ELECTRIC CIRCUIT

WHAT IS ELECTRIC CIRCUIT?

ELECTRIC CIRCUIT IS THE

COMPLETE FLOW OF CURRENT
THROUGH A CONDUCTOR OR
PATH FROM THE SOURCE TO THE
LOAD
COMPONENTS OF CIRCUIT
SOURCE
LOAD
CONTROL/SWITCH
PATH
Load
commonly represented by a
bulb or any electrical
component that consumes
electricity.
Supply
Commonly represented
by a cell or a battery
Switch
anelectrical device that
opens or closed a circuit.
PATH
ACONDUCTOR COMPOSED OF
TWO OR MORE LINES THAT
PROVIDE PASSAGE FOR THE
CURRENT FROM THE SOURCE TO
THE LOAD.
OHM’S LAW
 WHAT IS OHM’S LAW?

 GEORGE SIMON OHM-

DISCOVERED THE RELATION
SHIP OF VOLTAGE CURRENT
AND RESISTANCE IN A
CIRCUIT IN 1827
OHM’S LAW
CURRENT IS DIRECTLY PROPRORTIONAL
TO VOLTAGE
CURRENT IS INVERSELY PROPORTIONAL
TO RESISTANCE
WHAT IS VOLTAGE?

Voltage is the electrical force that

causes free electrons to move from
one atom to another.
"Volts" is the measure of "electrical
pressure" that causes current flow. ALESSANDRO VOLTA
WHAT IS CURRENT

Current is the rate at which

electrons flow past a point
in a complete electrical
circuit. At its most
basic, current = flow. ANDRE AMPERE
WHAT IS RESISTANCE?

Resistance is a measure of the

opposition to current flow in an
electrical circuit.
 SYMBOL
QUANTITY UNIT SYMBOL PROPONENT FORMULA

CURRENT AMPERE I OR A ANDRE I=V/R

AMPERE

VOLTAGE VOLT V OR E ALESSANDRO V=I X R

VOLTA

RESISTANCE OHM R GEORGE OHM R=V/I

POWER WATT P JAMES WATT P= I X E

Resistance vs Length
Let us investigate how length of the conductor affects
its resistance.

This activity will demonstrate the relationship of

resistance and length of conductor.
The materials that you will need...
3 dry cells Pencil sharpener
Connecting wires and alligator clips Cutter
4 used pencils Ruler
1 bulb socket 1 mini lightbulb
SERIES CIRCUIT AND
PARALLEL CIRCUIT
Series vs Parallel Circuits
Series Circuit Parallel Circuit
 Electrons only have one • There are MULTIPLE
path to flow through. paths for the current to
flow through.
Series Circuit

 When electrons have to flow through one part to get to the next part

 More components = more resistance

 Increase resistance = decrease current (flow)
 Less current = less bright bulbs
 As voltage increases, current increases
Series Circuit – Pros & Cons
Problems with Series:
 The more devices (resistors) in a series circuit, the less current passes
through (dimmer bulbs).

 If one resistor breaks (a bulb goes out) the entire series is turned off.
Series Circuit - Resistance
• Resistors – resists the flow of electrical current
• Increased resistance will reduce the rate at which charge flows (aka current)
• Total resistance goes UP with each resistor since the current has must go through each
resistor.

 Total Resistance = Sum of all resistors in the series

RT = R1+R2+ R3…
Series Circuit - Current

 Current = amount of charge (flow of electrons)

 Like the flow of water
A current can't just disappear
 Since only one path if some electrons flow through R1,
then they have to continue flowing through R2 and R3.

 Since the Current is the same through the entire circuit

IT=I1=I2=I3
Series Circuit - Voltage

 Voltage is the electric equivalent of water pressure.

 The higher the voltage, the faster electrons will flow through the
conductor.
 Each component has resistance that causes a drop in
voltage (reduction in voltage).

