[ENG1013] Engineering Smart Systems

Week 6: Problem Sheet Solutions

In circuit analysis, there are often many valid ways to solve a problem, using one of the different techniques you
have learned or are about to learn. If your solution matches that presented here, but you have obtained it using
another method, that is perfectly fine, as long as the question doesn't specify ``using method x''.

Equivalent Resistance
P2.1
Firstly, you should identify the nodes in your circuit (like you did in M5.1). Then, repeatedly combine parallel then
series resistors. Remember:

(i) elements that share the same nodes at both ends are in parallel, while

(ii) elements that share the same current through them (without other elements branching off) are in series.

Let’s look at these examples step by step. We have identified the nodes using colours (which identify the same nodes
between steps).

We will use the notation “ || ” for parallel combinations of elements and "+" for series combinations.

Page 1
For circuit (a):

The 12Ω and 24Ω resistors are in parallel because they

both share the red and green nodes at both ends.

These can be combined into an 8Ω resistor:

1
 1 1  24  12
12 || 24       8
 12 24  24  12

Now, the 3Ω, (new) 8Ω and 4Ω resistors are all in series.

They are connected end-to-end so any current that
enters into the 3Ω must go through all three resistors,
so these can be combined into a single 15 ohm resistor:

3  8  4  15

Now, notice that once we combine the series resistors,

the red and green nodes have been consumed within
the equivalent resistance. We are now left with 2
remaining nodes and notice that the 30Ω and (new)
15Ω are in parallel and can be combined:
1
 1 1  30  15
30 ||15       10
 30 15  30  15
Finally, we find that the 10Ω is now connected in series
with the remaining resistors, and so can be combined
as:

3  10  7  20

We could equivalently write all of this as:

Req  3  30 ||  3  12 || 24  4   7

Page 2
For circuit (b):

Both the 15Ω and 60Ω resistors share the same red and
green nodes at both ends, so they are in parallel:

1
 1 1  15  60
15 || 60       12
 15 60  15  60

Here the 6Ω and (new) 12Ω are in series:

6  12  18

Now both the 9Ω and (new) 18Ω share the same blue
and green nodes at both ends, so they are in parallel:

1
1 1  9  18
9 ||18       6
 9 18  9  18

The (new) 6Ω and the bottom 6Ω are now in series, so

we can add these together to get:

6  6  12

The (new) 12Ω is now in parallel with the 24Ω as they

share both the blue and yellow nodes at both ends, so
we can replace them with:
1
 1 1  12  24
12 || 24       8
 12 24  12  24

Finally, the three remaining resistors are in series:

10  8  5  23

Overall, the equivalent resistance could be written as:

Req  10  24 ||  9 ||18  6   5  23

Page 3
P2.3
Ok, this one looks different because the resistors aren’t vertical and horizontal, but don’t panic, it’s conceptually no
different to any other equivalent resistance problem, use the same process. The first step, as always, is to identify
the nodes, as shown below.

There are two parallel sets of resistors here – the 18Ω

and 9Ω share the red and blue nodes at both ends, and
the 12Ω and 6Ω share the red and green nodes at both
ends. They can be replaced by two parallel resistances:
1
 1 1 18  9
18 || 9       6
 18 9  18 9
1
 1 1 12  6
12 || 6       4
 12 6  12  6

Now that the parallel resistors have been replaced with

single resistors, we should be able to see that the (new)
6Ω and (new) 4Ω are actually connected in series
(current moving through one, must move through the
other, and there are no other branches in between
them), so the final equivalent resistance between a
and b is:

Rab  6  4  10

P2.5
Wow, this circuit has three terminals, what’s going on here? Again, don’t panic, use the same process as before,
start by identifying the nodes! The first steps are common for all three parts of the question (i, ii and iii):

There are three nodes in this circuit, as shown here.

After identifying them, we can see that the 20Ω and
30Ω resistors are in parallel and the 60Ω and 40Ω
resistors are in parallel, so let’s replace them:
1 1 20 × 30
20Ω||30Ω = + = = 12Ω
20 30 20 + 30
1 1 60 × 40
60Ω||40Ω = + = = 24Ω
60 40 60 + 40
If we look at the circuit to the right, we have reached a
point where no resistors are currently in parallel and, it
is unclear exactly which resistors should now be
considered “in series” – are the 4Ω and 12Ω in series?
Are the 12Ω and 24Ω? Or the 4Ω and 24Ω? This is
confusing!

