BE8253 - BASIC ELECTRICAL, ELECTRONICS & INSTRUMENTATION ENGINEERING

UNIT – I
ELECTRICAL CIRCUITS
Important Part - A Questions and Answers

1. What is meant by charge?

Charge is an electrical property of the atomic particles. The charge of an electron is so small.
Charge in motion represents current. Its unit is coulomb.
2. Define Electric current.
The rate of flow of free electrons or electric charge in a conductor is called current. Unit is ampere
(A). I = dQ/dt.
3. Define Electric potential or Voltage.
The potential difference between two points is called as voltage. Unit is Volt (V).
V=W/Q, W=work done in joules & Q = charge in coulombs.
4. What is meant by Resistance in a Circuit?
It is the property of a material, by which it opposes the flow of current through it. It is denoted by
the letter ‘R’ and it is measured in ohms.

where, ρ is the resistivity of the conductor, l is the length of the conductor and a is the area of the
conductor.
5. State Ohm’s Law and its limitations. (MAY/JUNE 2014) , (NOV/DEC 2010, 2011, 2015, 2016)
Ohm’s law states that the current flowing through a conductor is directly proportional to the
potential difference between the two ends of the conductor provided the temperature remains
constant.
IαV
I = V/R
Limitations:
(i) Not applicable for all non-metallic conductors.
(ii) Not applicable for nonlinear devices like Zener diode, SCR, etc.,
(iii) Applicable only at constant temperature.
6. Define electrical power. (Nov/Dec 2014)
The rate at which work is done in an electrical circuit is called electrical power. Its unit is joule per
second or watt (W). Power is obtained as a product of voltage and current.
P = VI (watts)
7. What is meant by electrical energy?
Electrical energy is the total amount of work done and hence is the product of power and time. Its
unit is watt-hour. E = Pt
8. What are active and passive elements?
The elements which operate on their own are called as active elements. Eg: Voltage and Current
sources.
The elements which depend on other sources for their operation are called as passive elements. Eg:
Resistor, Inductor, Capacitor.
9. State Kirchhoff’s current law and voltage law. / State Kirchhoff’s laws. / State Kirchhoff’s
Current Law. (NOV/DEC 2010, 2014) , (APR/MAY 2011, 2012, 2015, 2017)
Kirchhoff’s current law states that “the algebraic sum of currents meeting at a point or a junction
is zero”. In otherwords, “the sum of currents entering the junction is equal to the sum of currents
leaving the junction”.
Kirchhoff’s voltage law states that “the algebraic sum of all voltages in a closed circuit or loop or
mesh is zero”. In other words, in any network, “the algebraic sum of the voltage drops across the

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 circuit elements of any closed path (or loop or mesh) is equal to the algebraic sum of the voltage
rises (e.m.fs) in that path.
10. Define ‘Mesh analysis’ of a circuit.
Assuming mesh current and then applying Kirchhoff’s voltage law to various meshes to obtain the
equations and solving them for the required current in the circuit is called mesh analysis of a circuit.
11. Define ‘Nodal analysis’ of a circuit.
Assuming branch currents, applying KCL at the prime nodes, expressing all the branch currents
in terms of node voltages, substituting in KCL equations and solving them simultaneously for the
required variables is called nodal analysis.
12. What is the advantage of mesh current analysis?
The primary advantage of Mesh Current analysis is that it generally allows for the solution of a
large network with fewer unknown values and fewer simultaneous equations.
13. Distinguish between a Branch and a node of a circuit.
A pair of network which connects various points of the network is called branch.
A point at which two or more elements are joined together is called node.
14. Distinguish between a mesh and a loop of a circuit. (MAY/JUNE 2009)
A mesh is a loop that does not contain other loops. All meshes are loop, but all loops are not
meshes.
A loop is any closed path of branches.
15. Draw the V-I characteristics of ideal voltage source.
For ideal voltage source, the terminal voltage is always constant irrespective of current from its
terminals. Hence it’s V-I characteristics is as shown in the Fig.

