Unit Two

Basic Laws
1. Introduction:
Unit one introduced basic concepts such as current, voltage, and power in an
electric circuit. To actually determine the values of these variables in a given circuit
requires that we understand some fundamental laws that govern electric circuits.
These laws, known as Ohm’s law and Kirchhoff’s laws, form the foundation upon
which electric circuit analysis is built.

2. Ohm’s law:
Materials in general have a characteristic behavior of resisting the flow
of electric charge. This physical property, or ability to resist current, is
known as resistance and is represented by the symbol R. The resistance of
any material depends on A and its length l, as shown in Figure below:

Where:
: is known as the resistivity of the material in
ohm-meters
l : is the length of the material.
A : Cross sectional area.

The table below presents the values of for some common materials and shows which
materials are used for conductors, insulators, and semiconductors.

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 Ohm’s law
states that the voltage V across a resistor is directly proportional to the current I flowing
through the resistor.
VI

V= I.R
 ..............(1)

V V
So from (1) I= R=
R and I
 A short circuit is a circuit element with resistance approaching zero.
 An open circuit is a circuit element with resistance approaching infinity.

 For the conductance:

1
G¿ R
I
G¿ V and I = G . V
The power dissipated by a resistor can be expressed in terms of R:
V2
P=V.I=I .R= 2
R

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3. Series Resistors and Voltage Division:
Resistance in Series: When some conductors having resistances R1, R2 and R3
etc. are joined end on-end, they are said to be connected in series. It can be proved that
the equivalent resistance or total resistance between points A and D is equal to the sum
of the three individual resistances.

V = V 1 + V2 + V3
= I.R1 + I.R2 + I.R3 ....Ohm’s Law

But

V = I.Req

Where: Req is the equivalent resistance of the series combination.

Then

I.Req = I.R1 + I.R2 + I.R3 or

Req = R1 + R2 + R3

also

1/Geq=1/G1+1/G2+1/G3 as G = 1/ R

The equivalent resistance Req of any number of resistors connected in series is the sum
of the individual resistances.

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As seen from above, the main characteristics of a series circuit are :

1. Same current flows through all parts of the circuit.

2. Different resistors have their individual voltage drops.
3. Voltage drops are additive.
4. Applied voltage equals the sum of different voltage drops.
5. Resistances are additive.
6. Powers are additive.

Voltage Divider Rule:

Since in a series circuit resistors, same current flows through each of the given,
voltage drop varies directly with its resistance.
According to Voltage Divider Rule, for the given figure various voltage drops are:

R1
V 1=V .
R 1+ R 2+ R 3

R2
V 2=V .
R 1+ R 2+ R 3

R3
V 3=V .
R 1+ R 2+ R 3

So the values of V1, V2 and V3 can be

determined for the given values in the
figure:

2
V 1=24. =4 V
2+ 4+6

4
V 2=24. =8 V
2+ 4+ 6

6
V 3=24. =12 V
2+ 4+ 6

V = 4 + 8 +12 = 24 V which is equal to the supply voltage.

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 4. Parallel Resistors and Current Division:

Two resistors, as joined in the Figure are said to be connected in parallel. In this case
Voltage across all resistances is the same
 Current in each resistor is different and is given by Ohm’s Law and
 The total current is the sum of the two separate currents.
I = I1 + I2

V V
= +
R1 R2 ........... Ohm's Law

V V V V
= +
Req R 1 R 2
Since I = R
by Ohm's Law

Where (Req) is the equivalent (or total) resistance

of the circuit.
Then

1 1 1 R 1. R 2
= + 
Req R 1 R 2 R 1+ R 2 = Req

It is important to remember that: The equivalent resistance of two parallel

resistors is equal to the product of their resistances divided by their sum. It must be
emphasized that this applies only to two resistors in parallel.

For the case of a circuit with N resistors in parallel, the equivalent resistance is:

Note that Req is always smaller than the resistance of the smallest resistor in the
parallel combination.
R
If R1 = R2 = ..........= RN = R then N = Req

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Current Divider Rule:

In a parallel circuit, the total current into the

junction of the parallel branches divides among the
branches. Thus, a parallel circuit acts as a current
divider.

This current-divider principle is illustrated in given Figure for a two-branch

parallel circuit in which part of the total current I goes through R1 and part through R2.

By Using current divider rules Brunch currents can be fined as follow:

R2
I 1=I .
R 1+ R 2

R1
I 2=I .
R 1+ R 2

Example:
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For the circuit shown in figure determine:
a) The battery voltage V.
b) The total resistance of the circuit.
c) The values of resistance of resistors R1, R2 and R3, given that the voltage across
R1, R2 and R3 are 5V, 2V and 6V respectively.

Solution:

Example:
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For the given circuit determine:
a) The reading on the ammeter.
b) The value of resistor R2.

Solution:

Example: find the following, in the circuit shown below:

a) The value of the supply voltage V.

b) The value of current I.

Solution:

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 Example:
Find Req for the circuit shown in figure below:

Solution Figure (1)

Figure (2)
Figure (3)

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Practice Problem:

Examples

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5. Nodes, Branches, and Loops:

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

A branch represents a single element such as a voltage source or a resistor.
A loop is any closed path in a circuit.

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6. Kirchhoff’s Laws:
Kirchhoff’s current law (KCL:) states that the algebraic sum of currents entering a
node (or a closed boundary) is zero.

Mathematically, KCL implies that:

Where N is the number of branches connected to the node and In is the nth current
entering (or leaving) the node. By this law:

 Currents entering a node may be regarded as positive,

 While currents leaving the node may be taken as negative or vice versa.

Consider the node in Fig. Applying KCL gives:

I1 – I2 + I 3 + I 4 – I5 = 0

Then

I1 + I3 + I4 = I2 + I5

The sum of the currents entering a node is equal to the sum of the currents leaving
the node.

Consider another example on KCL, the current sources in the below figure combined
together. Applying KCL yields:

IT + I2 = I1 + I3

Or

IT = - I2 + I 1 + I 3

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Kirchhoff’s voltage law (KVL) : states that the algebraic sum of all voltages around a
closed path (or loop) is zero.

Expressed mathematically, KVL states that

Where M is the number of voltages in the loop and Vm is the mth voltage.

 To illustrate KVL, consider the circuit in Figure below. The sign on each voltage is
the polarity of the terminal encountered first as we travel around the loop.

 We can start with any branch and go around the loop either clockwise or
counterclockwise

 Suppose we start with the voltage source and go clockwise around the loop as
shown; then the sign would be the sign of the terminal which is met first.

– V1 + V2 + V3 – V4 + V5=0

Or

V2 + V3 + V5= V1 + V4

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7. Wye-Delta Transformations:
1- Delta to Wye Conversion:

Each resistor in the Y network is the product of the resistors in the two adjacent 
branches, divided by the sum of the three  resistors

2- Wye to Delta Conversion:

Each resistor in the  network is the sum of all possible products of Y resistors taken
two at a time, divided by the opposite Y resistor.

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