Introduction to

Electronics
Lecture 2 (ELECTRICAL CIRCUITS)
Electric Circuits

• An electric circuit is any arrangement of resistors, wires, or other electrical

components (capacitors, inductors, transistors, lamps, motors, etc.)
connected together that has some level of current flowing through it.

• Typically, a circuit consists of a voltage source and a number of

components connected together by means of wires or other conductive
means

• Electric circuits can be categorized as series circuits, parallel circuits, or a

combination of series and parallel parts
Circuit Analysis

• Following are some important laws, theorems, and techniques used

to help predict what the voltage and currents will be within a purely
resistive circuit powered by a direct current (dc) source, such as a
battery
Ohm’s Law and Resistors

• Resistors are devices used in circuits to limit current flow or to set

voltage levels within circuits

• Figure 2.38 shows the schematic symbol for a resistor; two different
forms are commonly used

• Schematic symbols for variable resistors—resistors that

have a manually adjustable resistance, as well as a model of a real-
life resistor, are also shown.
• If a dc voltage is applied across a resistor, the amount of current that
will flow through the resistor can be found using Ohm’s law

• To find the power dissipated as heat by the resistor, the generalized

power (with Ohm’s law substitution) can be used

• R is the resistance or the resistor expressed in ohms (Ω), P is the

power loss in watts (W), V is the voltage in volts (V), and I is the
current in amperes (A).
• Determining how much power a resistor dissipates is very important
when designing circuits

• All real resistors have maximum allowable power ratings that must not
be exceeded

• If you exceed the power rating, you’ll probably end up frying your
resistor, destroying the internal structure, and thus altering the
resistance

• Typical general- purpose resistors come in 1⁄8- , 1⁄4- , 1⁄2- , and 1- W power
ratings, while high- power resistors can range from 2 to several hundred
watts
• So, in the preceding example, where our resistor was dissipating 1.44
W, we should have made sure that our resistor’s power rating
exceeded 1.44 W; otherwise, there could be smoke

• As a rule of thumb, always select a resistor that has a power rating

at least twice the maximum value anticipated

• Though a 2-W resistor would work in our example, a 3-W resistor

would be safer

• To illustrate how important power ratings are, we examine the circuit

shown in Fig. 2.40
• The resistance is variable, while the supply voltage is fixed at 5 V

• As the resistance increases, the current decreases, and according to

the power law, the power decreases, as shown in the graphs

• As the resistance decreases, the current and power increase

• The far right graph shows that as you decrease the resistance, the
power rating of the resistor must increase; otherwise, you’ll burn up
the resistor
Resistors in Parallel

• Rarely do you see circuits that use a single resistor alone

• Usually, resistors are found connected in a variety of ways

• The two fundamental ways of connecting resistors are in series and in

parallel

• When two or more resistors are placed in parallel, the voltage across
each resistor is the same, but the current through each resistor will
vary with resistance
• Also, the total resistance of the combination will be lower than that of
the lowest resistance value present.

• The formula for finding the total resistance of resistors in parallel is:
• The dots in the equation indicate that any number of resistors can be
combined

• For only two resistances in parallel (a very common case), the formula
reduces to Eq. 2.18

• (You can derive the resistor- in- parallel formula by noting that the sum
of the individual branch currents is equal to the total current: Itotal = I1 +
I2 + I3 + … IN

• This is referred to as Kirchhoff’s current law

• Then, applying Ohm’s law, we get: Itotal = V1/R1 + V2/R2 + V3/R3 + … VN/RN.
• Because all resistor voltages are equal to Vtotal since they share the same
voltage across them, we get: Itotal = Vtotal/R1 + Vtotal/R2 + Vtotal/R3 + …Vtotal/RN

• Factoring out Vtotal, we get: Itotal = Vtotal (1/R1 + 1/R2 + 1/R3 … 1/R4)

• We call the term in brackets Rtotal

• Note that there is a shorthand for saying that two resistors are in
parallel

• The shorthand is to use double bars | | to indicate resistors in parallel.

