Rhodes University

Physics & Electronics Department

PHY 201: Electronics: Circuit Concepts
29 March - 4 April

Exercise 2:

1. For the following waveforms, draw the equivalent phasor diagrams

12V

6V

y x
t t
10ms
5ms
y
x

(a) (b)

Solution:

(a) Both waveforms have the same amplitude, and so the only difference is the phase
shift. Waveform y is maximum at t = 0 and so we will use that as our reference
phasor. Also note that x is 90◦ out of phase with y.

(b) We will use x as the reference phasor (looking from say 10ms). From the given
times we note that y lags by 45◦ . Also, the amplitude of y is 50% of x, so the
phasor will be half the length.

The two resulting phasor diagrams are shown as follows:

 y

45◦

y
x (b)
(a)

2. Suppose we have an AC source with a Thevenin impedance of RT = 6Ω. Determine the

turns ratio of a transformer to match the AC source to a 24Ω load.

Solution: In the notes we find that the effective impedance seen by the source is
given by
~ ef f = 1 Z
Z ~L
n2
For impedance matching, we require Z ~ ef f = 6Ω, while the load is Z
~ L = 24Ω. So, the
turns ratio is v s
~L 24 √
u
u Z
n=t = = 4=2
~ ef f
Z 6

3. Consider the following RC circuit with an input vin as shown:

vin 500nF
5V
vin 4kΩ vout
t
10ms

(a) What is the time constant of the circuit?

(b) Draw the corresponding output waveform. On the output waveform, indicate the
voltage after one time-constant.

Solution:

(a) The time constant is given by

τ = RCX1 = (4 × 103 ) × (500 × 10−9 ) = (4 × 103 ) × (5 × 102 × 10−9 )

= 20 × 10−4 = 2 × 10−3 = 2msX1

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 (b) The output is as shown:

vin

5V
X1
X1
3.1V
X1

X1
t
2ms 10ms

4. Find the voltage gain, A = vout /vin , for a RC-circuit corresponding to the following
decibel gains:
(a) 0dB, (b) -3dB, (c) +3dB, (d) 20dB.

Solution: Use the formula given in the notes

A0 = 20 log10 A
√ √
to give: (a) 1×, (b) 0.707× (= 1/ 2), (c) 1.41× (= 2), (d) 10×.

5. Consider the following filter circuit:

Input L Output

~vin R ~vout

(a) What type of filter is it? Motivate your answer.

(b) Derive an expression for the transfer function of the filter.
(c) What is the corner frequency of the above circuit (in terms of the resistance, R,
and the inductance, L). Write down the transfer function in terms of the corner
frequency.
(d) Explain the low & high frequency behaviour of the circuit in terms of the magnitude
and phase of the voltage gain.

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Solution:

(a) It is a low-pass filter. X1 At low frequencies, XLl → 0 and so low frequencies are
passed. X1 At high frequencies, XLl → ∞ and so high frequencies are blocked.
X1
(b) Using the voltage divider rule
R
vout = vin X1
R + XLl
with XLl = jωL, X1 we obtain
R 1
vout = vin = L vin X1
R + jωL 1 + jω R
The transfer function for the circuit is therefore
1
~
A(jω) = L X2
1 + jω R

(c) We can write this transfer function as

1
~
A(jω) = X1
1 + jω/ωc
if we define the corner frequency as
R
ωc =
L

(d) Let’s write A(jω)

~ in terms of its real and imaginary parts
(1 − jω/ωc ) (1 − jω/ωc )
~
A(jω) = X1 = X1
(1 + jω/ωc )(1 − jω/ωc ) 1 + (ω/ωc )2
1 ω/ωc
= 2 −j X1
1 + (ω/ωc ) 1 + (ω/ωc )2
Which is of the form A(jω)
~ = a + jb, with a = and b = − 1+(ω/ω
1
1+(ω/ωc )2
ω/ωc
c)
2.
√
Now we know the magnitude of a complex number, z = a + jb, is |z| = a2 + b2 ,
while the phase is z = arctan (b/a). So, the magnitude of the transfer function
is
v !2 !2
1
u
ω/ωc
~ = + −
u
|A(jω)| t
1 + (ω/ωc )2 1 + (ω/ωc )2
v
u 1 + (ω/ωc )2
u
= u
2 2
th i
1 + (ω/ωc )

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 giving
1 1
~
|A(jω)| =q =q
1 + (ω/ωc )2 1 + (ωL/R)2
The phase is given by
ω ωL
   
~
A(jω) = arctan − = − arctan
ωc R
The corresponding Bode plots are as follows:

Magnitude Plot

−10
|A(ω)| (dB)

−20

−30

−40

−50

−60

10−3 10−2 10−1 100 101 102 103

ω/ωc
Phase Plot
0
−10
−20
A(ω) (degrees)

−30
−40
−50
−60
−70
−80
−90

10−3 10−2 10−1 100 101 102 103

ω/ωc

6. Find the corner frequencies (in Hertz) of the following filters. Also specify whether they
are high-pass or low-pass. Try and obtain an order of magnitude estimate first, before
plugging into your calculator.

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vin 3.3kΩ vout vin 680Ω vout vin
1µF vout vin 2.2mH vout

1µF 3mH 1kΩ 1kΩ

(a) (b) (c) (d)

Solution: For a RC-circuit, the cutoff frequency is given by

1 ω 1
ω= =⇒ f= = .
RC 2π 2πRC
For a RL-circuit, the cutoff frequency is given by
R ω R
ω= =⇒ f= = .
L 2π 2πL
Note: I will show how to approximate the solution. I assume you know how to use
your calculator!

(a) This is a low-pass filter. The cutoff frequency is

1 1 103 100 × 
10
f= = =

≈
2πRC 2π(3.3 × 103 )(1 × 10−6 ) 2×π × 3.3
| {z }
2 ×10

≈10

So that f ≈ 50Hz. (Actual answer: 48.2Hz)

(b) This is a high-pass filter. The cutoff frequency is
340
R 680
*

 340 × 103 340 × 100 × 
10
f= = =

≈

2πL 2A π(3 × 10 )
−3 π ×3
| {z }
10


≈10

So that f ≈ 34kHz. (Actual answer: 36, 075kHz)

(c) This is a high-pass filter. The cutoff frequency is
1 1 103
f= = ≈
2πRC 2π(1 × 103 )(1 × 10−6 ) 6
So that f ≈ 160Hz. (Actual answer: 159.2Hz)
(d) This is a low-pass filter. The cutoff frequency is
R 1 × 103 1000 × 103 1000
f= = = ≈ × 103
2πL 2π(2.2 × 10 )
−3 2π × 2.2 12
So that f ≈ 80kHz. (Actual answer: 72.3kHz)

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7. A filter has the following frequency response function:
5
~
A(jω) =
1 + 5jω

(a) Describe the filter behaviour at low frequencies.

(b) Describe the filter behaviour at high frequencies.
(c) What is the cutoff frequency of the filter?
(d) What type of filter is it?
(e) Sketch a Bode plot for the filter.

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