Review of Basic

Circuit Concepts
 What is an Electric Circuit?

 According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary:

The complete path of an electric current including usually the source of electric
energy.
 According to Encyclopedia Britannica:
Path that transmits electric current.

 A circuit includes a battery or a generator that gives energy to the

charged particles; devices that use current, such as lamps, motors, or
electronic computers; and connecting wires or transmission lines. Circuits
can be classified according to the type of current they carry (see
alternating current, direct current) or according to whether the current
remains whole (series) or divides to flow through several branches
simultaneously (parallel). Two basic laws that describe the performance
of electric circuits are Ohm's law and Kirchhoff's circuit rules.
A Simple Circuit
A Complicated Circuit (A Radio Receiver)
SI Prefixes
 Material Classification

 Conductor: a material in which charges can move to neighboring

atoms with relative ease.
 One measure of this relative ease of charge movement is
the electric resistance of the material
 Example conductor material: metals and carbon
 In metals the only charged particles that can move are
electrons
 Insulator: a material that opposes the charge movement (ideally
infinite opposition, i.e., no charge movement)
 Example insulators: Dry air and glass
 Semi-conductor: a material whose conductive properties are
somewhat in between those of conductor and insulator
 Example semi-conductor material: Silicon with some added
impurities.
 Electric Current

 Current: net flow of charge across any cross section of a

conductor, measured in Amperes (Andre-Marie Ampere (1775-
1836), a French mathematician and physicist).

 Current can be thought of as the time rate of change of charge:

 Electric Current

 Originally scientists (in particular Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790)

an American scientist and inventor) thought that current is only
due to the movement of positive charges.

 Thus the direction of the current was considered the direction of

movement of positive charges.
 Electric Current

 In reality, in metallic conductors current is due to the movement

of electrons, however, we follow the universally accepted
convention that current is in the direction of positive charge
movement.

 Two ways of showing the same current:

 AC Vs DC Current

 Direct current (DC) is a current that remains constant with time.

 Alternating current (AC) is a current that varies sinusoidally with

time.
Magnitude of Typical Currents
 Voltage

 Voltage (electromotive force, or potential) is the energy required

to move a unit charge through a circuit element, and is measured
in Volts (Volta (1745-1827) an Italian Physicist).

 Similar to electric current, there are two important types of

voltage: DC and AC
Typical Voltage Magnitude
 Voltage

 Voltage between two points in a circuit is the difference in

energy level of a unit charge located at each of the two points.

 Some examples:
 Voltage Polarity

 The plus (+) and minus (-) sign are used to define voltage
polarity.
 The assumption is that the potential of the terminal with (+)
polarity is higher than the potential of the terminal with (-)
polarity by the amount of voltage drop.
 Power

 The rate of change of energy per unit time, measured in Watts

(James Watt (1736-1819) a Scottish inventor and mechanical
engineer).
 Passive Sign Convention

 For calculating absorbed power:

The power absorbed by any circuit element with terminals A and B

is equal to the voltage drop from A to B multiplied by the current
through the element from A to B, i.e.,

With this convention if P+ , then the element is absorbing

(consuming) power. Otherwise (i.e. P-) is absorbing negative power
or actually generating (delivering) power.
 Passive Sign Convention

 Determine the amount of power absorbed or supplied by the

elements in the following figures.
 Example

 Determine the amount of power absorbed or supplied by the

elements in the following figures.
 Solution

 In Fig. (a) the power is

P = (12V)(-4A) = -48W.
The element is supplying 48W power.

 In Fig. (b) the power is

P = (4V)(2A) = 8W.
The element is absorbing 8W power.
 Question

 Suppose that your car is not starting. To determine whether the

battery is faulty, you turn on the light switch and find that the
lights are very dim, indicating a weak battery. You borrow a
friend's car and a set of jumper cables. However, how do you
connect his car's battery to yours? What do you want his battery
to do?
 Solution

 Essentially, his car’s battery must supply energy to yours, and

therefore it should be connected in the manner shown in Fig. Note
that the positive current leaves the positive terminal of the good
battery (supplying energy) and enters the positive terminal of the
weak battery (absorbing energy). Note that the same connections
are used when charging a battery
 Energy Calculation

 Instantaneous power:

 Energy absorbed or supplied by an element from time t0 to time

t0>t
 Tellegan’s Theorem

 Principle of Conservation of the Power: The algebraic sum of

the powers absorbed by all elements in a circuit is zero at any
instance of time (ΣP=0). That is, the sum of absorbed powers is
equal to the sum of generated powers at each instance of time.

 This principle is also known as Tellegan’s theorem. (Bernard D.H.

Tellegan (1900-1990), a Dutch electrical engineer).

 Similarly, one can write the principle of conservation of energy.

Classification of Circuit Components

 One common classification for circuit components is to group

them in two major groups:

1. Passive components or passive elements Components or

elements that absorb power.
Example: resistors, capacitors, and inductors

2. Active components or active elements Components that are not

passive! that is, components that deliver power.
Example: current or voltage sources
Independent Voltage & Current Source

 Independent Source: A independent source is one which produce

a particular voltage or current completely unaffected by what is
happening in the remainder of the circuit.

