ECE 1311: Electric

Circuits
Chapter 2: Basic laws
 Basic Law Overview
• Ideal sources – series and parallel
• Ohm’s law
• Definitions – open circuits, short circuits,
conductance, nodes, branches, loops
• Kirchhoff's law
• Voltage divider and series resistors
• Current divider and parallel resistors
• Wye-Delta transformations
 Overview on Kirchhoff’s Law

• It’s the foundation of circuit analysis

• There are two - Kirchhoff’s current law
(KCL) and Kirchhoff’s voltage law (KVL)
• It tell us how the voltage and current are
related within a circuit element are related
 Kirchhoff’s Current Law (1)
• Kirchhoff’s current law (KCL) states that the
algebraic sum of currents entering a node (or a
closed boundary) is zero.
• i.e. the sum entering a node is equal to the sum
leaving a node – based on the law on conservation
charge
 Kirchhoff’s Current Law (2)

• KCL also apply at the boundary

 Practice 1
• Given that essential node is the point between 3 or more
branches.
1 2

Essential node 1: i1 = i8 + i6
Essential node 2: i3 = i6 + 5
Essential node 3: i1 + 5 = i8 + i3
 Kirchhoff’s Voltage Law (1)

• Kirchhoff’s voltage law (KVL) states that the

algebraic sum of all voltages around a closed path
(or loop) is zero.

• Based on the conservation of energy

 Practice 2

L1 L2 L3

Loop 1: -10 – v2 + v8 = 0
Loop 2: -v8 – v6 + VI = 0
Loop 3: - Vi – v3 + v4 = 0
 Practice 2.5

L L5 L6
4

Loop 4: -10 – v2 – v6 + VI = 0

Loop 5: -10 – v2 – v6 – v3 + v4 = 0

Loop 6: -v8 – v6 – v3 + v4 = 0
 Practice 2.6
Apply KVL to find the value I
 -Va-V1-Vb-V2-V3 = 0

V1 = IR1 v2 = IR2 v3 = IR3

Þ Va-Vb = I(R1 + R2 + R3)

  𝑉 𝑎 −𝑉 𝑏
𝐼=
𝑅1 + 𝑅2 + 𝑅3
Summary on Ohm’s Law, KCL and
KVL

• Ohm’s Law
• KCL
•• KVL
 
0

• These law alone are sufficient to analyze many circuits

 Practice 2.7
 
Find

• Find v , v
2 6 and vI
 Practice 2.8

Find i0 and v0
Practice 2.9