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Notes for course EE1.

1 Circuit Analysis 2004-05


TOPIC 2 SIMPLE RESISTOR CIRCUITS
OBJECTIVES
1) To introduce Ohm's Law
2) To introduce Kirchhoff's Current Law
3) To introduce Kirchhoff's Voltage Law
4) To work with Series sub-circuits
5) To work with Parallel sub-circuits
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1.1

OHM'S LAW

The Resistor Element

The v-i characteristic and the symbol for a resistor are as follows:

The v-i characteristic is a straight line through the origin with a constant slope, which we call the
resistance R.
The equation describing the resistor element is:

v = iR
This is called Ohm's law.
The unit of resistance is V / A, which we call the Ohm, abbreviated to
We have assumed the passive sign convention in defining the v-i characteristic of the resistor
We could define the current in the opposite direction:

Then, we have

v = ( i ) R = iR
However, we use the passive sign convention whenever possible, in which case Ohm's law has the
'+' sign.
A physical resistor is usually a small cylinder made of carbon material or a very thin film of metal.
For such elements the resistance parameter is always positive, R > 0. For higher values of voltage
and current, a physical resistor heats up and its resistance changes.
This causes a nonlinear v-i characteristic which is no longer a straight line:

Topic 2 Simple Resistor Circuits

The linear circuit element that we have called the resistor is an idealization of a physical resistor.
The absorbed power for a resistor is:

P ( t ) = v ( t ) i ( t ) = Ri ( t ) i ( t ) = i 2 ( t ) R
Thus the absorbed power is always positive. This means that the energy absorbed is also positive.
Thus, the resistor is a passive element.
The resistor is invertible in that we can invert the v-i equation and obtain an i-v equation:

v = iR
1
i = v = Gv
R
where G = l/R is called the conductance.
The unit of conductance, is the inverse Ohm, called the Siemens.
The abbreviation for Siemens is S (upper case distinguishes it from s, the abbreviation for the
second).
1.2

Equivalent Resistance

Consider a 2-terminal sub-circuit, which could consist of a circuit containing many resistor
elements, with v-i characteristic in the form of a straight line with slope R:

We consider the two-terminal sub-circuit to be equivalent to a resistor of value R , as far as any


external elements are concerned
1.3

Testing a sub-circuit

To determine the v-i characteristic of an element or a sub-circuit, we apply a test source of voltage
or current:

We can vary the test variable over a range of values and record it and the response variable at each
point; the resulting graph is then the v-i characteristic.
If the sub-circuit is a 2 resistance element, we get a straight line graph going through the origin of
the v-i plane having a slope of 2:
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Topic 2 Simple Resistor Circuits

This is true regardless of whether a voltage source or a current source is used.


Consider testing a sub-circuit which is equivalent to an independent voltage source with a test
voltage source or a sub-circuit which is equivalent to an independent current source with a test
current source:

In these cases we run into problems. There can only be one voltage between two nodes of a circuit
and only one current in a conductor.
We can, therefore, not adjust either the voltage source or the current source to all possible values.
We must pick a test source consistent with sub-circuit constraints.
1.4

The Open Circuit and the Short Circuit as Degenerate Resistors

Consider the Ohm's law expressions for a resistor:


v = iR

i=

1
v = Gv
R

If R = 0, we have:

v=0R=0
If R , we have:
i=

1
v=0

The R = 0 case is called the short circuit and the R case is called the open circuit.
We can also consider the short circuit to be a zero-valued voltage source and the open circuit to be a
zero-valued current source
Since the current in a voltage source is arbitrary (meaning that it depends on the circuit connected),
the same is true for the sort circuit; similarly, the voltage of an open-circuit is arbitrary. Short and
open circuit and their equivalents are as follows:

Short circuit and equivalents

Open circuit and equivalents

Topic 2 Simple Resistor Circuits

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2.1

KIRCHHOFF'S LAWS

Kirchhoff's Current Law (KCL)

Consider an ideal conductor in which we have defined a current (and consequently a charge flow)
entering one end and another current (and charge) leaving at the other end:

We will assume that charge does not "stack up" on the conductor. This means that:

q1 = q2

i1 = i2

This is a manifestation of the general principle of charge conservation.


