FOR THIS WEEK

• Read and make sure to understand the

concepts presented in this slide
presentation.
• I will give a quiz on Monday, April 10,
2023
• Problem-solving discussions to follow
• Reach out when there are questions.
 Module 5

Resistors; Kirchhoff’s
Rules
LESSON 1: RESISTORS
 Learning Competencies
1. Draw circuit diagrams with power sources (cell
or battery), switches, lamps, resistors (fixed
and variable) fuses, ammeters and voltmeters
2. Evaluate the equivalent resistance, current,
and voltage in a given network of resistors
connected in series and/or parallel
 Resistor
• An electrical device that is
used to resist, regulate or set
the flow of electrons through
them
Resistor
Resistor Color Coding
 Start reading from left to
right of the color band:
Brown = 1
Black = 0
Brown = 101 or 10
Gold = +/- 5%

Thus:

10 x 10 Ω 5% or

100 Ω 5%
What is the
resistance of the
resistor below?
What is the
resistance of the
resistor below?

Ans. 56x103 Ω or 56 kΩ +/- 5%

What if there are 5
bands?
If there are 5 bands,
the last two bands will
be the multiplier and
the tolerance,
respectively.
What is the resistance of
the resistor below?
What is the resistance of
the resistor below?
Resistors in Circuits
Resistors in Circuits

Voltage:
Vtotal = V1 + V2 + …+ Vn

Current:
I = I1 = I2 = … = I n

Resistance:
Ceq = C1 + C2 + … +Cn
 Resistors in Circuits
Voltage:
Vtotal = V1 = V2 = … = Vn

Charge:
I = I 1 + I2 + … + I n

Resistance:
1/Ceq = 1/C1 + 1/C2 + … + 1/ Cn
 Note
• You can solve circuit problems on
resistors using the same
approach as when you were
dealing with capacitors
• Instead of duplicating, we will
proceed instead to Kirchhoff’s
Rules, a different but more
general approach.
LESSON 2: KIRCHHOFF’S RULES
 Learning Competencies
1. Calculate the current and voltage
through and across circuit elements
using Kirchhoff’s loop and junction
rules (at most 2 loops only)
2. Solve problems involving the
calculation of currents and potential
difference in circuits consisting of
batteries, resistors and capacitors.
 Kirchhoff’s Rules
1. First Rule (Junction Rule)
 Current in = Current Out
 Law of Conservation of Charges
2. Second Rule (Loop Rule)
 Total potential around any closed
path is zero
 Law of Conservation of Energy
 First Rule (Junction Rule)

Iin = Iout
Here, 3A enters junction
X. It splits into two: 1A
and 2A. If you add these
currents: 1A +2A = 3A. X
So, whatever enters a
junction, the same
amount must come out
of it.
 First Rule (Junction Rule)
• Here, I1 entered
Junction a while I2
and I3 came out of
Junction a.
• Following the First
Rule, I1 = I2 + I3
• If you add I2 and I3,
observe that it is
equal to I1:
7A + 4A = 11A
 First Rule (Junction Rule)
• Note that if the direction of the
current I is not specified, you can
choose how the current goes
through the circuit.
• It does not matter if the direction
you have chosen is wrong, you
will still arrive at the right value,
but with negative sign.
 First Rule (Junction Rule)
• Just make sure that the direction
of the current I is consistent
throughout the loop where it is
flowing in.
 Second Rule (Loop Rule)

Here, we have
loop abcda. The
Second Rule
demands that the
voltage drops ΔV
sum up to 0.
 Second Rule (Loop Rule)

As we work on the
given diagram, we
will also note the
sign conventions
for the Second
Rule.
 Second Rule (Loop Rule)

Sign Conventions
when a traversing a
Battery:
+ -> traversed
from – to +
- -> traversed
from + to -
 Second Rule (Loop Rule)

For example,
traversing Loop
abcda from a to b to
c to d and back to a,
we entered the (-)
terminal and then
exited the (+)
terminal, so: +
 Second Rule (Loop Rule)

Sign Conventions
when Traversing a
Resistor:
-IR -> I follows the
direction of the loop
+IR -> I is in the
opposite direction of
the loop
 Second Rule (Loop Rule)

For example, in R1,

I follows the
direction of Loop
abcda (clockwise),
so:
-IR1
 Second Rule (Loop Rule)

For R2, I also

follows the
direction of Loop
abcda (clockwise),
so:
-IR2
 Second Rule (Loop Rule)

The same is true

when traversing
R3, so that:

-IR3
 Second Rule (Loop Rule)
Summing up the voltages:
0 = + +(-IR1) + (-IR2) + (-IR3)
0 = 12 V – I (1Ω +2 Ω + 3 Ω)
Observe that I is not given in the diagram but
we can compute for it immediately by
evaluating the equation above.
I = 2A
To check if equality is true.
0 = 12 V – 2A (1Ω +2 Ω + 3 Ω)
0 = 12 V – 2A (6 Ω)
0 = 12V – 12V =0
 Applying Kirchhoff’s Rules
• Kirchhoff’s Rules are very
convenient to use when dealing
with complex circuits with multiple
unknown variables.
• Basically, we use the two rules to
generate a system of linear
equations.
 Applying Kirchhoff’s Rules
• We then solve the system of linear
equations simultaneously using
substitution and elimination methods.
• Eventually, if we solve it correctly, we
should arrive at the right values.
• Again, negative answers simply mean
that the direction of current you have
assumed, if you did, is wrong.
 Applying Kirchhoff’s Rules
• The number of equations we need
to generate is equal to the
number of unknown variables.
• If there are two unknown
variables, then we need two
equations to solve for these
unknown variables.