When we are consider which resistors are in series, we

are not allowed to make any resistor substitutions
that would result in the disappearance of the
terminals between which we wish to find the
equivalent resistance.

Thus, it is important to understand that what you

measure for equivalent resistance depends on where
you take the measurement.

Page 4
(i) Equivalent resistance between a and b :

Remember that we are not allowed to make any

substitutions which remove terminals a and b
(because we are trying to find the equivalent resistance
between these two terminals).

With this in mind, we have to conclude that 12Ω and

4Ω are considered in series. This looks strange because
terminal c is connected between them, however,
because no current can enter or exit a terminal, the
same current must move through both resistors, so
they can be considered to be in series (resulting in the
16 Ω equivalent between a and b on the left side).

From here, we see that the (new) 16Ω and 24Ω share
the same green and blue nodes at both ends so they
are in parallel, finally giving us:
1
 1 1  16  24
Rab  16 || 24       9.6
 16 24  16  24

(ii) Equivalent resistance between b and c :

Similar to (i), the 12Ω and 24Ω are the only series
resistors that can be combined without removing
terminals c and b from the circuit. So if we consider
these to be in series (12Ω + 24Ω = 36Ω), the circuit then
has the 4Ω and (new) 36 Ω in parallel as they both
share the red and blue nodes in common. Thus:
1 1 4 × 16
𝑅 = 4Ω||16Ω = + = = 3.6Ω
4 16 4 + 16

(iii) Equivalent resistance between a and c :

In this case, since we can’t remove terminals a and c ,

only the 4Ω and 24Ω can be considered to be in series,
so can be combined as 4Ω + 24Ω = 28Ω, and then this
(new) 28Ω is in parallel with the 12Ω as they share the
red and green nodes at both ends. Thus:
1
 1 1  12  28
Rac  12 || 28       8.4
 12 28  12  28

Page 5
Resistor Networks and Ohm's Law
P2.23
i1 in this circuit is the total current coming out of the 10V source. Ohm's Law ( V  IR ) only works when we know
two of the voltage, current and resistance for a single resistance. Since the 10V source is applied across the entire
combination of resistors connected across the 10V source, to use Ohm's law to find i1 , we must calculate the
equivalent resistance connected to the 10V source:

 88 
Req  6  8 || 8  6     10 
88 
Now we can apply Ohm’s Law with the single equivalent resistance to find i1 :

V 10 V
i1   1 A
Req 10 

Tip: two identical resistors will always have half their original resistance if combined in parallel. You can test this for
yourself by substituting a resistor, R, into the equivalent resistance equation for parallel resistors.

To find i2 , we can use the fact that i1 = 1A to find the voltage V6
across the 6Ω resistor by applying Ohm’s Law:

V6   i1  6   6 V

Then, we can make use of Kirchhoff’s Voltage Law (KVL) to find the
voltage across the left 8Ω resistor. To do this, we use the loop going
clockwise with the 10V source, the 6Ω resistor and the left 8Ω resistor,
considering voltage drops as positive and rises as negative:
0  (10 V)  6 V  V8
V8  4 V

Finally, we recognise that because the two 8Ω resistors are connected in

parallel (that they share the same nodes at both ends), they have the
same voltage across them (4V). Once we know this, we can calculate the
current through each 8Ω resistor using Ohm’s Law:
4V
i2   0.5 A
8

P2.24
The key to this problem is to start by simplifying the circuit using equivalent resistances, until currents and voltages
can be found using Ohm’s Law (for single equivalent resistances). Then once we find key quantities such as the total
current coming from the source, we can then work in reverse to find the quantities that we require ( v1 and v2 ). We
will refer to the following diagrams below.

Start by identifying all the nodes, 5 in total. Note that v1 is the voltage between the red and green nodes, and v2 is
the voltage between the blue and green nodes.

Page 6
The 25Ω and 5Ω resistors are in series and can
be replaced with a 30Ω resistor, removing the
blue node in the process.

