EE231

Electrical Circuits 1 (Lec)

Lecture 2

Ohm’s Law – it states that the current drawn by an electric load is directly proportional to the voltage across
the load and inversely proportional to the electrical resistance of the load.

𝑉
𝐼=
𝑅

I = current, in amperes (A)

V = emf or voltage, in volts (V)
R = resistance, in ohms (Ω)

Example: An electric iron draws 2.5 A at 230 V. Determine its resistance?

𝑉 230
𝑅= = = 92 𝑜ℎ𝑚𝑠
𝐼 2.5

TRY TO SOLVE THIS!

A nichrome heating coil takes 30 A when a voltage of 120 V is applied. Determine the resistance of the coil.
ANSWER: 4 ohms

Series DC Circuit – a connection, in which the resistances are connected end-to-end so that there is only
one path for the current flow.

E1 E2 E3

I1 I2 I3
Et It

It = total current in the circuit

Et = total voltage or source applied to the circuit
Rt = total resistance of the circuit

Current relation: Total current It, is equal to the current flowing in each resistor

It = I1 = I2 = I3

Voltage relation: Total or supply voltage Et, is equal to the sum of the voltages across each resistors

Et = E1 + E2 + E3

Resistance relation: Total resistance Rt, is equal to the sum of the resistances of each resistors

Rt = R1 + R2 + R3

Example: A 3-Ω, a 5-Ω, and a 4-Ω resistors are connected in series across battery. If the voltage drop
across the 3-Ω resistor is 6 V, find the total battery voltage.

6 6V
𝐼 = = 2𝐴
3 It
𝑅 = 3 + 5 + 4 = 12 𝛺
𝐸 = 𝐼 𝑅 = 2(12) = 24 𝑉
Et
Example: If the current drawn by a 7-Ω load across a 12-V battery is 1.6 A, solve the internal resistance of
the battery.
1.6A
12
𝑅 = = 7.5 𝛺
1.6
𝑅 =𝑟+𝑅
= 7.5 − 7 = 0.5 𝛺

TRY TO SOLVE THIS!

A 1.5 V dry cell draws a current of 30 A when short circuited. What will be the power drawn by a 0.25-ohm
resistor connected across this dry cell? ANSWER: 6.25 watts

TRY TO SOLVE THIS!

The terminal voltage of a battery is 10 V when it delivers a current of 1.5 A and 8 V when it delivers a current
of 2.5 A. Solve the internal resistance of this battery. ANSWER: 2 ohms

Voltage Division in Two Series Resistors

E1 E2
𝐸 =𝐸
𝐸 =𝐸

Et

E1 = voltage across resistor 1

E2 = voltage across resistor 2
R1 = resistance of resistor 1
R2 = resistance of resistor 2

TRY TO SOLVE THIS!

Two resistors of value 1 kΩ and 4 kΩ are connected in series across a constant voltage source of 150 V.
Find the p.d. across the 4 kΩ resistor. ANSWER: 120 volts

Parallel DC Circuit – a circuit connection, in which the resistances are connected across each other so
that there are as many paths for current to flow as to the number of resistance.

It

Et E1 E2 E3

I1 I2 I3

Current relation: Total current It, is equal to the sum of the currents flowing in each resistors

It = I1 + I2 + I3

Voltage relation: Total voltage Et, is equal to the voltage across each resistors

Et = E1 = E2 = E3

Resistance relation: The reciprocal of the total resistance Rt, is equal to the sum of the reciprocals of
the resistances of each resistors

1 1 1 1
= + +
𝑅 𝑅 𝑅 𝑅
Example: Three resistors R1= 2 Ω, R2=3 Ω and R3 Ω are connected in parallel. The current drawn by R3 is
2 A. If the equivalent resistance of the parallel resistors is 1 ohm, what is the total current drawn by these
three resistors?

1 1 1 1 It
= + +
𝑅 𝑅 𝑅 𝑅
1 1 1 1
= + +
1 2 3 𝑅
𝑅 = 6𝛺
Et
𝐸 = 𝐼 𝑅 = 2(6) = 12 𝑉
𝐸 12
I3=2A
𝐼 = = = 12 𝐴
𝑅 1

Example: 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.

