A loop is any closed path in a circuit.

A loop is a closed path formed by starting at a node,

passing through a set of nodes, and returning to the
starting node without passing through any node
more than once. A loop is said to be independent if it Circuit symbol for: (a) a variable resistor in general, (b) a
contains at least one branch which is not a part of potentiometer.

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A common variable resistor is known as a
SERIES-CONNECTED
potentiometer RESISTORS
or pot for short. The pot is a three-terminal element
with a sliding contact or wiper. By sliding the wiper, Series circuit – the resistances are connected end to
the resistances between the wiper terminal and the end
fixed
terminals vary. Like fixed resistors, variable resistors Two or more elements are in series if they
can be of either wirewound or composition type. exclusively share a single node. Example is the
Today most circuit components including resistors figure below
are either surface mounted or integrated, as typically
shown

Conductance
𝑅𝑇 = 𝑅1 + 𝑅2 + 𝑅3 + 𝑅4
A useful quantity in circuit analysis is the reciprocal
of resistance R, known as conductance and denoted
by G: The total resistance (RT ) is just the sum of all
resistors

Example 1:

What is the total resistance of a circuit with

The conductance is a measure of how well an
resistances 5, 10, and 15 ohms if it is connected in
element will conduct electric current. The unit of
series?
conductance is the mho (ohm spelled backward) or
reciprocal ohm, with symbol the inverted omega.
Solution:
Although engineers often use the mho, in this book
R T = R1 + R 2 + R 3
we prefer to use the siemens (S), the SI unit of
R T = 5 + 10 + 15
conductance:
R T = 30 ohms

Conductance is the ability of an element to conduct

electric current; it is measured in mhos ( ) or
siemens (S). PARALLEL-CONNECTED
RESISTORS
Note:
A short circuit is a circuit element with resistance Parallel circuit – the resistances are connected
approaching zero. across each other.
An open circuit is a circuit element with resistance
approaching infinity Two or more elements are in parallel if they are
connected to the same two nodes. Example is the
figure below

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 Solution:
Since there are four elements in the circuit, the
circuit has four branches: 10 V, 5 ohms, 6 ohms, and
2 A. The circuit has three nodes as identified

1
𝑅𝑇 =
1 1 1 1
+ + +
𝑅1 𝑅2 𝑅3 𝑅4

Elements are in series when they are chain-

The 5-ohm resistor is in series with the 10-V voltage
connected or connected sequentially, end to end.
source because the same current would flow in
For example, two elements are in series if they share
both. The 6-ohm resistor is in parallel with the 2-A
one common node and no other element is
current source because both are connected to the
connected to that common node. Elements in
same nodes 2 and 3.
parallel are connected to the same pair of terminals.
Elements may be connected in a way that they are
neither in series nor in parallel.

DELTA & WYE-

Example 2: CONNECTED
What is the total resistance of a circuit with RESISTORS
resistances 5, 10, and 15 ohms if it is connected in
parallel? Situations often arise in circuit analysis when the
resistors are neither in parallel nor in series. For
Solution: example how will you combine the resistances of
1
RT = 1 1 1 this kind of circuit;
+ +
R1 R2 R3
1
RT =
1 1 1
+ +
5 10 15
R T = 2.727 ohms

Example 3:

Determine the number of branches and nodes in the

circuit shown in the figure below. Identify which
elements are in series and which are in parallel.

Many circuits of the type shown can be simplified by

using three-terminal equivalent networks. These are
the a. wye (Y) or b. tee (T) network and the a. delta
(Δ) or b. pi (Π) network.

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 in the wye network. To obtain the equivalent
resistances in the wye network, we compare the two
networks and make sure that the resistance
between each pair of nodes in the Δ network is the
same as the resistance between the same pair of
nodes in the Y network.

These networks occur by themselves or as part of a

larger network. They are used in three-phase
networks, electrical filters, and matching networks.
Our main interest here is in how to identify them
when they occur as part of a network and how to
apply wye-delta transformation in the analysis of
that network.

Consider this figure in converting:

Each resistor in the Y network is the product of the

resistors in the two adjacent Δ branches, divided by
the sum of the three Δ resistors.

Wye to Delta Conversion

To obtain the conversion formulas for transforming

a wye network to an equivalent delta network, we
Delta to Wye Conversion note

Suppose it is more convenient to work with a wye

network in a place where the circuit contains a delta
configuration. We superimpose a wye network on
the existing delta network and find the equivalent
resistances

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 Example 4:

Convert the Δ network to an equivalent Y network.

Each resistor in the Δ network is the sum of all possible

products of Y resistors taken two at a time, divided Solution:
by the opposite Y resistor.

In some cases, the Y and Δ networks are said to be

balanced when

Under these conditions, conversion formulas

become

One may wonder why RY is less than R Δ Well, we

notice that the Y connection is like a “series”
connection while the Δ -connection is like a “parallel”
connection.

Note that in making the transformation, we do not

take anything out of the circuit or put in anything
new. We are merely substituting different but
mathematically equivalent three-terminal network
patterns to create a circuit in which resistors are
either in series or in parallel, allowing us to calculate
Req if necessary.

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 4. The formulas for a delta-to-wye
transformation are
ACTIVITY

Solve the following in a separate sheet of paper.

1. Transform the wye network to a delta

network.
5. The formulas for a wye-to-delta
transformation are

2. The equivalent resistance of three resistors

A, B, and C connected in parallel is 1.714
ohms. If A is twice of B and C is half as
much as B. Find the equivalent resistance
when the three of them are connected in REFERENCES
series.
3. For the bridge network, find Rab

[1] Fundamentals of Electric Circuits by Charles

Alexander, Matthew Sadiku, 5th Edition

[2] Electric Circuits by Charles S. Siskind, 2nd Edition

[3] 1001 Solved Problems in Electrical Engineering

by Romeo A. Rojas Jr

SUMMARY Prepared by:

ENGR. JOHN RENZO M. GALINATO
1. A short circuit is a resistor (a perfectly, Faculty,
conducting wire) with zero resistance (R = Mechanical Engineering Department
0). An open circuit is a resistor with infinite College of Engineering and
resistance (R = infinity) Architecture
2. The conductance G of a resistor is the
reciprocal of its resistance.
3. A branch is a single two-terminal element in
an electric circuit. A node is the point of
connection between two or more branches.
A loop is a closed path in a circuit. The
number of branches b, the number of nodes
n, and the number of independent loops l in
a network are related as

II. Series, Parallel, Delta & Wye- Connected Resistors

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