CEE 102/L

Physics 1 for Engineers

ULO 2f
Basic Electrical Concepts
Basic Electrical Quantities
Voltage, ( V ) is the potential energy of an electrical supply stored in the form of an
electrical charge. Voltage can be thought of as the force that pushes electrons through a
conductor and the greater the voltage the greater is its ability to “push” the electrons
through a given circuit. As energy has the ability to do work this, potential energy can
be described as the work required in joules to move electrons in the form of an
electrical current around a circuit from one point or node to another.

Then the difference in voltage between any two points, connections or junctions (called
nodes) in a circuit is known as the Potential Difference, (pd) commonly called the
Voltage Drop.
Basic Electrical Quantities
Electrical Current, ( I ) is the movement or flow of electrical charge and is measured in
Amperes. It is the continuous and uniform flow (called a drift) of electrons (the negative
particles of an atom) around a circuit that are being “pushed” by the voltage source. In
reality, electrons flow from the negative (–ve) terminal to the positive (+ve) terminal of
the supply and for ease of circuit understanding conventional current flow assumes that
the current flows from the positive to the negative terminal.
Basic Electrical Quantities
Resistance, ( R ) is the capacity of a material to resist or prevent the flow of current or,
more specifically, the flow of electric charge within a circuit. The circuit element which
does this perfectly is called the “Resistor”. Resistance is a circuit element measured in
Ohms, Greek symbol ( Ω, Omega )
How does voltage and resistance affect the current flow?
Georg Ohm found that, at a constant temperature,
the electrical current flowing through a fixed linear
resistance is directly proportional to the voltage
applied across it, and also inversely proportional to
the resistance. This relationship between the
Voltage, Current and Resistance forms the basis of
Ohm’s Law.
𝑉
𝐼=
𝑅
 Electrical Power, (P) in a circuit is the rate at which
ELECTRIC POWER energy is absorbed or produced within a circuit. A
source of energy such as a voltage will produce or
deliver power while the connected load absorbs it.
Light bulbs and heaters for example, absorb
electrical power and convert it into either heat, or
light, or both.
The quantity symbol for power is P and is the
product of voltage multiplied by the current with
the unit of measurement being the Watt ( W ).

𝑃=𝐼𝑉
2
𝑉
𝑃=𝐼 𝑅 2
𝑃=
𝑅
 Example 1: Example 2:
An electric iron draws 2.5 A at 230 V A 100-volt lamp has a hot resistance
source. Determine its resistance. of 250 ohms. Solve the kWh of
Solution:
energy it will consume after 12
hours of using it.
𝑉
𝑅= Solution:
𝐼
where: 𝐸=𝑃 × 𝑡
𝑉 =230 𝑉 where:
𝐼 =2.5 𝐴 𝑉 2 (10 0 𝑉 )
2

𝑃= ¿
therefore: 𝑅 250 Ω ¿ 40 𝑊𝑎𝑡𝑡𝑠

𝑉 230 𝑉
𝑡 =12 h𝑟𝑠
𝑅= ¿ therefore:
𝐼 2.5 𝐴
𝐸=𝑃 (𝑡 ) ¿( 40 𝑊 )(12 h𝑟𝑠)
𝑅=92 Ω
𝐸=480 W − hr
SERIES CIRCUIT Resistance Relation:

𝑅𝑡 = 𝑅 1+ 𝑅 2 + 𝑅3

Voltage Relation:

𝑉 𝑡 =𝑉 1 +𝑉 2 +𝑉 3

Current Relation:

𝐼 𝑡 = 𝐼 1= 𝐼 2 = 𝐼 3
 Example 3: Example 4:
A 3-Ω, a 5-Ω and a 4-Ω resistors are A current drawn by a 7-Ω load across a
connected in series across a battery of 12-V battery is 1.6 A, solve for the
6 volts. Determine the total resistance internal resistance of the battery.
and the total current in the circuit. Solution:
For the total resistance,
Solution:
𝑉 𝑇 12𝑉
𝑅𝑇 = 𝑅1+ 𝑅2 + 𝑅3 𝑅𝑇 = ¿
𝐼 𝑇 1.6 𝐴
𝑅𝑇 =3 Ω +5 Ω +4 Ω
𝑅𝑇 =7.5 Ω
𝑅𝑇 =12 Ω
Batteries have its internal resistance. When connected across
a load, its resistance is connected as in series connection.
For the total current,
Therefore,
𝑉𝑇 6𝑉
𝐼𝑇= ¿ 𝑅𝑇 = 𝑅1+ 𝑅𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑛𝑎𝑙
𝑅𝑇 12 Ω
7.5 Ω =7 Ω + 𝑅𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑛𝑎𝑙
𝐼 𝑇 =0.5 𝐴
𝑅𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑛𝑎𝑙 =0.5 Ω
PARALLEL CIRCUIT Resistance Relation:
1 1 1 1
= + +..+
𝑅𝑡 𝑅1 𝑅2 𝑅𝑛

Voltage Relation:

𝑉 𝑡 =𝑉 1 =𝑉 2=𝑉 𝑛

Current Relation:

𝐼 𝑡 = 𝐼 1 + 𝐼 2+…+ 𝐼 𝑛
Example 5:
An unknown resistance is connected in parallel with a 75-Ω
resistance. If a total current of 0.8 A flows when a 12-V battery
is applied across the combination, find the value of the
unknown resistance. Neglect resistance of the battery.

Solution:
For the total resistance, Therefore,
𝑉 𝑇 12𝑉
¿
1 1 1
𝑅𝑇 =
𝐼 𝑇 0.8 𝐴
= +
𝑅 𝑇 𝑅 1 𝑅𝑢𝑛𝑘𝑜𝑤𝑛
𝑅𝑇 =15 Ω
1 1 1
= +
15 Ω 7 5 Ω 𝑅𝑢𝑛𝑘𝑜𝑤𝑛

𝑅𝑢𝑛𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑤𝑛 =18.75 Ω