CHAPTER ONE

Electric Current and Ohm’s law

1.1. Electron Drift Velocity

Drift velocity is the average velocity with which electrons 'drift' in the presence of an electric
field. It's the drift velocity (or drift speed) that contributes to the electric current. The SI unit of
drift velocity is m/s. We can use the following formula in order to calculate drift velocity:

Where,

 I is the current flowing through the conductor which is measured in amperes

 n is the number of electrons
 A is the area of the cross-section of the conductor which is measured in m2
 v is the drift velocity of the electrons
 Q is the charge of an electron which is measured in Coulombs
1.2. Electric Potential
Electric Potential ( ) is defined as the amount of work energy needed to move a unit
of electric charge from a reference point to the specific point in an electric field. It is just
an amount of energy (W) per charge (Q).
⁄
1.3. Resistance
Resistance is a measure of the opposition to current flow in an electrical circuit. Resistance is
ability (or property) of a conducting material to „resist‟ the flow of current. Resistance is
measured in ohms, symbolized by the Greek letter omega (Ω).

There are two types of resistor. This are:

1. Fixed resistance means that it cannot change its value. The fixed resistance has
only one value and never changes.

2. Variable resistors means that a resistor can change its resistance value through the
control of a person or himself.

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For a uniform block of material of cross sectional area A and length 𝓵, the resistance over the
length is given by

The longer the path the charge must pass through, the higher the resistance level, whereas the
larger the area (and therefore available room), the lower the resistance. Resistance is thus directly
proportional to length and inversely proportional to area.

As the temperature of most conductors increases, the increased motion of the particles within the
molecular structure makes it increasingly difficult for the “free” carriers to pass through, and the
resistance level increases.

Conductors that permit a generous flow of charge with little external pressure will have low
resistance levels, while insulators will have high resistance characteristics.

 The higher the resistivity, the more the resistance. As indicated in figure (a),
 The longer the length of a conductor, the more the resistance. As indicated in Figure (b)
 The smaller the area of a conductor, the more the resistance. As indicated in Figure (c)
 The higher the temperature of a conductor, the more the resistance. As indicated in Figure
(d)

Temperature has a significant effect on the resistance of conductors, semiconductors, and

insulators. For good conductors, an increase in temperature will result in an increase in the
resistance level. Consequently, conductors have a positive temperature coefficient. For
semiconductor materials, an increase in temperature will result in a decrease in the resistance
level. Consequently, semiconductors have negative temperature coefficients. As with
semiconductors, an increase in temperature will result in a decrease in the resistance of an
insulator. The result is a negative temperature coefficient.

1.4 Combinations of resistors

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Resistors can be arranged in two simple and common types of connections, known
as series and parallel.

Figure: a) a series connection of two resistors; b) A parallel connection of two resistors,

Parallel Combination of resistors Series Combination of resistors

 The inverse of the equivalent resistance of  The equivalent resistance of a series

two or more resistors connected in parallel is connection of resistors is the numerical sum of
equal to the sum of the inverses of the the individual resistances and is always greater
individual resistances. The equivalent than any individual resistance. Mathematically
resistance is always less than the smallest
∑
resistance in the group.

 For a series combination of resistors, the

∑
currents are the same across each resistor, Which
is equal to the total current. i.e
 The current on the battery (total current) is
the sum of the currents on the individual  The potential difference applied across the
resistors. i.e : series combination of resistors will divide
between the resistors. The total voltage is
∑
the sum of the voltage on the individual
 The potential differences across each resistors. i.e
resistor are the same. This is equal to the

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total voltage. i.e
∑

It is also

Example:

Three resistors are connected in parallel as shown in Figure bellow. A potential difference of
18.0 V is maintained between points a and b.
(A) Find the current in each resistor.
(B) Calculate the power delivered to each resistor and the total power delivered to the
combination of resistors.
(C) Calculate the equivalent resistance of the circuit.

Solution

a) The resistors are in parallel, and so the potential difference across each must be 18.0
V. Applying the relationship ∆V = IR to each resistor gives

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b) We apply the relationship to each resistor and obtain

This shows that the smallest resistor receives the most power. Summing the three quantities
gives a total power of 198 W.

C) By using the equation:

Example 2:- for the following circuit find

a) The total resistance for the series circuit

b) Calculate the source current.
c) Determine the voltages across each resistor.
d) Calculate the power dissipated by each resistor.

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1.5 Ohm's Law
Ohm's Law states that the current flowing in a circuit is directly proportional to the applied potential
difference and inversely proportional to the resistance in the circuit if physical condition remains
same. Mathematically:
⁄ (Ohm‟s law)
⁄
In the equation, the constant of proportionality, R is Resistance .