Now the 10Ω, 30Ω and (new) 30Ω all share the
same nodes at both ends, so they are all in
parallel:
Rred  green  10 || 30 || 30
1
 1 1 1 
      6
 10 30 30 
Relative to the 12V source, the 12Ω, (new) 6Ω
and 6Ω resistors are in series, so can be
combined:
Rorange  purple  12  6  6  24

Now, we have a single equivalent resistance

connected to the voltage source, so we can
calculate the current drawn from the source
using Ohm’s Law:
i12V  12 V / 24   0.5 A
Now, we start working in reverse. To find the
voltage across the 6Ω resistor, we can use i12V
and Ohm’s Law to find:
Vred  green  0.5 A  6   3 V

Now, knowing Vred  green  3 V , we can

calculate the current through the rightmost
branch:
iright  3 V / 30   0.1 A

Now, knowing the current through the

rightmost branch (which is actually comprised
of the 25Ω and 5Ω resistors), we can find the
desired value of v2 , which is the voltage across
the 5Ω resistor:
v2  0.1 A  5   0.5 V

Page 7
P2.25
The process here will be to:
 combine all the resistors into a single equivalent resistance, so that we can use Ohm’s Law to find v
 use the voltage between the red and green nodes and Ohm’s Law to find i

We can combine the two 10Ω resistors on the right

into a single 20Ω resistor, removing the blue node.

Now, we can see that there are 4 resistors that

share the same red and green nodes, so they can
all be combined in parallel:
Rred  green  20 || 20 || 20 || 20
1
 1 1 1 1 
      5
 20 20 20 20 
The (new) 5Ω and 20Ω can be combined into a
single 25Ω and the red node can be removed.

The (new) 25Ω and other 25Ω are in parallel and

can be combined as:
1
 1 1 
R purple  green  25 || 25      12.5
 25 25 

Now the (new) 12.5Ω and 5Ω are in series and can

be replaced by a 17.5Ω, and the purple node
removed.

Now that we are down to a single resistance across

the 8A source, we can work out the voltage across
the yellow and purple nodes (and 17.5Ω) as:
V yellow green  8 A  17.5   140 V

Note that 8A also moves through the 12.5Ω

resistance, so the voltage between the purple and
green nodes can be calculated as:
V purple  green  8 A  12.5   100 V

Now, reintroducing the two 25Ω equivalent

resistances (that made up the 12.5Ω) between the
purple and green nodes allows us to calculate the
current through the right branch:
iright  100 V / 25   4 A

Page 8
 Splitting the right 25Ω resistance to reintroduce
the red node allows us to find the voltage between
the red and green nodes:
Vred  green  4 A  5   20 V

Finally, to find i , we use the voltage across the

original 20Ω resistor of interest, and Ohm’s Law to
find the current:
i  20 V / 20   1 A

Dependent Sources
M5.4
The base of each loop of this circuit shares a common node. Since we are free to choose where to place our ground,
we call this common node the ground (giving it a voltage of 0V ). This is convenient because it is shared by each of
the loops. (We could assign any voltage to this node, and put the ground anywhere else - but this will make the
problem more complicated - why?)

Therefore we can redraw the circuit as 5 simple sub-circuits, and solve them one at at a time (To find vL , we need
v2 , to find v2 , we need i2 , and so on). We start with the sub-circuit (a), since we can solve this without needing any
additional information:

Page 9
Using Ohm's Law on circuit (a), we can find i1 . We have started with (a) as this circuit does not have any dependent
sources:

5V  10  i1  i1  0.5A

Using the value for i1 , we can use Ohm's law on sub-circuit (b) to find v1 :

v1  4i1  1  v1  4  0.5A  1  2V

We can now use v1 in circuit (c) to solve for i2 with Ohm's law:

5v1  2  i2  i2  5A

Proceeding down the list, (d) is used to calculate v2 from the dependent voltage source driven by i2 . The only place
voltage can drop is across the 1 resistor, so the voltage v2 is equal to the voltage across the dependent voltage
source:

v2  0.5i2  1  v2  2.5V

Finally, we can calculate vL from circuit (e):

vL  2v2  2  vL  10 V

Kirchoff's Voltage Law (KVL)

P1.40
KVL states that if you make your way around a closed electrical loop, the total voltage rises (or drops) around that
loop must be 0. As a charge makes its way through each component in the loop, it will have energy added to it (by
sources) or taken away from it (eg: by resistors). If these gains and losses in energy were not equal to zero, then the
path around the loop would have either made or destroyed energy, which is not allowed under the principle of
conservation of energy. Therefore conservation of energy implies that KVL must be true.

P1.41
To solve this circuit with KVL, the first step is to work out which loops to use. There are 4 loops in this circuit, but we
will use the three marked on the diagram below. Each marked loop consists of the path around the edge of the
rectangle containing the label.

