Supplementary Notes on A.C.

Summary for properties of R, C and L in A.C. Circuit

If the resistor R, capacitor C and inductor L are connected to a a.c. power supply separately, then

Resistance / High Low

V= I leads V by
Reactance frequency frequency

Ohm’s law for a.c. :

Resistor R :

Capacitor C :

Inductor L :

Questions:

High-pass filters and low-pass filters are used together to direct the current to the appropriate loudspeakers in a
Hi-Fi system. How can they work?
1. A 20 µF capacitor is connected across the 220 V 50 Hz mains supply. Calculate
(a) the reactance of the capacitor,
(b) the r.m.s. current through the capacitor.

2. The diagram shows the V-t graph and I-t graph of an electrical component in a circuit with an a.c.
power supply.
V/V I/A

5 0.3

1 2 t/s 1 2 t/s
0 0

-5 -0.3

(a) What is the electrical component? Explain your answer.

(b) Calculate the reactance of the component. Hence, find the numerical quantity associated with it.
Supplementary Notes on A.C. 2

RC circuit
1. A 1000 µF capacitor is joined in series with a 2.5 V , 0.3 A lamp and a 50Hz supply.

(a) Draw the circuit diagram, and the rotating vector model to show the phase relationship
between the total current and the applied voltage.
(b) Find the resistance of the lamp and hence determine the phase relationship between the
total current I and the applied voltage V.
(c) Calculate the r.m.s. voltage of the supply Vr.m.s. to light the lamp to its normal brightness.
(d) Determine r.m.s. voltage across the capacitor VC, r.m.s. and the resistor VR, r.m.s.
respectively.
(e) Is Vr.m.s. = VC, r.m.s. + VR, r.m.s. ? Explain why.

2. A source of r.m.s. voltage 10 V is applied to a RC in series

combination as shown in the above figure. The capacitance and
500 µF
V (t)
the resistance are given to be 500 µF and 50 Ω respectively. The
50 Ω
voltage across the resistor as measured by an a.c. voltmeter is 2V V 2V

(a) Find the total impedance of the RC combination.

(b) Determine the r.m.s. voltage across the capacitor.
(c) Hence, or otherwise, find the frequency of the source.
LR circuit
1. An iron-core coil of 2 H and 50 Ω resistance is placed in series with a resistor of 450 Ω, and 100V,
50Hz a.c. supply is connected across the arrangement. Find
(i) the r.m.s. current flowing in the coil,
(ii) the phase angle of current relative to the voltage supply.
(iii) The r.m.s. voltage across the coil.

2. The circuit as shown in Figure (a) is set up. In this experiment, the phase relationship between
the voltage across an inductor and the current passing through it is to be investigated.

Channel 1 of the CRO is connected across both inductor and resistor to represent the voltage
across the inductor and channel 2 is connected across the resistor to represent the current passing
through the inductor. The traces on CRO screen is shown in Figure (b).

Trace 1

Trace 2

Fig. (a) Fig. (b)

(a) Explain why channel1 is connected across both the inductor and resistor, not only the inductor.
(b) Explain why the trace on channel 2 gives the current through the inductor.
(c) State which trace (1 or 2) corresponds to Channel 1.
(d) Determine the phase difference between Channel 1 and 2.
(e) Draw a phasor diagram to show why the phase difference is not 90o.
(f) Describe and explain the change, if any, in the phase difference if the resistance is decreased.
Supplementary Notes on A.C. 3

LRC circuit
1. A 0.01 H inductor, a 10 Ω resistor and a 3 µF capacitor are connected in series and a 1 kHz a.c.
voltage is applied across the circuit.

(a) Find the impedance Z of the circuit.

(b) Find the ratio of the p.d. across the capacitor and the applied voltage.
(c) What is the phase difference between the applied voltage and the current.

Power Factor
1. A coil which has an inductance of 0.4 H and negligible resistance is in series with a resistor whose
resistance is 120 Ω. The pair is connected across a 100 V r.m.s. supply alternating at
200 / π Hz. Calculate

(a) the total impedance of the circuit,

(b) the power factor,
(c) the phase angle,
(d) the average power.
LR parallel circuit
Three identical light bulbs B1, B2, and B3 are connected to a power supply of frequency f with a capacitor
and an inductor as shown in the figure.

C L

B2 B3
B1

A student asks if it is possible that bulb B2 and B3 can light up and give same brightness, but the bulb B1
does not light up at the same time. Comment it.
Supplementary Notes on A.C. 4

Electrical oscillation in an LC parallel circuit

VL or VC VL or VC

(a) Coil without resistance (b) Coil witht resistance

Explanation on Electrical oscillation (not required in the syllabus)

I=0 I ↑ I = max. I↓

++ ++ ++++ ++ ++ - - - -

- - - - - - - - - - - - ++ ++

I=0

++ ++ - - - - - - - - - - - -

- - - - ++ ++ ++ ++ ++++
I ↓ I↑
I = max.

Deduce the natural frequency from theory:

; Analogue between mass-spring oscillation and LC oscillation

LC circuit
Mass-spring system

Spring k
L mass m
C

Inductor (L)

Capacitor (C)

Charge Q

Current I Analogue
to
Voltage V

dI
Rate of change of current ( )
dt
dI
Faraday’s law V = L
dt
2
1Q
Electric field energy in capacitor
2C
1 2
Magnetic field energy in inductor LI
2
Resistance

; Radio Tuning

How can we use LC parallel circuit in radio tuning?

Supplementary Notes on A.C. 5

Diode
1. Consider the following circuit with a real diode of forward voltage 0.6 V,

Vdiode

+
Vo VR R = 1Ω
-
I
A

Voltage of the
Vdiode VR I
power source (Vo)
- 1.0 V

- 0.3 V

+ 0.3 V

+ 0.5 V

+ 0.6 V

+ 0.7 V

+ 1.0 V

2. (a) For ideal case, find the current if

(i) Vo = 2 V, and
(ii) Vo = 0.1 V. +
Vo 5Ω
-
I
(b) For real diode of forward voltage = 0.5 V, find the current if A
(i) Vo = 2 V, and
(ii) Vo = 0.1 V.
Rectification

; Half-wave Rectification
Vin

+ Vo

Vin R Vout
0
t

- Vo
E E

If the diode is ideal, Vf << 1. If the diode is real, Vf ~ 0.8V

Vout Vout

+ Vo + Vo

0 0
t t
Vin Vin
- Vo - Vo

; Full-wave Rectification

Vin

+ Vo
R
Vin

0
t
E Vout
E - Vo

If the diode is ideal, Vf << 1. If the diode is real, Vf ~ 0.8V

Vout Vout

+ Vo + Vo

0 0
t t
Vin Vin
- Vo - Vo

; Bridge Rectifier

Vout

+ Vo

0
t
Vin
- Vo
A.C. Æ D.C.

B C
A
VA
+ Vo

0
t
Earth
- Vo

VB
+ Vo

0
t

- Vo

VC
+ Vo

0
t

- Vo

; Smoothing (Storage Capacitor)

; Filtering (series LC circuit)