(In electrostatics, as distinct from circuit analysis, which is the theory of charges in motion, charge
can be placed in isolation on a conductor or an insulator).
Consider now a general circuit element:

Since charge can not be stored inside the element the same equation applies.
(For a capacitor, the charges on the capacitor plates are equal and opposite [+q and q]; hence
increase in charge on one plate coming through one terminal will be balanced by an equal but
opposite charge on the other plate which must therefore leave through the other terminal. Hence q1
= q2 )
Consider now drawing a closed contour S around some of the elements in a circuit:

The contour is closed and is penetrated only by conductors, possibly including element leads.
We have shown only four conductors, though there could be any number.
Reference arrows for i1, q1 and i3, q3 point in to the surface S. Reference arrows for i2, q2 and i4, q4
point out of the surface.
Remember that these reference arrows are simply specifications for connecting the ammeter to measure the current the values can be either positive or negative.
Assuming that there is no unbalanced charge storage and that current and charge only flow through
conductors and elements, we may state the following:

qin = qout
S

where "in" refers to a charge reference pointed in to S and "out" refers to a reference directed out of
S.

Topic 2 Simple Resistor Circuits

If we differentiate the above equation with respect to time, we have, what is called Kirchhoff's
current law:

iin = iout
S

In view of its importance, we abbreviate this law as KCL.


For the specific set of currents in the example, we have:

i1 + i3 = i2 + i4
These currents are variables; one possible set of values is i1 = 2 A, i2 = 4 A, i3 = 8 A, i4 = 2 A
Alternately, we could have i1(t) = cos(3t) A, i2t) = et A, i3(t) = cos(3t) A, i4(t) = et A
KCL is assumed to hold for every instant of time for time-dependent currents.
Consider reversing the inward reference arrows and changing the signs of their variables:

The basic KCL equation can now be written as:

iout = 0
S

Reversing the outward reference arrows, as shown above, leads to:

iin = 0
S

The corresponding equations in terms of charge are also clearly valid:

i1 i3 + i2 + i4 = 0

i1 + i3 i2 i4 = 0

We refer to any of the three forms as KCL.


Example 2.1
A Write the current form of KCL for the node enclosed by the Kirchhoff surface S1 in the
following circuit:

Solution
For Sl , use the iin = iout form of KCL:

2 = 1+1
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Topic 2 Simple Resistor Circuits

Using the iout = 0 form:

2 + 1 + 1 = 0
Using the iin = 0 form:

2 11 = 0
Clearly, these three forms are equivalent to each other.
B Write the current form of KCL for the node enclosed by the Kirchhoff surface S2 in the circuit
above:
Solution
The iin = 0 form yields

1+1 2 = 0
Notice that surface S1 corresponds to application of KCL to a single node; surface S2 corresponds to
application of KCL to a sub-circuit.
The hydraulic analogy for KCL is obvious. Water flow entering and leaving a junction must be
equal as must flows entering and leaving any enclosed part of a system.
1.2

Kirchhoff's Voltage Law (KVL)

Whereas the first of Kirchhoff's laws concerned currents (and therefore charges), the second will be
concerned with voltages (and, therefore, flux linkages).
Consider an example circuit:

If we think of starting out at a given node, say node 1, and travelling around the circuit along
conductors and element leads, we will have traversed a path, such as P1.
Technically, we can describe a path as an ordered sequence of elements, each two successive
elements of which share a common node; thus, P1 = {e6, el, e2} is a path and P2 = {e5, e4, e3}
A path has a direction from the initial node to the final node shown by an arrow; P1 has node 1 as
its initial node and node 4 as its final node; path P2 also has node 1 as its initial node and node 4 as
its final node but the two paths are different.
Consider now the same circuit with two element voltages vx and vy arbitrarily defined as shown:

We now can say that vx is a voltage rise and that vy is a voltage drop relative to the path Pl.
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Topic 2 Simple Resistor Circuits

Neither vx nor vy is a rise nor a drop for P2 because P2 does not pass through these elements.
If we use our height analogy for voltage, we see that we climb from a minus upward to a plus when
we go along the path through a voltage rise, and go down from the plus to the minus when we
traverse a drop.
Now consider reversing the plus and minus signs for vx and vy which changes the signs of the
voltage variables themselves.