We will start with loop 2, as this has only one unknown, so we can solve it to find va . Taking KVL clockwise around
the loop, from the bottom left:

KVL(loop 2): 0  ( 5V)  va  10V  va  5V

Page 10
Note the sign convention used: If the negative terminal of an element is encountered first we call this a “voltage
rise”, and the voltage of that element is subtracted, whereas if the positive terminal is encountered first we call this
a “voltage drop” and the voltage is added.

Next, considering loop 3, take KVL clockwise starting at the bottom left of the loop:

KVL(loop 3): 0  (10V)  15V  vb  vb  5V

Finally, taking loop 1, clockwise from the bottom left (junction of 5V, va and vc ):

KVL(loop 1): 0  vc  15V  va  vc  10V

To check this result, take KVL around the outer loop (5V, vc , vb ), and see if the result is consistent. This type of
check is a good strategy to use, as it allows you to independently confirm your values without relying on the same
equations.

Kirchoff's Current Law (KCL)

P1.31
KCL states that the total current flowing into or out of a node must be 0. Currents are just moving charges. If charge
could build up at a node (ie: if the total flow of current wasn't always 0), the node would have to be able to store the
charges that are arriving and not leaving - or make the charges that are leaving and not arriving. Nodes, being wire
junctions, don't have the ability to make, store or release charge, so KCL must be true.

P1.37
The first step is to re-draw the diagram, labelling the nodes at which KCLs will be taken, and including the
information in the question:

Note that I have reversed the direction of id from the diagram so that I can write a positive current on the re-drawn
circuit. From here, we can use a series of KCLs to build up a system of equations. For this question, I will take in-
flowing currents as positive (make sure you always state this for KCL questions):

Page 11
 (1) : KCL @ V1 : 2A  5A  i f  0  i f  2A  5A  3A
(2) : KCL @ V2 :  2A  3A  ic  0  ic  2A  3A  1A
(3) : KCL @ V3 :  3A  5A  ie  ig  0
(4) : KCL @ V4 : i f  ig  4A  0
(5) : KCL @ V5 : ic  ie  4A  0

Note that node V3 has four branches associated with it. The way this problem is set up, we don't have to do
simultaneous equations to solve for the currents, but you could if required to. From this point, substituting the
results from KCLs at V1 and V2 into V4 and V5 :

(4) : ig  3A  4A  7A

(5) : ie  4A  1A  5A
Substituting these results, to check:
(3) :  3A  5A  5A  7A  0

P2.34
Taking Kirchoff's Current Law (KCL) at the top node (either node works), and defining ground to be the bottom node.
Taking current exiting the nodes as positive:

vx v
KCL@top: 0  (-4A)  ( )  ( x )  (2A)
5 15
3vx v
 x  2A
15 15
4vx  30V
vx  7.5V

The values of i1 and i2 can then be calculated from Ohm's Law using vx and the resistance values:

vx 7.5V
i1    1.5A
5 5
v 7.5V
i2  x   0.5A
15 15
Using the passive reference convention (negative sign required when current direction is entering negative
terminal/exiting positive terminal):

P4 A  (4A  7.5V)  30W (negative means source is supplying)

P2 A  2A  7.5V  15W (positive means source is absorbing)
(7.5V) 2
P5   7.5V 1.5A  11.25W (positive means element is absorbing)
5
(7.5V) 2
P15   7.5V  0.5A  3.75W (positive means element is absorbing)
15

Page 12
P2.35

First calculate the equivalent resistance of the entire circuit, Req from the point of view of the 20V source. This can
be then be used to determine the current i1 using Ohm's Law:

6 12 6 12 72
Req  6 ||12  12 || 6     2  8
6  12 6  12 18
20V
i1   2.5A
8
Combining each pair of 12Ω and 6Ω resistors (between the red and green, and green and blue nodes) gives use
equivalent resistance of 4Ω, and we can then use Ohm’s Law to calculate v1 and v2 : (as we'd expect, given the
resistances match, each voltage is half the supply voltage)

v1  4 2.5A  10V

v2  4 2.5A  10V

Using the voltages v1 and v2 and Ohm’s Law, we can calculate the currents i3 , i4 , i5 and i6 :

v1 10V v1 10V
i3    1.6667A, i4    0.8333A
6 6 12 12
v 10V v 10V
i5  2   0.8333A, i6  2   1.6667A
12 12 6 6
Finally to find the current through the wire i2 , we cannot use Ohm’s Law as ideal wires are assumed to have
resistance of 0. Instead, we need to apply KCL at the interconnect A, circled in red (current entering interconnect
assumed positive):

i4  i2  i6  0  i2  i6  i4  1.6667A  0.8333A  0.833A

Page 13
Voltage and Current Dividers
Voltage and current dividers are handy “shortcuts” that can be used to save time in calculating values for very
common circuits. They are not essential to circuit analysis (and in fact can be confusing if you do not understand how
to apply them correctly!).

