Electrical Circuits

Electrical
Circuits
© 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.

Electrical Circuits
Chapter Goal: To understand the fundamental physical

principles that govern electric circuits.
© 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. Slide 23-2
Analyzing Circuits
• Practical circuits consist of many elements—resistors,

batteries, capacitors—connected together.
• You’ll learn how to analyze complex circuits by breaking

them into simpler pieces.
Series and Parallel Circuits
• There are two basic ways to connect resistors together and

capacitors together: series circuits and parallel circuits.
• You’ll learn why holiday lights are wired in series but

headlights are in parallel.
Electricity in the Body
• Your nervous system works by transmitting electrical

signals along axons, the long nerve fibers shown here.
• You’ll learn how to understand nerve impulses in terms of

the resistance, capacitance, and electric potential of
individual nerve cells.
Ohm’s Law
• In Section 22.5 you learned Ohm’s law, the relationship

between the current through a resistor and the potential
difference across it.
• In this chapter, you’ll use Ohm’s law when analyzing more

complex circuits consisting of multiple resistors and
batteries.

Chapter 23 Preview
Stop to Think
Rank in order, from smallest to largest, the resistances R1 to
R4 of the four resistors.

Reading Question 23.1
The symbol shown represents a
A. Battery.
B. Resistor.
C. Capacitor.
D. Transistor.

The symbol shown represents a
A. Battery.
B. Resistor.
C. Capacitor.
D. Transistor.

The bulbs in the circuit below
are connected .
A. In series
B. In parallel

The bulbs in the circuit below
are connected .
A. In series
B. In parallel

Which terminal of the battery has a higher potential?
A. The top terminal

B. The bottom terminal

Which terminal of the battery has a higher potential?
A. The top terminal

B. The bottom terminal

When three resistors are combined in series the total
resistance of the combination is
A. Greater than any of the individual resistance

values.
B. Less than any of the individual resistance values.
C. The average of the individual resistance values.

When three resistors are combined in series the total
resistance of the combination is
A. Greater than any of the individual resistance

values.
B. Less than any of the individual resistance values.
C. The average of the individual resistance values.

In an RC circuit, what is the name of the quantity
represented by the symbol ?
A. The decay constant

B. The characteristic time
C. The time constant
D. The resistive component
E. The Kirchoff

In an RC circuit, what is the name of the quantity
represented by the symbol ?
A. The decay constant

B. The characteristic time
C. The time constant
D. The resistive component
E. The Kirchoff

Section 23.1 Circuit Elements and Diagrams

Circuit Elements and Diagrams
• This is an electric circuit
in which a resistor and
a capacitor are
connected by wires to a
battery.
• To understand the
operation of the circuit,
we do not need to
know
whether the wires are bent or straight, or whether the battery is
to the right or left of the resistor.
• The literal picture provides many irrelevant details.

• Rather than drawing a literal picture of circuit to describe
or analyze circuits, we use a more abstract picture called a
circuit diagram.
• A circuit diagram is a logical picture of what is connected
to what.
• The actual circuit may look quite different from the circuit
diagram, but it will have the same logic and connections.

• Here are the basic symbols used for electric circuit
drawings:

• Here are the basic symbols used for electric circuit
drawings:

QuickCheck 23.1
Does the bulb light?
A. Yes
B. No
C. I’m not sure.

QuickCheck 23.1
Does the bulb light?
A. Ye
s Not a complete circuit
B.
C. No
I’m not
sure.

• The circuit diagram for the
simple circuit is now shown.
• The battery’s emf ℇ, the
resistance R, and the
capacitance C of the
capacitor are written beside
the circuit elements.
• The wires, which in practice
may bend and curve, are
shown as straight-line
connections between the
circuit elements.
Kirchhoff’s Law

Kirchhoff’s Laws
• Kirchhoff ’s junction law, as we
learned in Chapter 22, states that
the total current into a junction
must equal the total current
leaving the junction.
• This is a result of charge and
current conservation:

Kirchhoff’s Laws
• The gravitational potential energy of an object depends
only on its position, not on the path it took to get to that
position.
• The same is true of electric potential energy. If a charged
particle moves around a closed loop and returns to its
starting point, there is no net change in its electric
potential energy: Δuelec = 0.
• Because V = Uelec/q, the net change in the electric
potential around any loop or closed path must be zero
as well.