 Total Voltage = The sum of voltages across each series

resistors
VT = V1 + V2 + V3…
Series vs Parallel Chart

Series Parallel

Voltage (V) VT= V1 + V2 + V3…

Current (I) IT=I1=I2=I3

Resistance (R) RT = R1+R2+ R3…

 Series Circuit - Example

• Given
– Vbattery = 12 V
– R1 = 50 W, R2 = 10 W, R3 = 10 W
• Complete the following table
V I R V I R
R1 50 R1 8.5 0.17 50
R2 10 R2 1.7 0.17 10
R3 10 R3 1.7 0.17 10
TOTAL 12 70 TOTAL 12V 0.17A 70W
 Parallel Circuit – Pros and Cons
Advantages
 The more devices (resistors) in a parallel circuit, does not
decrease the current (does not dim bulbs).
 If one resistor breaks (a bulb goes out) the rest do not.

Problems
 Current doesn’t stay the same for entire circuit
 So energy is used up quicker
 So the total current increases = faster electrons = hotter wire = fire?
Which is better? Series or Parallel?

Parallel
 Most things are wired in parallel
 Because of the fact that the more you plug
in, the intensity doesn’t decrease.
 Of course, this also increases the risk of
fire
 This is why homes have fuses or circuit
breakers. They turn off everything in the
circuit when current moves too fast.
Parallel Circuit - Resistance

• Resistors added side-by-side

• The more paths, the less TOTAL resistance.
 1/ RT=1/R1+1/R2+1/R3
• Ex. 2 resistors in parallel with 4Ω each.
• Since the circuit offers two equal pathways for charge
flow, only 1/2 the charge will choose to pass through a
given branch.


Parallel Circuit - Current

 ALL paths are used!

But the charge divides up into all branches
One branch can have more current than another
branch (depends on resistance in branch).
 Total current = sum of current in each path
IT = I 1 + I 2 + …
Parallel Circuit - Voltage

• A charge only passes through a single

resistor.
• Voltage drop across the resistor that
it chooses to pass through must equal the
voltage of the battery.
• Total voltage = the voltage across each
individual resistor
 VT = V1 = V2 = …
 Series vs Parallel Chart

Series Parallel

Voltage (V) Vt = V1 + V2 + V3… VT = V1 = V2 = …

Current (I) It=I1=I2=I3 I T = I1 + I2 + …

Resistance (R) RT = R1+R2+ R3… 1/RT=1/R1+1/R2+1/R3

Parallel Circuit - Example

• Given
– Vbattery = 12 V
– R1 = 50 W, R2 = 10 W, R3 = 10 W
• Complete the following table:

V I R V I R
R1 50 R1 12 0.24 50
R2 10 R2 12 1.2 10
R3 10 R3 12 1.2 10
TOTAL 12 TOTAL 12V 2.64A 4.54W
A5 resistor is connected in
parallel namely
100,200,300,400 and 500ohms,
what will be the voltage of the
circuit if the current is 12.3A?
RESISTOR COLOR CODING
The most commonly used
electronic components in the
field are known as resistors.
Resistor is a discrete
component that offers
opposition to the flow of
current.
Resistors are very common and
are the cheapest electronic
components in the market for
so many years. Their features
are so interesting and are very
colorful. That’s why resistors
are very popular among
students studying electronics.
One distinct feature of this
resistance - giving component is
the way its value is determined.
It uses a set of colors which
follows a code for its assumed
resistance expressed in OHMS.
 COLORS 1ST BAND 2ND BAND MULTIPLIER TOLERANCE
BLACK ___ 0 1
BROWN 1 1 10

RED 2 2 102

ORANGE 3 3 103

YELLOW 4 4 104

GREEN 5 5 105

BLUE 6 6 106
VIOLET 7 7 ____
____
GRAY 8 8

WHITE 9 ____
9

____ _____
GOLD 0.1 ± 5%

SILVER ____ _____ 0.01 ± 10 %

NO COLOR ____ ____ ____ ± 20%
EXAMPLE:
 . 1. BROWN - BLACK - BROWN -
GOLD
 / / / /
 1 0 X 10 ± 5%
 10 X 10 = 100 OHMS ± 5%
 2. Yellow – Violet – Yellow - Silver
 / / /
/
 4 7 10000 ± 10%
 47 x 10000 = 470,000 Ohms ± 10%
 or 470K
ohms ±10%
2. Yellow – Violet – Yellow - Silver
/ / / /
4 7 10000 ±
10%