This indicates that a negative voltage rise is a voltage drop and vice versa.
We can now state that if two paths P1 and P2 have the same initial node and the same final node,
then the sums of the voltage rises along the two paths are the same.
Thus, for the following circuit:

we can write:
vx vy = vr + vs

The voltage rise along the two paths must be the same.
Integrating this expression with respect to time leads to a similar expression applying to the flux
linkages associated with these voltages.
An analogy in terms of potential energy can easily be produced:

No matter whether we climb the mountain by path P1 or P2, we must scale the same total height;
hence:

h3 = h1 + h2
Example 2.2
Find the voltage v in the following circuit using KVL.

Topic 2 Simple Resistor Circuits

Solution
Let us redraw the circuit and number the nodes:

We define two paths: one from node 1 directly to node 2, and the other through the three resistors.
We can now write KVL in the form

v = 4 + 2 + 8 = 14 V
An alternative path P2 would change the equation but give the same value for v.
For two different paths between the same initial and final nodes such that the voltage drops along
both paths are equal, we can define a loop which traverses one path and then follows the second
path in reverse leading back to the initial node.
This leads to the result that the sum of the voltage drops in one path minus the voltage drops in the
other path sum to zero.
This may be restated as 'the sum of voltage drops (or voltage rises) in a loop is zero'.
We can state Kirchhoff's voltage law (KVL) in two forms:
a. The sum of the voltage rises around any loop is zero.
b. The sum of the voltage drops around any loop is zero.
Consider the following circuit with loop P:

We can list its elements P = {e4, e3, e7, e5}.


Relative to loop P, voltages v4 and v3 are rises and v7 and v5 are drops; hence we have from the two
forms of KVL:

v4 + v3 v7 v5 = 0

v4 v3 + v7 + v5 = 0
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Topic 2 Simple Resistor Circuits

Let's once more relate KVL to the height analogy:

We begin at the base of the mountain, climb to the peak along one route, and then descend back to
our starting point via another.
Counting loss in height as a negative gain in height and vice versa, we can state that the sum of the
gains in height must be zero or that the sum of the losses in height, ie:

h1 + h2 h3 = 0
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3.1

h1 h2 + h3 = 0

SERIES SUB-CIRCUITS

Series sub-circuit Equivalents

Consider the following series sub-circuit consisting of two voltage sources:

If we tested the v-i characteristic of this sub-circuit at its two terminals a and b. What would be the
result? Using KVL, we find that

v = vs1 + v s2
independently of i. This is simply the v-i characteristic of a single voltage source with value:
veq = vs1 + v s2

Hence, our original sub-circuit is equivalent to the simpler single voltage source sub-circuit shown:

Thus, an element and a sub-circuit are equivalent if they have the same v-i characteristic.
Replacing the two voltage sources by one resulted in the loss of the node between them.
Suppose that this node were our ground reference in the original circuit in which the two sources
are located:

In this case, the use of an equivalent sub-circuit is not valid because it results in the loss of a vital
node; note that the voltage sources are no longer in series because current can flow into the
reference node terminal.
Consider a series sub-circuit consisting of only current sources:
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Topic 2 Simple Resistor Circuits

KCL applied at the middle node gives:

is1 = is2
However, the current sources are independent and therefore this condition will not necessarily hold;
any difference in the independent current source values will have no path and will cause the voltage
at the middle node to be + or .
Hence, the series connection of independent current sources is an invalid connection.
Consider the series sub-circuit consisting of a voltage source and a current source:

The terminal current i is equal to is and therefore the equivalent is a single current source is as
shown; note that v vs because the voltage of the current source is arbitrary.
Consider the sub-circuit consisting of any element in series with a current source:

By the same argument, the equivalent is a current source is.