Kirchhoff’s Laws

Kirchhoff’s Laws
• For any circuit, if we add all
of the potential differences
around the loop formed by
the circuit, the sum must
be zero.
• This result is Kirchhoff’s
loop law:
• ΔVi is the potential difference of the ith component of the

loop.
Kirchhoff’s Laws
Text: pp. 729–730

Kirchhoff’s Laws
Text: p. 730

Kirchhoff’s Laws
• ΔVbat can be positive or negative for a battery, but ΔVR for
a resistor is always negative because the potential in a
resistor decreases along the direction of the current.
• Because the potential across a resistor always decreases,
we often speak of the voltage drop across the resistor.

Kirchhoff’s Laws
• The most basic electric circuit is a single resistor
connected to the two terminals of a battery.
• There are no junctions, so the current is the same in all
parts of the circuit.

Kirchhoff’s Laws
• The first three steps of the analysis of the basic circuit
using Kirchhoff’s Laws:

Kirchhoff’s Laws
• The fourth step in analyzing a circuit is to apply
Kirchhoff’s loop law:
• First we must find the values for ΔVbat and ΔVR.

Kirchhoff’s Laws
• The potential increases as we travel through the battery on
our clockwise journey around the loop. We enter the
negative terminal and exit the positive terminal after
having gained potential ℇ.
• Thus ΔVbat = + ℇ.

Kirchhoff’s Laws
• The magnitude of the potential difference across the
resistor is ΔV = IR, but Ohm’s law does not tell us whether
this should be positive or negative. The potential of a
resistor decreases in the direction of the current, which is
indicated with + and  signs in the figure.
• Thus, ΔVR = IR.

Kirchhoff’s Laws
• With the values of ΔVbat and ΔVR, we can use Kirchhoff’s
loop law:
• We can solve for the current in the circuit:

QuickCheck 23.6
The diagram below shows a segment of a circuit. What is

the current in the 200 Ω resistor?
A. 0.5 A
B. 1.0 A
C. 1.5 A
D. 2.0 A
E. There is not enough
information to decide.

QuickCheck 23.6
The diagram below shows a segment of a circuit. What is

the current in the 200 Ω resistor?
A. 0.5 A
B. 1.0 A
C. 1.5 A
D. 2.0 A

Example Problem
There is a current of 1.0 A in the following circuit. What is
the resistance of the unknown circuit element?


• There are two possible ways that you can connect the
circuit.
• Series and parallel circuits have very different
properties.
• We say two bulbs are connected in series if they are
connected directly to each other with no junction in
between.

QuickCheck 23.4
The circuit shown has a battery,

two capacitors, and a resistor.
Which of the following circuit
diagrams is the best representation
of the circuit shown?

QuickCheck 23.4
The circuit shown has a battery,

two capacitors, and a resistor.
Which of the following circuit
diagrams is the best representation
of the circuit shown?

QuickCheck 23.5
Which is the correct circuit
diagram for the circuit shown?

QuickCheck 23.5
Which is the correct circuit
diagram for the circuit shown?
A

Example 23.2 Brightness of bulbs in series
FIGURE 23.11 shows two identical lightbulbs connected in
series. Which bulb is brighter: A or B? Or are they equally
bright?

(cont.)
REASON Current is conserved, and there are no junctions in
the circuit. Thus, as FIGURE 23.12 shows, the current is
the same at all points.

(cont.)
We learned in ◀SECTION 22.6 that the power dissipated by
a resistor is P = I 2R. If the two bulbs are identical (i.e., the
same resistance) and have the same current through them,
the power dissipated by each bulb is the same. This means
that the brightness of the bulbs must be the same. The
voltage across each of the bulbs will be the same as well
because ∆V = IR.