So to say R1 is in parallel with R2, you would write R1 | | R2
• Thus, you can express two resistors in parallel in the following ways:

• In terms of arithmetic order of operation, the | | can be

treated similar to multiplication or division

• For example, in the equation Zin = R1 + R2 | | Rload, you calculate R2 and

Rload in parallel first, and then you add R1
• This statement is referred to as Kirchhoff’s current law

• With this law, and Ohm’s law, you come up with the current divider
equations, shown at the bottom of Fig. 2.41

• These equations come in handy when you know the input current but
not the input voltage.
• We could have just as easily found the total current using:
Resistors in Series

• When a circuit has a number of resistors connected in series, the total

resistance of the circuit is the sum of the individual resistances

• Also, the amount of current flowing through each resistor in series is

the same, while the voltage across each resistor varies with resistance

• The formula for finding the total resistance of resistors in series is:

• The dots indicate that as many resistors as necessary may be added

• You can derive this formula by noting that the sum of all the voltage
drops across each series resistor will equal the applied voltage across
the combination Vtotal = V1 + V2 + V3 + … + VN

• This is referred to as Kirchhoff’s voltage law

• Applying Ohm’s law, and noting that the same current I flows through
each resistor, we get: IRtotal = IR1 + IR2 + IR3 + … + IRN

• Canceling the I’s you get: Rtotal = R1 + R2 + R3 + R4 + …

• These equations are called voltage divider equations and are so useful in
electronics that it is worth memorizing them. (See Fig. 2.43.)

• Often V2 is called the output voltage Vout

• The voltage drop across each resistor is directly proportional to the

resistance

• The voltage drop across the 2000-Ω resistor is twice as large as that of
the 1000-Ω resistor

• Adding both voltage drops together gives you the applied voltage of 9 V:
• The 10 Percent Rule: This rule is a standard method for selecting R1
and R2 that takes into account the load and minimizes unnecessary
power losses in the divider.

• The first thing you do is select R2 so that I2 is 10 percent of the desired

load current

• This resistance and current are called the bleeder resistance and
bleeder current

• The bleeder current in our example is:

• In actual practice, the computed value of the bleeder resistor does
not always come out to an even value

• Since the rule of thumb for bleeder current is only an estimated

value, the bleeder resistor can be of a value close to the computed
value. (If the computed value of the resistance were 500Ω, a 5
percent 510Ω resistor could be used.

• Once the actual value of the bleeder resistor is selected, the bleeder
current must be recomputed

• The voltage developed by the bleeder resistor must be equal to the

voltage requirement of the load in parallel with the bleeder resistor
Measuring Voltage, Current, and Resistance

• Voltmeters, ammeters, and ohmmeters, used to measure voltage, current,

and resistance, ideally should never introduce any effects within the circuit
under test

• In theory, an ideal voltmeter should draw no current as it measures a voltage

between two points in a circuit; it has infinite input resistance Rin

• Likewise, an ideal ammeter should introduce no voltage drop when it is

placed in series within the circuit; it has zero input resistance

• An ideal ohmmeter should provide no additional resistance

when making a resistance measurement
• Real meters, on the other hand, have limitations that prevent them
from making truly accurate measurements

• This stems from the fact that the circuit of a meter requires a sample
current from the circuit under test in order to make a display
measurement

• Figure 2.55 shows symbols for an ideal voltmeter, ammeter, and

ohmmeter, along with the more accurate real- life equivalent circuits.
• An ideal voltmeter has infinite input resistance and draws no current;
a real voltmeter’s input resistance is several hundred MΩs

• An ideal ammeter has zero input resistance and provides no voltage

drop; a real ammeter’s input resistance is fractions of ohms

• An ideal ohmmeter has zero internal resistance; a real ohmmeter’s

internal resistance is fractions of ohms

• It is important to read your instrument manuals to determine the

internal resistances.
• The effects of meter internal resistance are shown in Fig. 2.56.

• In each case, the internal resistance becomes part of the circuit.

• The percentages of error in measurements due to the internal

resistances become more pronounced when the circuit resistances
approach the meters’ internal resistance.
• Figure 2.57 shows the actual makeup of a basic analog multimeter

• Note that this device is overly simplistic; real meters are much more
sophisticated, with provisions for range selection, ac measurements,
and so on

• At any rate, it shows you that the meters are nonideal due to the
sample current required to drive the galvanometer’s needle