Introductory Concept of

Electrical Circuits
Engr. Emmerson A. Canuel
This endless circulation of electric fluid
may appear paradoxical, but it is no
less true and real and you may feel it
with your hands

Alessandro Volta
 Definitions and Units

Electric Circuit or Electric Network

- a collection of electrical elements interconnected in some
specified way.
Example
Terms Definition
Meter (m) Basic unit for length
Kilogram (kg) Basic unit for mass
Second (s) Basic unit for time
Coulomb (C ) Basic unit for electric charge
Named after the French scientist, inventor and army engineer Charles Augustin de
Coulomb (1763-1806), who was an early pioneer in the fields of friction, electricity
and magnetism
Newton ( N) Fundamental unit for force
1N = 1kg-m/𝑠 2
Named after the great English scientist, astronomer, and mathematician Sir Isaac
Newton (1642-1727)
Joule (J) Fundamental unit of work or energy
Named after the British Physicist James P. Joule (1818-1889) who shared in the
discovery of the law of conservation of energy and helped establish the idea that
heat is a form of energy.
1J = 1N-m
Watt (W) Fundamental unit for power
Named after James Watt (1736-1819), an Scottish engineer whose engine design
first made steam power practicable
1W = 1J/s
Prefixes in International System of Units (SI)
Charge and Current
Electric Current
 Example
1. The total charge entering a terminal of an element is given by
𝑞 = 2𝑡 3 − 4𝑡 𝑚𝐶
Find the current i at t=1 and t=2s

2. The current entering a terminal is given by

𝑖 = 1 + 𝜋 sin 2𝜋𝑡 𝐴
Find the total charge entering the terminal between t=0 and t=1.5s

3. How many electrons are represented by a charge of 0.64084 pC?

Each electron has -1.602 x 10−19 C
Voltage, Energy, and Power
Circuit Elements
Passive Element
Active Element
Electrical Sources
Independent and Dependent Sources
Independent Voltage Source
Independent Current Source
Dependent (Controlled)Sources
Ideal Basic Circuit Element