Basic Electronics

Ninth Edition

Grob
Schultz

©2002 The McGraw-Hill Companies

Increasing V causes more I to flow in the bulb.
V
I =
R
R

pressure
V flow =
opposition
volts
I amperes =
ohms
There are three forms of
Ohm’s Law:
Where:
I = V/R I = Current
V = IR V = Voltage
R = V/I R = Resistance

I R
Applying Ohm’s Law V
? I R
20 V
20 V 4W I = =5A
4W

1A

? 12 W V = 1A x 12 W = 12 V

3A
6V
6V ? R = =2W
3A
 Units of Voltage
The basic unit of voltage is the Volt (V).
• Multiple units of • Submultiple units of
voltage are: voltage are:
kilovolt (kV) millivolt (mV)
1-thousand Volts 1-thousandth of a Volt
or 103 V or 10-3 V
megavolt (MV) microvolt (mV)
1-million Volts 1-millionth of a Volt
or 106 V or 10-6 V
 Units of Current
The basic unit of current is the Ampere (A).

• Submultiple units of current are:

milliampere (mA)
1-thousandth of an Ampere or 10-3 A
microampere (mA)
1-millionth of an Ampere or 10-6 A
 Units of Resistance
The basic unit of resistance is the Ohm (W).

• Multiple units of resistance are:

kilohm (kW)
1-thousand Ohms or 103 W
Megohm (MW)
1-million Ohms or 106 W
 When V is constant:
• I decreases as R increases
• I increases as R decreases

Examples:
• If R doubles, I is reduced to half.
• If R is reduced to ¼, I increases by 4.
This is known as an inverse relationship.
4A 2A 16 A

16 V 4W 16 V 8W 16 V 1W
 Fixed resistors have linear
volt-ampere relationships.
1W 2W
4

Amperes
+ 4W
2
0 to 9 Volts 2W
_ 1

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Volts

The smaller the resistor, the steeper the slope.

Example of a Non-Linear
Volt-Ampere Relationship

Amperes
Volts

As the tungsten filament gets

hot, its resistance increases.
2nd Example of a Non-Linear
Volt-Ampere Relationship

Amperes
Thermistor

Volts

As the thermistor gets

hot, its resistance
decreases.
 Power is the
time rate of doing work.
The basic unit of power is the Watt (W).
• Submultiple units of • Multiple units of
power are: power are:
milliwatt (mW) kilowatt (kW)
1-thousandth of a 1-thousand Watts
Watt or 10-3 W or 103 W
microwatt (mW) megawatt (MW)
1-millionth of a Watt 1-million Watts
or 10-6 W or 106 W
 The rate of work can be found by
multiplying potential difference times flow.
First, recall that:
1 Joule 1 coulomb
1 Volt = and 1 Ampere =
1 coulomb 1 second

Power = Volts x Amps

1 Joule 1 coulomb 1 Joule

Power (1 Watt) = x =
1 coulomb 1 second 1 second

The base unit of power is the Watt or Joule/second.

The amount of work (energy)
can be found by multiplying
power times time.

• The amount of work (energy) is

used for calculating electric bills.

• The kilowatt-hour is the billing unit.

 To calculate electric cost, start
with the power:
An air conditioner operates at 240 volts and 20
amperes.
The power is P = V x I = 240 x 20 = 4800 watts.
Convert to kilowatts:
4800 watts = 4.8 kilowatts
Multiply by hours: (Assume it runs half the day)
energy = 4.8 kW x 12 hours = 57.6 kWh
Multiply by rate: (Assume a rate of $0.08)
cost = 57.6 x $0.08 = $4.61 per day
Combining Ohm’s Law and the power formula
V = IR
V P = VI
I=
R

Substitute IR for V to obtain:

2
P = (IR)I = I R

Substitute V/R for I to obtain:

V V2
P=Vx =
R R
 Power Formulas
2
P  VI P  I 2R V
P
R
P P V2
I R 2 R
V I P
P P
V I V  PR
I R
Where:
• P = Power • I = Current
• V = Voltage • R = Resistance
Applying Power Formulas
5A

20 V 4W P = VI = 20 x 5 = 100 W

2
P = I R = 25 x 4 = 100 W
2
P= V = 400= 100 W
R 4
 Electrical Shock Hazard
• When possible, work only on circuits that
have the power shut off.
• If the power must be on, use only one
hand.

Hand-to-hand shocks
can be very dangerous!
 Open and Short Circuits
• An open circuit has zero current flow.
• A short circuit has excessive current flow.

excessive I
0A

16 V W 16 V 0W

16 V
I = = undefined
0W
As R approaches 0, I approaches .