𝐸 12
𝑅 = = = 15 𝛺
𝐼 0.8

1 1 1
= + since parallel
𝑅 𝑅 𝑅
1 1 1
= + R = 18.75 Ω
15 𝑅 75

TRY TO SOLVE THIS!

Three resistors X, Y and Z are connected in parallel and take a total of 7.9 A. Resistor X takes 2.5 A and
has a resistance of 48 Ω, also the current in Y is twice as much as that through Z. Solve the resistance of
Y. ANSWER: 33.33 ohms

Curent Division in Two Parallel Resistors

𝑅
It 𝐼 =𝐼
𝑅 +𝑅
Et 𝑅
𝐼 =𝐼
I1 𝑅 +𝑅
I2

I1 = current drawn by resistor 1

I2 = current drawn by resistor 2
R1 = resistance of resistor 1
R2 = resistance of resistor 2

TRY TO SOLVE THIS!

A current of 11 A is supplied to a parallel circuit consisting of three resistors 2 Ω, 4 Ω and 6 Ω respectively.
Find the current in the 4 Ω resistor. ANSWER: 3 amperes

Series-Parallel Circuits – the circuit is a combination of series and parallel connections, but when
simplified the final circuit is a series circuit.

1
𝑅 =𝑅 +
Et 1 1
𝑅 + 𝑅
Example: A 10-Ω resistance is connected in series with two resistances in parallel of 7.5-Ω and R. What is
the ohmic value of R if the total current drawn from a 20-V dc source is 1.5 A?

20 40
𝑅 = = 𝛺 1.5A
1.5 3
1
𝑅 =𝑅 +
1 1
+
𝑅 𝑅
40 1
= 10 +
3 1 1
+
7.5 𝑅
𝑅 =6𝛺

Parallel-Series Circuits – the circuit is combination of series and parallel connections, but when simplified
the final circuit is a parallel circuit.

1
Et 𝑅 =
1 1
𝑅 +𝑅 +𝑅

Example: A 12-Ω resistor is connected in parallel with a series combination of resistors of 8 Ω and 16 Ω. If
the voltage drop across the 8-Ω resistor is 48 V, what is the value of the total current?

48 48V
𝐼 = =6𝐴 It
8
𝐸 = 6(16 + 8) = 144 𝑉
I2
144 Et 48V
𝐼 = = 12 𝐴
12 I1
𝐼 = 𝐼 + 𝐼 = 18 𝐴

TRY TO SOLVE THIS!

A variable resistance R is connected in series with a parallel combination to a 5 Ω and 20 Ω. The entire
circuit is connected to a 50-V dc source. Find R if the power drawn by the 5-Ω resistance is 20 W. ANSWER:
16 ohms

TRY TO SOLVE THIS!

A voltage of 200 V is applied to a tapped resistor of 500 Ω and 20 Ω. Find the resistance between two
tapping points connected to a circuit needing 0.1 ampere and 25 volts. ANSWER: 79.156 ohms

Delta and Wye Circuit Connections

DELTA converted to an equivalent WYE connection:

a c x
z

y
b

𝑎𝑐 𝑎𝑏 𝑏𝑐
𝑥= ; 𝑦= ; 𝑧=
𝑎+𝑏+𝑐 𝑎+𝑏+𝑐 𝑎+𝑏+𝑐

WYE converted to an equivalent DELTA connection

x
a c
z
b
y

𝑥𝑦 + 𝑦𝑧 + 𝑧𝑥 𝑥𝑦 + 𝑦𝑧 + 𝑧𝑥 𝑥𝑦 + 𝑦𝑧 + 𝑧𝑥
𝑎= ; 𝑏= ; 𝑐=
𝑧 𝑥 𝑦
Note: If resistances are equal, then RΔ = 3 • RY

Example: Three resistors of 35 Ω, 25 Ω and 40 Ω are connected in delta. What are the resistances of an
equivalent wye connection?

35Ω 40Ω R1
R3

R2
25Ω

35(40) 35(40)
𝑅 = = = 14 𝛺
35 + 25 + 40 100
35(25)
𝑅 = = 8.75 𝛺
100
25(40)
𝑅 = = 10 𝛺
100

End of Lecture 2