(cont.)
ASSESS It’s perhaps tempting to think that bulb A will be
brighter than bulb B, thinking that something is “used up”
before the current gets to bulb B. It is true that energy is
being transformed in each bulb, but current must be
conserved and so both bulbs dissipate energy at the same
rate. We can extend this logic to a special case: If one bulb
burns out, and no longer lights, the second bulb will go dark
as well. If one bulb can no longer carry a current, neither
can the other.

QuickCheck 23.12
Which bulb is brighter?
A. The 60 W bulb.
B. The 100 W bulb.
C. Their brightnesses are the same.
D. There’s not enough information to tell.

QuickCheck 23.12
Which bulb is brighter?
A. The 60 W bulb.
B. The 100 W bulb.
C. Their brightnesses are the same.
D. There’s not enough information to tell.
P = I2R and both have the same current.

Series Resistors
• This figure shows two
resistors in series connected
to a battery.
• Because there are no
junctions, the current I must
be the same in both resistors.

Series Resistors
• We use Kirchhoff’s loop
law to look at the potential
differences.

Series Resistors
• The voltage drops across the two resistors, in the direction
of the current, are ΔV1 = IR1 and ΔV2 = IR2.
• We solve for the current in the circuit:

QuickCheck 23.13
The battery current I is
A. 3A
B. 2A
C. 1A
D. 2/3 A
E. 1/2 A

QuickCheck 23.13
A. 3A
B. 2A
C. 1A
D. 2/3 A
E. 1/2 A

QuickCheck 23.9
The diagram below shows a circuit with two batteries and

three resistors. What is the potential difference across the
200 Ω resistor?
A. 2.0 V
B. 3.0 V
C. 4.5 V
D. 7.5 V

QuickCheck 23.9
The diagram below shows a circuit with two batteries and

three resistors. What is the potential difference across the
200 Ω resistor?
A. 2.0 V
B. 3.0 V
C. 4.5 V
D. 7.5 V

Series Resistors
• If we replace two
resistors with a single
resistor having the
value
Req = R1 + R2
the total potential

difference
across this resistor is still ℇ because the potential
difference is established by the battery.

Series Resistors
• The current in the single resistor circuit is:
• The single resistor is equivalent to the two series resistors

in the sense that the circuit’s current and potential
difference are the same in both cases.
• If we have N resistors in series, their equivalent
resistance is the sum of the N individual resistances:

QuickCheck 23.7
The current through the 3  resistor is
A. 9A
B. 6A
C. 5A
D. 3A
E. 1A

QuickCheck 23.7
The current through the 3  resistor is
A. 9A
B. 6A
C. 5A
D. 3A
E. 1A

Example 23.3 Potential difference of Christmas-
tree minilights
A string of Christmas-tree minilights consists of 50 bulbs
wired in series. What is the potential difference across each
bulb when the string is plugged into a 120 V outlet?

tree minilights (cont.)
PREPARE FIGURE 23.14 shows the minilight circuit, which
has 50 bulbs in series. The current in each of the bulbs is
the same because they are in series.

SOLVE Applying Kirchhoff’s loop law around the circuit, we
find

The bulbs are all identical and, because the current in the
bulbs is the same, all of the bulbs have the same potential
difference. The potential difference across a single bulb
is thus

ASSESS This result seems reasonable. The potential
difference is “shared” by the bulbs in the circuit. Since the
potential difference is shared among 50 bulbs, the potential
difference across each bulb will be quite small.

Series Resistors
• We compare two circuits:
one with a single lightbulb,
and the other with two
lightbulbs connected in
series. All of the batteries
and bulbs are identical.
• How does the brightness
of the bulbs in the different
circuits compare?