Figure: The current–potential difference curve for an ohmic material at constant resistance.

The curve is linear, and the slope is equal to the inverse of the resistance of the conductor.

1.6 Current and Voltage Divider Rule

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A) VOLTAGE DIVIDER RULE (VDR):

Voltage divider rule states that the voltage across a resistor in a series circuit ( ) is equal to the
value of that resistor ( ) times the total impressed voltage across the series elements ( )
divided by the total resistance ( ) of the series elements. Mathematically the voltage across
resistor is given by:-

EXAMPLE: Using the voltage divider rule, determine the voltages V1 and V3 for the series
circuit given bellow.

B) Current divider rule (CDR):

Current divider rule (CDR) will determine how the current entering a set of parallel branches
will split between the elements. Current through any parallel branch is equal to the product of the
total resistance ( )of the parallel branches and the input current ( ) divided by the resistance

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( ) of the branch through which the current is to be determined. Mathematically the current
across resistor is given by:-

Example: Determine the current for the network below using the current divider rule.

1.7 OPEN AND SHORT CIRCUITS

An open circuit is simply two isolated terminals not connected by an element of any kind, as
shown in Fig. (a) Below. Since a path for conduction does not exist, the current associated with
an open circuit must always be zero. The voltage across the open circuit, however, can be any
value, as determined by the system it is connected to. In summary, therefore, an open circuit
can have a potential difference (voltage) across its terminals, but the current is always zero
amperes.

A short circuit is a very low resistance, direct connection between two terminals of a network, as
shown in Fig. (b). The current through the short circuit can be any value, as determined by the
system it is connected to, but the voltage across the short circuit will always be zero volts. In
summary, therefore, a short circuit can carry a current of a level determined by the
external circuit, but the potential difference (voltage) across its terminals is always zero
volts.

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Fig: Two special network configurations.

Example 1: - Determine the voltage and current I for the network shown below.

Example 2: Determine the unknown voltage and current for the following network.

Solution: the current will take the path of least resistance, and, since the short-circuit condition
at the end of the network is the least-resistance path, all the current will pass through the short
circuit. The voltage across the network is the same as that across the short circuit and will be
zero volts.

Example 3: Determine V and I for the f/f network if the resistor is shorted out.

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Solution: The current through the 3Ω resistor is zero due to the open circuit, causing all the
current I to pass through the short circuit.

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CHAPTER TWO

Network theories and Equivalent circuits

2.1 Kirchhoff’s rules

Some terms:

 Node is a junction in a circuit where two or more circuit elements are connected together
 Branch is apart of network which lies b/n two junctions.
 Loop is a closed path in a circuit in which no element or node is encountered more than
once.

There are two Kirchhoff‟s rules which are used to solve circuits. These are the following:-

1. Kirchhoff’s Voltage Law (Loop Rule)

States that the sum of the electrical potential differences (voltage) around any closed circuit is
zero. It is called conservation of energy.

Conventions for Loop Rule

The following conventions apply for determining the sign of change in voltage across circuit
elements. The travel direction is the direction that we choose to proceed around the loop.

2. Kirchhoff’s current law (KCL) or junction rule

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Kirchhoff‟s current law states that the algebraic sum of the currents at any node is zero. It may
be stated alternatively that the sum of the currents entering a node is equal to the sum of the
currents leaving that node. This implies that the current is conserved (no loss of current) or it is a
statement of conservation of charge. Mathematically it is given by:

∑ ∑

The basis for the law is the conservation of electric charge.

For the following diagram KCL is written as:

∑ ∑ where and is current and leaving a node

Example Obtain the currents and for the network shown in Fig. below.

Applying KCL at node “a” we get

Thus,

Applying KCL at node “b”, we get

, Thus,

Procedure for Applying Kirchhoff‟s Rules

1. Assume all voltage sources and resistances are given. (If not label them V1, V2 ..., R1, R2 etc)
2. Label each branch with a branch current. (I1, I2, I3 etc)
3. Apply junction rule at each node.
4. Apply the loop rule for each of the independent loops of the circuit.

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5. Solve the equations by substitutions/linear manipulation.

Example:

For the following circuit find the currents , and .

Solution:-

Applying Kirchhoff‟s junction rule to junction c gives

Applying Kirchhoff‟s loop rule to loops abcda and befcb and traversing these loops clockwise,
we obtain the expressions

Expressions (1), (2), and (3) represent three independent equations with three unknowns.
Substituting Equation (1) into Equation (2) gives

Dividing each term in Equation (3) by 2 and rearranging gives

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Finally:

To finalize the problem, note that I2 and I3 are both negative. This indicates only that the
currents are opposite the direction we chose for them. However, the numerical values are correct.

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