1.2

The Series Resistor sub-circuit and Voltage Division

Consider the case where all of the elements in a series sub-circuit are resistors. We first assume that
there are two:

An application of KVL gives:

v = v1 + v2
From KCL we know that both resistors carry the same current i.
Thus, by Ohm's law, we have:

v1 = iR1

v2 = iR2

Hence,

v = iR1 + iR2 = i ( R1 + R2 ) = iReq


where
Req = R1 + R2

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Topic 2 Simple Resistor Circuits

Thus the v-i characteristic is the same as that for a single resistor having a value that is the sum of
the two individual resistances.
We can invert the v-i relation to obtain:

i=

v
R1 + R2

Hence, we can write expressions for v1 and v2 in terms of v:

v1 = iR1 =

R1
v
R1 + R2

v2 = iR2 =

R2
v
R1 + R2

Hence, the voltage across a given resistor is the terminal voltage multiplied by the ratio of that
resistance value to the sum of the two resistances.
These equations describe the voltage divider rule.
The preceding analysis can be easily extended to the case of N resistors in a series sub-circuit.
This leads to the following equivalence:

The voltage divider rule takes the form:

vk =

Rk
v
R1 + ... + Rk + ... + RN

Example 2.3
Find the voltage v in the following circuit:

Solution
Let's apply a series equivalence to the sub-circuit consisting of the v-source and the i-source:

We now have an equivalent current source connected in series with a resistor.


If we are to apply Ohm's law, we must assure ourselves that the resistor current is pointed into the
resistor terminal with the plus sign for the voltage reference.

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Topic 2 Simple Resistor Circuits

Apply KCL at the top node:

i = 2 A

v=3 ( -2 ) = 6 V

Example 2.4
Find the voltage v in each of the simple series circuits shown:

Solution
For circuit (a), we apply the voltage divider rule:
v=

2
( 12 ) = 8 V
2 +1

For circuit (b), we note that the sub-circuit consisting of the 1 resistor and the current source can
be replaced by an equivalent sub-circuit consisting of the current source alone:
Thus, we have:

v=22= 4 V
It often happens that a series resistor sub-circuit consists of two resistors having equal values:

In this case, we have:


v1 = v2 =

R
v
v=
R+ R
2

Often conductances of the resistors are given rather than the resistances.
In this case, one can divide the top and bottom of the voltage divider expression by R1 R2 to
obtain:

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Topic 2 Simple Resistor Circuits

v2 =

1
R1

R2 ( R1R2 )
R2
G1
v=
v=
v=
v
1
1
R1 + R2
R1 ( R1R2 ) + R2 ( R1R2 )
G
+
G
1
2
+
R2 R1

Using conductances, the voltage divider rule has the form "the conductance of the other resistor
divided by the sum of the two conductances times the terminal voltage."
For the following example:

we have:
v1 =

2
12 = 8 V
1+ 2

Example 2.3
Find the values of i and v in the following figure:

We can use the series voltage source equivalence:

We easily compute the current to be:


i=

6
=2A
3

Since this current flows through a 2 resistor to generate v, we have:

v = 2i = 4 V
Consider the example circuit with different choices for the reference node:

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Topic 2 Simple Resistor Circuits

4
4.1

PARALLEL SUB-CIRCUITS

Parallel Sub-circuit Equivalents

Consider a parallel sub-circuit consisting of current sources:

Using KCL at the top node, we find:

i = is1 + is2
However, this is simply the v-i characteristic of a single current source with value is1 + is2
Hence, the equivalent is a current source of value equal to the sum of the currents
Consider a parallel sub-circuit consisting of only voltage sources:

Applying KVL we obtain:

vs1 vs2 = 0
However, vs1 and vs2 are independent voltage sources and any slight mismatch between them would
cause and infinite current to flow.
Hence connecting voltage sources in parallel is an invalid connection.
Consider a parallel sub-circuit containing a voltage source and a current source:

Since the terminal voltage v is equal to vs, the sub-circuit is equivalent the voltage source alone.
Consider the following sub-circuit:

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Topic 2 Simple Resistor Circuits

By the same argument, the equivalent is the voltage source alone.