 Types

1. Independent Voltage Source

2. Independent Current Source
Independent Voltage & Current Source

 Independent Voltage source: An independent voltage source is a two-terminal

element that maintains a specified voltage between its terminals regardless of the
current through it.

 Independent Current Source: An independent current source is a two terminal

element that maintains a specified current regardless of the voltage across its
terminals.

 Independent Voltage/current sources may also be connected into a circuit in such a

way that they absorb power. A simple example of this case is a battery-charging
circuit.
 Question

Can the independent voltage source be utilized to model the battery

in an automobile under following operating conditions?

1) With the headlights on, turn on the radio. Do the headlights dim
with the radio on?

2) Cranking your car with headlights on. Do the headlights dim

with the cranking conditions?
 Solution

(1): With the headlights on, turn on the radio.

They probably won’t if the sound system in your automobile was
installed at the factory.

(2): Cranking your car with headlights on. .

If you try to crank your car with the headlights on, you will notice that
the lights dim. The starter in your car draws considerable current, thus
causing the voltage at the battery terminals to drop and dimming the
headlights.

The independent voltage source is a good model for the battery with
the radio turned on; however, an improved model is needed for your
battery to predict its performance under cranking conditions.
 Question

Determine the power absorbed or supplied by the elements in

the network as shown below?
 Solution

The current flow is out of the positive terminal of the 24-V source,
and therefore this element is supplying power to the circuit:
P(supplied)= (2)(24) = 48 W
The current is into the positive terminals of elements 1 and 2, and
therefore elements 1 and 2 are absorbing the power
P(1) = (2)(6) =12 W
P(2) = (2)(18) = 36 W
Note that the power supplied is equal to the power Absorbed
 Question

Find the power that is absorbed or supplied by the elements in

following fig.

ANSWER: Current source supplies 36 W, element 1 absorbs 54

W, and element 2 supplies 18 W.
 Dependent (Controlled) Voltage & Current Sources

Dependent Source:
An ideal dependent (controlled) source is an active element whose
quantity is controlled by a voltage or current of another circuit
element.
Dependent sources are usually presented by diamond-shaped
symbols:
 Dependent (Controlled) Source

There are four types of dependent sources:

a) Voltage-Controlled Voltage Source (VCVS)
b) Current-Controlled Voltage Source (CCVS)
c) Voltage-Controlled Current Source (VCCS)
d) Current-Controlled Current Source (CCCS)
 Question

For the given as shown in fig. Determine the output.

 Solution

The output voltage is;

Vo = µ Vs
Vo = (20)(2V) = 40 V

Note that the output voltage has been amplified from 2 V at the input
terminals to 40 V at the output terminals; that is, the circuit is a voltage
amplifier with an amplification factor of 20.
 Question

For the given network as shown in fig. find the output.

Solution: Io = 50mA
 Question

Determine the power supplied by the dependent sources in below fig.

 Solution

V o = µ Vs
Vo = (10)(4V) = 40 V
P = Vo ×Io
P = (40) (2) = 80 W
 Question

Determine the power supplied by the dependent sources in fig

shown below.

Solution: P = 160 W
 Question

Calculate the power absorbed by each element in the network of

Also verify that Tellegen’s theorem is satisfied by this network.
 Solution

P1 = (16) (1) = 16 W
P2 = (4) (1) = 4 W
P3 = (12) (1) = 12 W
P4 = (8) (2) = 16 W
P12 = (12) (2) = 24 W
P24 = (24) (-3) = -72 W
sum up the power absorbed by all elements:
16+4+12+16+24-72 = 0
This sum is zero, which verifies that Tellegen’s theorem is satisfied.
 Question

Use Tellegen’s theorem to find the current I0 in the network.

 Solution

First, we must determine the power absorbed by each element in the

network. Using the sign convention for power;
P2A = (6) (-2) = -12 W
P1 = (6) (Io) = 6I0 W
P2 = (12) (-9) = -108 W
P3 = (10) (-3) = -30 W
P4V = (4) (-8) = -32 W
PDS = (8Ix) (11) = (16) (11) = 176 W
Applying Tellegen’s theorem yields
-12 + 6I0 -108 -30 – 32 +176 = 0
6I0 +176 = 12+108+30+32
I0 = 1A
 Question

Find the power that is absorbed or supplied by the circuit

elements in the network.

Solution:
P2A = 96 W Supplied
P1 = 32 W Absorbed
P4Ix = 64 W Absorbed
 Question

Find the power that is absorbed or supplied by the network

elements.

Solution:
P24A = 36 W Supplied
P12V = 18 W Absorbed
P2Ix = 4.5 W Supplied
P1 = 9 W Absorbed
P2 = 13.5 W Absorbed
 Question

Find Ix using Tellegen’s theorem.

 Solution

10×(-Ix) + (15)×(-2) + (15)×(2) + (10)×(2) = 0

-10Ix– 30 + 30 + 20 = 0
-10Ix = -20
Ix = 2 A
 Question

The charge that enters the BOX in Fig. is shown in the graph below.
Calculate and sketch the current flowing into and the power
absorbed by the BOX between 0 and 10 milliseconds
Solution
Solution
 Question

The energy absorbed by the BOX in Fig. El.9 is given below.

Calculate and sketch the current flowing into the BOX. Also
calculate the charge that enters the BOX between 0 and 12 seconds.