KIRCHHOFFS RULES Dean Biaslie

CURRENT AND VOLTAGE
• When you flip on the light switch, the light comes on

immediately, right? Why does this happen? What is
going on inside the wires in your walls and in the light
bulb to make the bulb light up?
• If you could make yourself really small and look
inside the wires connecting the light switch and the
bulb, you would see that when you flip the switch,
billions of tiny electrons start moving through the
wires of this electric circuit and their energy is what
makes the bulb light up..
THERE ARE TWO IMPORTANT CONCEPTS THAT YOU MUST
UNDERSTAND TO KNOW HOW AN ELECTRIC CIRCUIT WORKS:
• Current is the flow of electrons around the circuit. In

order for current to flow, the wires of the circuit must
make a complete circle. If there's a break anywhere, the
electrons will not have any way to get across the gap and
current will stop. This is why the light doesn't come on
until you flip the switch. The switch closes a gap in the
circuit and allows current to flow.
• Voltage is the difference in electric potential between two
points in the circuit. Certain circuit elements, like batteries, are
voltage sources and provide energy to the electrons so that
they will move around the circuit. Other elements, like the
light bulb, are resistors that take the energy provided by the
battery and transform it into other forms of energy, like light.
Because of this, the voltage across a resistor will be negative
KIRCHHOFF’S
RULES
1.THE JUNCTION RULE
2.THE LOOP RULE
KIRCHHOFF’S RULES
• two statements about multi-loop electric circuits
that embody the laws of conservation of
electric charge and energy and that are used to
determine the value of the electric current in each
branch of the circuit.
• govern the conservation of charge and energy in
electrical circuits
GUSTAV
KIRCHHOFF
(1824-1887)
• Kirchhoff’s laws, which allow calculation of
the currents, voltages, and resistances of
electrical networks. Extending the theory
of the German physicist Georg Simon Ohm,
he generalized the equations describing
current flow to the case of electrical
conductors in three dimensions. In further
studies he demonstrated…
KIRCHHOFF’S RULES
• JUNCTION RULE • LOOP RULE
- Kirchhoff’s first rule
-Kirchhoff’s second rule
-The algebraic sum of changes in
-The sum of all currents entering
potential around any closed
a junction must equal the sum of
circuit path (loop) must be zero.
all currents leaving the junction.
JUNCTION RULE
(KIRCHHOFF’S FIRST RULE)
• states that the sum of the currents into a specific

junction in the circuit equals the sum of the
currents out of the same junction. Electric charge is
conserved: it does not suddenly appear or
disappear; it does not pile up at one point and thin
out at another.
JUNCTION RULE
(KIRCHHOFF’S FIRST RULE)
• In a closed circuit, there can be any number of

circuit elements, such as batteries and resistors. The
circuit can branch, creating "junctions", where the
circuit separates or recombines. The sum of the
currents in and out of a circuit junction must be
zero. This is known as Kirchhoff's Junction Rule.
Current is measured in Amperes (A).
I = CURRENT, (AMPERES, A)
• Sum of currents in or out of a circuit junction is equal to 0
•
=0
SAMPLE PROBLEM
• 1) The circuit in the figure below consists of two resistors and a
voltage source (battery). The current before junction "a" is Ia, the
current through resistor R1 is I1, and the current through resistor
R2 is I2. Values are given in the figure for Ia and I2. Based on this
figure, what is the value of current I1?

= 3.50 A
THE VALUE OF CURRENT I1 IS 3.50
A(AMPERES).
2) the circuit in the figure below consists of three resistors
and a voltage source (battery). The current before junction
"a" is Ia, the current before junction "b" is Ib, the current
through resistor R1 is I1, the current through resistor R2 is I2 ,
and the current through resistor R3 is I3. Values are given in
the figure for ia, I1, and I2. Based on this figure, what is the
value of current I3?
= 3.00 A
• The value of current I3 is 3.00
A(Amperes).
LOOP RULE (KIRCHHOFF’S SECOND RULE)
• states that around each loop in an electric circuit the sum
of the emf’s (electromotive forces, or voltages, of energy
sources such as batteries and generators) is equal to the
sum of the potential drops, or voltages across each of the
resistances, in the same loop. All the energy imparted by
the energy sources to the charged particles that carry the
current is just equivalent to that lost by the charge carriers
in useful work and heat dissipation around each loop of
the circuit.
LOOP RULE (KIRCHHOFF’S SECOND RULE)
• In any "loop" of a closed circuit, there can be any
number of circuit elements, such as batteries and
resistors. The sum of the voltage differences across all of
these circuit elements must be zero. This is known as
Kirchhoff's Loop Rule. Voltage differences are measured
in Volts (V). When the current I in the loop is given in
Amperes (A) and resistance of circuit elements is given in
Ohms (Ω), the voltage difference across a resistor can be
found using the formula V= IR
V = VOLTAGE DIFFERENCE, (VOLTS, V)
• Sum of voltage difference around a circuit loop is equal to 0
•
=0
SAMPLE PROBLEM
• 1) The circuit loop in the figure below consists of three
resistors and a voltage source (battery). The current in the
loop is I = +4.00 A, clockwise. The battery supplies a
voltage of vb = 100.0 V. The resistance values for two of
the three resistors are given in the figure. What is the
value of resistor R3 ?
=7 Ω(Ohms)
• The value of resistor R3 is 7 Ω(Ohms).
• 2) The circuit loop in the figure below consists of three
resistors and a voltage source (battery). The current in the loop
is I = +10.0 mA(milli-Amperes), counter-clockwise. The values
for the three resistors are given in the figure, in units of kilo-
Ohms (The value of resistor R3 is kΩ ). What voltage (Vb) must
be supplied by the battery?
=240 V(Volts)
• The voltage supplied by the battery Vb is
240 V(Volts).

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CURRENT AND VOLTAGE

• When you flip on the light switch, the light comes on

• Current is the flow of electrons around the circuit. In

• states that the sum of the currents into a specific

• In a closed circuit, there can be any number of

• Sum of currents in or out of a circuit junction is equal to 0

• Sum of voltage difference around a circuit loop is equal to 0

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