Series Resistors
• In a circuit with one bulb, circuit A, a battery drives the current
IA = ℇ/R through the bulb.
• In a circuit, with two bulbs (in series) with the same resistance
R, circuit B, the equivalent resistance is Req = 2R.
• The current running through the bulbs in the circuit B is
IB = ℇ/2R.
• Since the emf from the battery and the resistors are the same in
each circuit, IB = ½ IA.
• The two bulbs in circuit B are equally bright, but they are
dimmer than the bulb in circuit A because there is less current.

Series Resistors
• A battery is a source of potential difference, not a
source of current.
• The battery does provide the current in a circuit, but
the
amount of current depends on the resistance.
• The amount of current depends jointly on the battery’s
emf and the resistance of the circuit attached to the
battery.

Parallel Resistors
• In a circuit where two bulbs are connected at both ends,
we say that they are connected in parallel.

Conceptual Example 23.5 Brightness of bulbs
in parallel
Which lightbulb in the circuit of FIGURE 23.18 is brighter:
A or B? Or are they equally bright?

in parallel (cont.)
Because the bulbs are identical, the currents through the two
bulbs are equal and thus the bulbs are equally bright.

in parallel (cont.)
ASSESS One might think that A would be brighter than B
because current takes the “shortest route.” But current is
determined by potential difference, and two bulbs connected
in parallel have the same potential difference.

Parallel Resistors
• The potential difference across each resistor in parallel is

equal to the emf of the battery because both resistors are
connected directly to the battery.

Parallel Resistors
• The current Ibat from the battery splits into currents I1 and
I2 at the top of the junction.
• According to the junction law,
• Applying Ohm’s law to each resistor, we find that the

battery current is

Parallel Resistors
• Can we replace a group of parallel resistors with a single
equivalent resistor?
• To be equivalent, ΔV must equal ℇ and I must equal Ibat:
• This is the equivalent resistance, so a single Req acts

exactly the same as multiple resistors.

Parallel Resistors

Parallel Resistors
• How does the brightness of
bulb B compare to that of
bulb A?
• Each bulb is connected to
the same potential
difference, that of the
battery, so they all have
the same brightness.
• In the second circuit, the battery must power two
lightbulbs, so it provides twice as much current.

QuickCheck 23.10
What things about the resistors in this circuit are the same
for all three?
A. Current I
B. Potential difference V
C. Resistance R
D. A and B
E. B and C

QuickCheck 23.10
What things about the resistors in this circuit are the same
for all three?
A. Current I
B. Potential difference V
C. Resistance R
D. A and B
E. B and C

QuickCheck 23.11
Which resistor dissipates more power?
A. The 9  resistor
B. The 1  resistor
C. They dissipate the
same power

QuickCheck 23.11
Which resistor dissipates more power?
A. The 9  resistor
B. The 1  resistor
C. They dissipate the
same power

Example 23.6 Current in a parallel resistor
circuit
The three resistors of FIGURE 23.22 are connected to a
12 V battery. What current is provided by the battery?
[Insert Figure 23.22]

circuit (cont.)
PREPARE The three resistors are in parallel, so we can
reduce them to a single equivalent resistor, as in
FIGURE 23.23.

circuit (cont.)
SOLVE We can use Equation 23.12 to calculate the
equivalent resistance:
Once we know the equivalent resistance, we can use Ohm’s

law to calculate the current leaving the battery:

circuit (cont.)
Because the battery can’t tell the difference between the
original three resistors and this single equivalent resistor, the
battery in Figure 23.22 provides a current of 0.66 A to the
circuit.
ASSESS As we’ll see, the equivalent resistance of a group of
parallel resistors is less than the resistance of any of the
resistors in the group. 18 Ω is less than any of the individual
values, a good check on our work.

Parallel Resistors
• It would seem that more resistors would imply more
resistance. This is true for resistors in series, but not for
resistors in parallel.
• Parallel resistors provide more pathways for charge to get
through.
• The equivalent of several resistors in parallel is
always
less than any single resistor in the group.
• An analogy is driving in heavy traffic. If there is an
alternate route for cars to travel, more cars will be able to
flow.