If you wish to practice using then you need to be aware that:

 Voltage dividers can be used when a voltage is applied across any number of resistors connected in series.
Problems arise when students incorrectly identify resistors as being in series when they are not.
 The “current divider” can only be applied for 2 resistors connected in parallel. It does not work for more
than 2 resistors.

This is why it is so essential that you can correctly identify nodes and when elements are connected inin series and
parallel.

P2.36
The voltage division formula is written below ( Rout is the resistor that you want to find the voltage vout across, Rtotal
is the sum of all the resistances across which the voltage Vin is applied) and can be applied to the circuit as follows:

Rout
vout  vin
Rtotal
5
v1  25V  5V
5  7  13
7
v2  25V  7V
5  7  13
13
v3  25V  13V
5  7  13
P2.37
The current division formula is written below (NOTE: This current division formula only works for 2 parallel resistors!
itotal is the current entering the parallel resistors, Rotherbranch is the resistance of the opposite resistor to the one in
which you are trying to find ibranch and Rtotal is the sum of the two resistor), and can be applied to the circuit as
follows:

Rotherbranch
ibranch  itotal
Rtotal
5
i1  3A  1A
10  5
10
i2  3A  2A
10  5
P2.38
Applying the voltage division principle, the voltage v we are interested is the voltage across the two parallel 20
resistors:

20 || 20
v 10V
20  20 || 20
10
 10V
20  10
 3.33V

Page 14
P2.39
This problem is easier than it at first looks, because we already know the total amount of current through the
parallel branches, so we can directly apply the current division formula, which, for i3 , is:

Rotherbranch
i3  itotal
Rtotal
R2
i3  It
R2  R3
25
 20mA
100
i3  5mA

M5.5
As well as familiarising you with voltage division, this is also an exercise in circuit notation, so make sure you are
comfortable using the symbols and notation shown. Starting with the first circuit, v1 can be found using the voltage
division formula directly, with the following parameters:

Rv1
v1  Vs
Rtotal
1
 10V
1  3
v1  2.5V

The second circuit is a little more difficult, because there is no longer a source shown. For these types of questions,
you need to determine what the total voltage across the divider is: the voltage across both (or all) resistors making
up the divider. This is what Vs in the voltage divider formula actually refers to. So, in this case:

Rv2
v2  Vacross 2 &3
Rtotal
2
 10V
2  3
v2  4V

The third circuit is slightly more complicated again, as now the divider voltage, v3 , is not equal to the output voltage
vo . Tackle this as before, starting with v3 . Here, Vs is the voltage across the 2 and 3 Ohm resistors, so calculate the
difference in potential between the top (5V) and the bottom (-5V):

3
v3  (5V  (5V))
3  2
3
  10V
5
v3  6V

Now, we can calculate vo , by considering what v3 was relative to. The calculation v3  6V tells us that the node
between the resistors has a voltage 6 volts higher than the other end of v3 - the 5V rail. This means that, relative
to ground ( 0V ), v0 is:

v0  v3  5V  6V  5V  1V

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M5.6
a)
To calculate vL for each load resistance, we can use the voltage divider formula, with the appropriate load
resistance substituted in:

RL
vL  5V
RL  50

Notice that as RL gets very large, we would get vL  5V . This makes sense, as an infinite resistance is one way to
think about an open circuit - or the battery with no elements connected to the output terminals.

Substituting in each RL gives the following vL value:

RL Formula vL
5
5 5V 0.45V
5  50
50
50 5V 2.5V
50  50
500
500 5V 4.5V
500  50
5k
5k 5V 4.95V
5k  50
50k
50k 5V 4.995V
50k  50
500k
500k 5V 4.9995V
500k  50

b)
To solve this problem, we use the same voltage divider formula as before, but with RL as the unknown instead of
vL :

vL  99%  5  4.95V
RL
4.95V  5V
RL  50
(4.95V)( RL  50)  (5V)  RL
0.05RL  50  4.95V
RL  4.95k

Therefore, RL must have a value of at least 4.95k for vL to be within 1% of the expected value.

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