16. Determine the current in the following circuit.

I= 1 A

17. The resistance of two wires is 25 Ω when connected in series and 6 Ω when joined in parallel.
Calculate the resistance of each wire.

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 ∴

Solving,

Hence,
18. A bulb is rated as 230 V, 230 W. Find the rated current and resistance of the filament.
V= 230 V, P = 230 W

19. State the voltage division principle for two resistors in series and the current division principle
for two resistors in parallel.
Voltage division principle for two resistors connected in series is given by,

Current division principle for two resistors connected in parallel is given by,

20. State linearity theorem.

For any circuit containing resistors and independent voltage and current sources, every node voltage
and branch current is a linear function of the source values and has the form ∑ a i vi, where vi is the
source values and ai is the suitably dimensioned constant.
21. State super position theorem.
In a linear, lumped, bilateral network which is energized by two or more sources the current in any
resistor is equal to the algebraic sum of the separate currents in the resistor when each source acts
separately. While one source is operative, other sources are replaced by their internal resistances.
22. State Reciprocity theorem.
In any linear network containing bilateral linear resistances and energy sources, the ratio of a
voltage V introduced in one mesh to the current I in any second mesh is the same as the ratio
obtained if the positions of V and I are interchanged, other voltages sources being removed.
23. State Maximum power transfer theorem.
In electrical engineering, the maximum power transfer theorem states that, to obtain maximum
external power from a source with a finite internal resistance, the resistance of the load must be
equal to the resistance of the source as viewed from its output terminals.
24. State Thevenin’s theorem.
A linear, lumped, bilateral network with two terminals can be reduced to an equivalent circuit
consisting of a voltage source in series with a resistance.
25. Write the Norton’s theorem.
A linear, lumped, bilateral network with two terminals can be reduced to an equivalent circuit
consisting of a current source in parallel with a resistance.
26. Find the equivalent current source for a voltage source of 100V with series resistance of 2 Ω.

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 UNIT – I
ELECTRICAL CIRCUITS
Important Part - B Questions

1. State and explain Kirchoff’s laws with examples.

2. Derive the expressions for resistors in series and parallel.
3. Find the current in the 8 Ω resistor in the following circuit using Kirchoff’s laws.
(MAY/JUNE 2013)

4. Determine the branch currents in the network when the value of each branch resistance is 1 Ω.
(NOV/DEC 2017)

5. For the circuit given below, calculate the magnitude and direction of current in each battery and the
total current taken from the 220 V supply mains. (APR/MAY 2017)

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 6. For the given circuit, determine the current in 5 Ω resistor. (NOV/DEC 2016)

7. Determine the current, power X in the 4 Ω resistance of the circuit shown below. (NOV/DEC 2015)
(MAY/JUNE 2014)

8. Calculate i. Equivalent resistance across the terminals of the supply, ii. Total current supplied by the
source, iii. Power delivered to 16 Ω resistor in the circuit shown below. (APR/MAY 2015)

9. Using Mesh analysis, find the current through various branches in the circuit below.
(NOV/DEC 2013)

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 10. Calculate the current through 2 Ω resistor in the circuit shown below, using superposition theorem.

11. Find the current through the 10 Ω resistor using Superposition theorem, in the circuit shown in Fig.

12. In the following circuit shown in figure, find the current through 5 Ω by Thevenin’s theorem.

13. Determine the Thevenin’s equivalent circuit of the network given. Also find the current through a
100 Ω galvanometer connected across AB.

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 14. Find the voltage drop across 12 Ω resistance using Norton’s theorem for the circuit shown below.

15. Find the current through 30 Ω load resistor for the circuit shown below using Norton’s theorem.

16. Calculate the value of RL so that maximum power is delivered to the load resistance.

17. Determine the load resistance to receive maximum power from the source and also find the power
delivered to the load in the circuit shown below.

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