QuickCheck 23.13
A. 3A
B. 2A
C. 1A
D. 2/3 A
E. 1/2 A

QuickCheck 23.13
A. 3A
B. 2A
C. 1A
D. 2/3 A
E. 1/2 A

QuickCheck 23.14
A. 3A
B. 2A
C. 1A
D. 2/3 A
E. 1/2 A

QuickCheck 23.14
A. 3A
B. 2A
C. 1A
D. 2/3 A
E. 1/2 A

QuickCheck 23.15
When the switch closes, the battery current
A. Increases.
B. Stays the same.
C. Decreases.

QuickCheck 23.15
When the switch closes, the battery current
A. Increases.
B. Stays the same.
C. Decreases.
Equivalent resistance
decreases.
Potential difference
is unchanged.

QuickCheck 23.2
The three bulbs are identical and the two batteries are
identical. Compare the brightnesses of the bulbs.
A. ABC
B. ACB
C. ABC
D. ABC
E. ABC

QuickCheck 23.2
A. ABC
B. ACB
C. ABC
D. ABC
E. ABC
This question is checking your initial intuition.
We’ll return to it later.

QuickCheck 23.3
A. ABC
B. ACB
C. ABC
D. ABC
E. ABC

QuickCheck 23.3
A. ABC
B. ACB
C. ABC
D. ABC
E. ABC
This question is checking your initial intuition.
We’ll return to it later.

QuickCheck 23.18
The lightbulbs are identical. Initially both bulbs are

glowing. What happens when the switch is closed?
A. Nothing.
B. A stays the same;
B gets dimmer.
C. A gets brighter;
B stays the same.
D. Both get dimmer.
E. A gets brighter;
B goes out.
QuickCheck 23.18
The lightbulbs are identical. Initially both bulbs are

glowing. What happens when the switch is closed?
A. Nothing.
B. A stays the same;
B gets dimmer.
C. A gets brighter;
B stays the same.
D. Both get dimmer.
E. A gets brighter; Short circuit.
B goes out. Zero resistance
path.
Example Problem
What is the current supplied by the battery in the following
circuit?

Example Problem
A resistor connected to a power supply works as a heater.
Which of the following two circuits will provide more
power?

Measuring Voltage and Current

• An ammeter is a device that measures the current in a
circuit element.
• Because charge flows through circuit elements, an
ammeter must be placed in series with the circuit element
whose current is to be measured.

• In order to determine the resistance in this simple, one-
resistor circuit with a fixed emf of 1.5 V, we must know
the current in the circuit.

• To determine the current in
the circuit, we insert the
ammeter. To do so, we must
break the connection
between the battery and the
resistor.
• Because they are in series, the
ammeter and the resistor have the
same current.
• The resistance of an ideal
ammeter is zero so that it can
measure the current without
changing the current.
• In this circuit, the ammeter
reads a current I = 0.60
A.
• If the ammeter is ideal, there
is no potential difference
across it. The potential
difference across the resistor is
ΔV = ℇ.
• The resistance is then
calculated:

• A voltmeter is used to measure
the potential differences in a
circuit.
• Because the potential difference
is measured across a circuit
element, a voltmeter is placed
in parallel with the circuit
element whose potential difference
is to be measured.

• An ideal voltmeter has infinite resistance so that it can
measure the voltage without changing the voltage.
• Because it is in parallel with the resistor, the voltmeter’s
resistance must be very large so that it draws very little
current.

• The voltmeter finds the potential difference across the
24 Ω resistor to be 6.0 V.
• The current through the resistor is:

• Kirchhoff’s law gives the potential difference across the
unknown resistor:
• ΔVR = 3.0V

QuickCheck 23.19
What does the voltmeter read?
A. 6V
B. 3V
C. 2V
D. Some other value
E. Nothing because this
will fry the meter.

QuickCheck 23.19
What does the voltmeter read?
A. 6V
B. 3V
C. 2V
D. Some other value
will fry the meter.

