ELE 201 Module 1

ELECTRIC CIRCUIT ELEMENTS

Dr K.A. Amusa
 Items Covered
• What are electrical circuits?
• Examples of electrical circuits.
• Circuit symbols
• Electrical circuit diagram
• Basic circuit elements
• Electrical Sources
• Difference between voltage and current
• Actors in electrical circuit: charge, voltage, current and emf
• Direct Current and Alternating Current
• Resistors, Capacitors and Inductors
• Ohm’s law
• Power dissipation in resistors
• Open circuit and short circuit
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 What are electrical circuits?
• A circuit consists of electrical or electronic components
interconnected with metal wires

• Every electrical or electronic device is a circuit

• The function of the circuit is determined by which

components are used and how they are interconnected

Breadboard Printed Integrated 3

Example of Breadboard

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Examples of Printed Circuit Boards (PCB)

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Examples of Integrated Circuits (IC)

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Circuit Symbols

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Circuit Symbols Cont’d

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 Circuit Diagram
• A circuit diagram shows the way in which the
components are connected

• Each component has a special symbol

• The interconnecting wires are shown as lines

• A node in a circuit is the point where two or more circuit

elements meet. Black dots in the following diagram are
nodes

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 The Basic Circuit Elements
• They have only two terminals, which are points of
connection to other circuit components
• It cannot be subdivided into other elements.
• There are five Basic Circuit Elements which are:
 Voltage source
 Current source
 Resistor
 Capacitor
 Inductor
• These circuit elements are used to model electrical
systems.
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 The Ideal Basic Circuit Element

• It has only two terminals, which are points

of connection to other circuit components
• It cannot be subdivided into other
elements
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Sources

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 Sources
• Voltage Sources: In general, there will be a
current flowing through a voltage source.
 That current can be positive, negative, or
zero, depending on how the source is
connected into the circuit.
• Current Sources: In general, there will be a
voltage across a current source.
 That voltage can be positive, negative, or 0
depending on how it is connected into the
circuit.
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 Positive and Negative Voltages

v is positive (voltage drop v is negative (voltage drop

from terminal 1 to terminal 2) from terminal 2 to terminal 1)

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Positive and Negative Currents

i is positive i is negative

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 Difference Between Voltage and Current
• A voltage can exist without a current; however a
current requires voltage to exist.
• For example, look at the power socket in a room.
• If nothing is plugged into this socket, there is no
current but you cannot insert your fingers into the
socket otherwise you will get a big shock that can
kill you!
• As soon as you plug in something into this socket,
current starts flowing.

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 Actors in Electrical Circuits
• Electric charge
– an amount of electrical energy
– can be positive or negative
• Electric current
– a flow of electrical charge, often a flow of electrons
– conventional current is in the opposite direction to
a flow of electrons
• Current flow in a circuit
– a sustained current needs a complete circuit
– also requires a stimulus to cause the charge to flow
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 Actors in Electrical Circuits Cont’d
• Electromotive force and potential difference
– the stimulus that causes a current to flow is an
e.m.f.
– this represents the energy introduced into the
circuit by a battery or generator
– this results in an electric potential at each point in
the circuit
– between any two points in the circuit there may
exist a potential difference
– both e.m.f. and potential difference are measured
in volts
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 Actors in Electrical Circuits Cont’d

• A simple circuit

• A water-based
analogy

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 Actors in Electrical Circuits Cont’d
• Voltage reference points
– all potentials within a circuit must be measured
with respect to some other point
– we often measure voltages with respect to a zero
volt reference called the ground or earth

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 Direct Current and Alternating Current
• Currents in electrical circuits may be constant
or may vary with time
• When currents vary with time they may be
unidirectional or alternating
• When the current flowing in a conductor
always flows in the same direction this is
direct current (DC)
• When the direction of the current periodically
changes this is alternating current (AC)
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 Resistors, Capacitors and Inductors
• Resistors provide resistance
– they oppose the flow of electricity
– measured in Ohms ()
• Capacitors provide capacitance
– they store energy in an electric field
– measured in Farads (F)
• Inductors provide inductance
– they store energy in a magnetic field
– measured in Henry (H)

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 Ohm’s Law

• The current flowing in a conductor is directly

proportional to the applied voltage V and
inversely proportional to its resistance R
I = V/R

V = IR

R = V/I

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 Power Dissipation in Resistors
• The instantaneous power dissipation P of a resistor is
given by the product of the voltage across it and the
current passing through it. Combining this result with
Ohm’s law gives:

P = VI

P = I2R

P = V2/R

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Ohm’s Law

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 OPEN AND SHORT CIRCUITS
An open circuit is simply two isolated terminals not connected
by an element of any kind

A short circuit is a very low resistance, direct connection

between two terminals of a network

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