4.2

The Parallel Resistor Sub-circuit and Current Division

We first assume a sub-circuit of two resistors:

An application of KCL yields:


i = i1 + i2 =

1
v
v
1
+
= v +
R1 R2
R1 R2

Since i = v/Req, we have:

1
1
1
R + R2
=
+
= 1
Req R1 R2
R1R2
RR
Req = 1 2
R1 + R2
It is simpler for parallel circuits to work with conductances rather than resistances:
i = i1 + i2 = G1v + G2 v = ( G1 + G2 ) v

Since i = Geqv, we have:


Geq = G1 + G2

The net result is that the v-i characteristic is the same as that for a single resistor having a
conductance equal to the sum of the two individual conductances.
For parallel resistor sub-circuits, there is a rule for finding the current through each resistor:

We invert the v-i relationship:


i = ( G1 + G2 ) v
v=

1
i
G1 + G2

Then we have:

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Topic 2 Simple Resistor Circuits

i1 = G1v =

G1
i
G1 + G2

i2 = G2 v =

G2
i
G1 + G2

Hence, the current through a given resistor is the ratio of its conductance value to the sum of the
two conductances.
These equations are the current divider rule.
If we divide the top and bottom of these equations by G1G2, we obtain the resistance form:

i1 =

R2
i
R1 + R2

i2 =

R1
i
R1 + R2

In this case, the opposite resistance value goes in the numerator.


The preceding analysis can be easily extended to the case of N parallel resistors:

In this case, we have:


Geq = G1 + ... + Gk + ... + GN

The current divider rule takes the form:

ik = Gk v =

Gk
i
G1 + ... + Gk + ... + GN

Example 2.6
Find current i in the following circuit:
Solution

The voltage source in parallel with the current source is equivalent to the voltage source alone:

Hence,
i=

4
=2A
2

Example 2.7
Find the current i in each of the following parallel circuits:
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Topic 2 Simple Resistor Circuits

In (a), the voltage source and 1 resistor can be replaced by the voltage source alone. We also
redefine the current direction to be consistent with the passive sign convention:

Ohm's law gives:

12
=6A
2
i = 6 A

i =
For circuit (b), we use the current divider rule:
i=

1
6=2 A
1+ 2

It often happens that a parallel resistor sub-circuit consists of two resistors having equal values.

In this case, we have:

R R R
=
R+ R 2
G
i
i1 = i2 =
i=
G+G
2
Req =

For N parallel equal-valued resistors, we have:

Geq = G + G + ... + G = NG
Req =
ik =

R
N

G
i
i=
G + G + ... + G
N

Example 2.8
Find the values of i and v in the following figure

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Topic 2 Simple Resistor Circuits

We can combine the two i-sources as they form a parallel sub-circuit:

We can now to use the current divider rule for equal value resistors:
i=

4
= 2 A
2

We can then apply Ohm's law to obtain

v = 8i = 16 V
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SUMMARY OF SERIES AND PARALLEL ELEMENT INTERCONNECTION RULES


Expression for v Expression for i

Series

Parallel

v = Ri

Req = Ri

i = Gv

Geq = Gi

Voltage source

v = vs

i = arbitrary

veq = vi

Current source

v = arbitrary

i = is

ieq = ii

Resistor

CONCLUSIONS

We have introduced a number of key circuit laws including Ohm's Law, which relates the voltage
and current in a resistor. We also introduced Kirchhoff's Current Law and Kirchhoff's Voltage
Law, which enable us to solve circuits consisting of several elements. We also looked at series and
parallel sub-circuits.
In the next topic, we look at some further important circuit theorems and properties.

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