QuickCheck 23.20
What does the ammeter read?
A. 6A
B. 3A
C. 2A
D. Some other value
will fry the meter.

QuickCheck 23.20
What does the ammeter read?
A. 6A
B. 3A
C. 2A
D. Some other value
will fry the meter.

More Complex Circuits

More Complex Circuits
• Combinations of resistors can often be reduced to a single
equivalent resistance through a step-by-step application
of the series and parallel rules.
• Two special cases:
Two identical resistors in series: Req = 2R
Two identical resistors in parallel: Req = R/2

Example 23.8 How does the brightness
change?
Initially the switch in FIGURE 23.28 is open. Bulbs A and
B are equally bright, and bulb C is not glowing. What
happens to the brightness of A and B when the switch is
closed? And how does the brightness of C then compare to
that of A and B? Assume that all bulbs are identical.

change? (cont.)
SOLVE Suppose the resistance of
each bulb is R. Initially, before the
switch is closed, bulbs A and B
are in series; bulb C is not part of
the circuit. A and B are identical
resistors in series, so their equivalent resistance is 2R and
the current from the battery is
This is the initial current in bulbs A and B, so they are

equally bright.
change? (cont.)
Closing the switch places bulbs B
and C in parallel with each other.
The equivalent resistance of the
two identical resistors in parallel
is RBC = R/2. This equivalent
resistance
of B and C is in series with bulb A; hence the total
resistance of the circuit is and
the current leaving the battery is
Closing the switch decreases the total circuit resistance and

change? (cont.)
All the current from the battery
passes through bulb A, so A
increases in brightness when the
switch is closed. The current Iafter
then splits at the junction. Bulbs B
and C have equal resistance, so the current divides equally.
The current in B is (ℇ/R), which is less than Ibefore. Thus B
decreases in brightness when the switch is closed. With the
switch closed, bulbs B and C are in parallel, so bulb C has
the same brightness as bulb B.

change? (cont.)
ASSESS Our final results make
sense. Initially, bulbs A and B are
in series, and all of the current that
goes through bulb A goes through
bulb B. But when we add bulb C,
the
current has another option—it can go through bulb C. This
will increase the total current, and all that current must go
through bulb A, so we expect a brighter bulb A. But now the
current through bulb A can go through bulbs B and C. The
current splits, so we’d expect that bulb B will be dimmer
than before.
Analyzing Complex Circuits
Text: p. 739

Text: p. 739

Text: p. 739

Example Problem
What is the current supplied by the battery in the following
circuit? What is the current through each resistor in the
circuit? What is the potential difference across each resistor?

Example Problem
What is the equivalent resistance of the following circuit?

Capacitors in Parallel and Series

• A capacitor is a circuit element
made of two conductors
separated by an insulating
layer.
• When the capacitor is
connected to
the battery, charge will flow to the capacitor, increasing its
potential difference until
ΔVC = ℇ
• Once the capacitor is fully charged, there will be no
further current.

• Parallel or series capacitors can be represented by a single
equivalent capacitance.

• The total charge Q on the two capacitors is

• We can replace two capacitors in parallel by a single
equivalent capacitance Ceq:
• The equivalent capacitance has the same ΔVC but a greater

charge.

• If N capacitors are in parallel, their equivalent capacitance
is the sum of the individual capacitances:


• The potential differences across two capacitors in series
are
ΔV1 = Q/C1 and ΔV2 = Q/C2
• The total potential difference across both capacitors is
ΔVC = ΔV1 + ΔV2

• If we replace the two capacitors with a single capacitor
having charge Q and potential difference ΔVC, then the
inverse of the capacitance of this equivalent capacitor is
• This analysis hinges on the fact that series capacitors

each have the same charge Q.

• If N capacitors are in series, their equivalent capacitance is
the inverse of the sum of the inverses of the individual
capacitances:
• For series capacitors the equivalent capacitance is less than

that of the individual capacitors.

QuickCheck 23.21
Which of the following combinations of capacitors has the

highest capacitance?

QuickCheck 23.21
Which of the following combinations of capacitors has the

highest capacitance?

QuickCheck 23.22
Which capacitor discharges more quickly after the switch is

closed?
A. Capacitor A
B. Capacitor B
C. They discharge at
the same rate.
D. We can’t say without
knowing the initial
amount of charge.

QuickCheck 23.22
Which capacitor discharges more quickly after the switch is

closed? Smaller time constant = RC
A. Capacitor A
B. Capacitor B
C. They discharge at
the same rate.
D. We can’t say without
knowing the initial
amount of charge.

Example 23.10 Analyzing a capacitor circuit
a. Find the equivalent capacitance of the combination of
capacitors in the circuit of FIGURE 23.35.
b. What charge flows through the battery as the capacitors
are being charged?

(cont.)
PREPARE We can use the relationships for parallel and series
capacitors to reduce the capacitors to a single equivalent
capacitance, much as we did for resistor circuits. We can
then compute the charge through the battery using this value
of capacitance.

(cont.)

(cont.)

(cont.)
The battery sees a capacitance of 2.0 F. To establish a
potential difference of 12 V, the charge that must flow is
Q = Ceq ∆VC = (2.0  10−6 F)(12 V) = 2.4  10−5 C
ASSESS We solve capacitor circuit problems in a manner

very similar to what we followed for resistor circuits.

RC Circuits
RC Circuits
• RC circuits are circuits containing resistors and
capacitors.
• In RC circuits, the current varies with time.
• The values of the resistance and the capacitance in an RC
circuit determine the time it takes the capacitor to charge
or discharge.

RC Circuits
• The figure shows an RC circuit consisting of a charged
capacitor, an open switch, and a resistor before the switch
closes. The switch will close at t = 0.

RC Circuits

RC Circuits
• The initial potential difference is (ΔVC)0 = Q0/C.
• The initial current—the initial rate at which the capacitor
begins to discharge—is

RC Circuits

RC Circuits
• After some time, both the charge on the capacitor (and
thus the potential difference) and the current in the circuit
have decreased.
• When the capacitor voltage has decreased to ΔVC, the
current has decreased to
• The current and the voltage decrease until the capacitor is

fully discharged and the current is zero.

RC Circuits
• The current and the
capacitor voltage decay
to zero after the switch
closes, but not linearly.

RC Circuits
• The decays of the voltage and the current are exponential
decays:

RC Circuits
• The time constant  is a characteristic time for a circuit.
A long time constant implies a slow decay; a short time
constant, a rapid decay:
 =
RC
• In terms of the time constant, the current and voltage
equations are

RC Circuits
• The current and voltage in a circuit do not drop to zero
after one time constant. Each increase in time by one time
constant causes the voltage and current to decrease by a
factor of e−1 = 0.37.

RC Circuits

RC Circuits
• The time constant has the form  = RC.
• A large resistance opposes the flow of charge, so
increasing R increases the decay time.
• A larger capacitance stores more charge, so
increasing C
also increases the decay time.

QuickCheck 23.23
The following circuits contain capacitors that are charged to

5.0 V. All of the switches are closed at the same time. After
1 second has passed, which capacitor is charged to the
highest voltage?

QuickCheck 23.23
The following circuits contain capacitors that are charged to

5.0 V. All of the switches are closed at the same time. After
1 second has passed, which capacitor is charged to the
highest voltage?

QuickCheck 23.24
In the following circuit, the switch is initially closed and the
bulb glows brightly. When the switch is opened, what
happens to the brightness of the bulb?
A. The brightness of the bulb

is not affected.
B. The bulb starts at the same
brightness and then gradually
dims.
C. The bulb starts and the same brightness and then
gradually brightens.
D. The bulb initially brightens, then gradually
dims.
E. The bulb initially dims, then gradually
QuickCheck 23.24
In the following circuit, the switch is initially closed and the
bulb glows brightly. When the switch is opened, what
happens to the brightness of the bulb?
A. The brightness of the bulb

is not affected.
B. The bulb starts at the same
brightness and then gradually
dims.
C. The bulb starts and the same brightness and then
gradually brightens.
D. The bulb initially brightens, then gradually
dims.
E. The bulb initially dims, then gradually
Example 23.11 Finding the current in an RC
circuit
The switch in the circuit of FIGURE 23.40 has been in
position a for a long time, so the capacitor is fully charged.
The switch is changed to position b at t = 0. What is the
current in the circuit immediately after the switch is closed?
What is the current in the circuit 25 μs later?

circuit (cont.)
SOLVE The capacitor is connected across the battery
terminals, so initially it is charged to (∆VC)0 = 9.0 V. When
the switch is closed, the initial current is given by Equation
23.20:

circuit (cont.)
As charge flows, the capacitor discharges. The time constant
for the decay is given by Equation 23.23:

circuit (cont.)
The current in the circuit as a function of time is given by
Equation 23.22. 25 s after the switch is closed, the
current is

circuit (cont.)
ASSESS This result makes sense. 25 s after the switch has
closed is 2.5 time constants, so we expect the current to
decrease to a small fraction of the initial current. Notice that
we left times in units of s; this is one of the rare cases
where we needn’t convert to SI units. Because the exponent
is t/, which involves a ratio of two times, we need only be
certain that both t and  are in the same units.

Charging a Capacitor
• In a circuit that charges a
capacitor, once the switch is
closed, the potential difference
of the battery causes a current
in the circuit, and the
capacitor begins to charge.
• As the capacitor charges, it develops a potential difference
that opposes the current, so the current decreases, and so
does the rate of charging.
• The capacitor charges until ΔVC = ℇ.

Charging a Capacitor
• The equations that describe the capacitor voltage and the
current as a function of time are

QuickCheck 23.25
The capacitor is initially unchanged. Immediately after the

switch closes, the capacitor voltage is
A. 0 V
B. Somewhere between 0
V and 6 V
C. 6 V
D. Undefined.

QuickCheck 23.25
The capacitor is initially unchanged. Immediately after the

switch closes, the capacitor voltage is
A. 0 V
B. Somewhere between 0
V and 6 V
C. 6 V
D. Undefined.

QuickCheck 23.26
The red curve shows how the capacitor charges after the
switch is closed at t = 0. Which curve shows the capacitor
charging if the value of the resistor is reduced?

QuickCheck 23.26
The red curve shows how the capacitor charges after the
switch is closed at t = 0. Which curve shows the capacitor
charging if the value of the resistor is reduced?
Smaller time constant.

Same ultimate
amount of charge.
Example Problem
The switch in the circuit shown has been in position a for a
long time, so the capacitor is fully charged. The switch is
changed to position b at t = 0. What is the current in the
circuit immediately after the switch is closed? What is the
current in the circuit 25 s later?

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© 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.

Chapter Goal: To understand the fundamental physical

• Practical circuits consist of many elements—resistors,

• You’ll learn how to analyze complex circuits by breaking

• There are two basic ways to connect resistors together and

• You’ll learn why holiday lights are wired in series but

• Your nervous system works by transmitting electrical

• You’ll learn how to understand nerve impulses in terms of

• In Section 22.5 you learned Ohm’s law, the relationship

• In this chapter, you’ll use Ohm’s law when analyzing more

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A. The top terminal

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A. The top terminal

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A. Greater than any of the individual resistance

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A. Greater than any of the individual resistance

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A. The decay constant

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A. The decay constant

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Does the bulb light?

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Does the bulb light?

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• ΔVi is the potential difference of the ith component of the

Text: pp. 729–730

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• First we must find the values for ΔVbat and ΔVR.

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• We can solve for the current in the circuit:

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The diagram below shows a segment of a circuit. What is

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The diagram below shows a segment of a circuit. What is

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