Electric Circuits I

ELEC-210

Chapter 1

Basic Concepts
Course Instructor
Dr. Maher Azzouz
 Outline

 System of Units
 Charge and Current
 Voltage
 Power and Energy
 Circuit Elements

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 System of Units
 The International System of Units (SI), adopted by the General
Conference on Weights and Measures in 1960 uses seven principal
units from which the units of all other physical quantities can be
derived.

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 SI Prefixes
 One great advantage of the SI unit is that it uses prefixes based
on the power of 10 to relate larger and smaller units to the
basic unit.

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 Charge

 All electrical phenomena can be explained using the concept of

electric charge.
 Charge is an electrical property of the atomic particles that make
up any matter.
 Electric charge is measured in Coulombs (C).
 Charges occur in integral multiples of the electronic charge
𝑒 = 1.602 × 10 C.
 The coulomb is a large quantity (1 C = 1/𝑒 = 6.24 × 10
electrons). Thus practical values in use are in the order of C, nC
and pC.

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 Charge
 In a conductor (e.g. wire for interconnecting circuit elements), the
outer electrons in each atom can easily move through the conductor.
These are called free electrons.
 The law of conservation of charge states that charge can neither be
created nor destroyed, only transferred. Thus the algebraic sum of the
electric charges in a system does not change.
 When a conducting wire is connected to a battery, a source of
electromotive force, the free electrons are forced to move in a given
direction.This motion of electrons constitutes an electric current.

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 Current (Motion of Charges)
 Electric current is the time rate of change of charge or the
transfer of charge from one point to another.
 Electric current measured in amperes (A).
 The instantaneous current i(t), charge q(t), and time t are
mathematically related by
𝑑𝑞(𝑡)
𝑖(𝑡) =
𝑑𝑡 Andre-Marie Ampere
(1775-1836), a French
where i, q, and t are measured in amperes (A), coulombs (C) mathematician and
physicist.
and seconds (s) respectively.
The charged transferred from time 𝑡 to 𝑡 is obtained using

𝑞(𝑡) = 𝑖(𝑡)𝑑𝑡

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 Current

 Originally, scientists (in particular Benjamin Franklin,

1706-1790, an American scientist and inventor)
thought that current was solely attributed to the
movement of positive charges.

 Thus the direction of the current was considered the

Benjamin Franklin
direction of movement of positive charges. (1706-1790) an
American scientist
and inventor.

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 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.

 Conventional current flow

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 Important types of Current
 A direct current (dc) is a
current that remains constant
with time.

 An alternating current
(ac) is a current that varies
sinusoidally with time.

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 Magnitude of Some Typical Currents

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 Voltage
 The voltage between two points a and b in an
electric circuit is the energy (or work) required
to move a unit charge from a to b.
Mathematically expressed,
𝑑𝑤
𝑣 =
𝑑𝑞 Alessandro Antonio Volta
(1745-1827) an Italian
where w is energy in joules (J), q is charge in Physicist

coulombs (C) and the voltage is measured

in volts (V).
 Similar to electric current, there are two
important types of voltage: DC and AC.

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 Polarity of Voltage

 The circuit element shown in the figure is connected to points

a and b with a voltage across it denoted by .
 The plus (+) and minus () signs are used to indicate the
direction or polarity of the voltage.
 In this figure, point a is at a potential of higher than point
b, the reference.
 It follows that = .

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 Polarity of Voltage

 The figure shows two representations of the same voltage

.
 In figure (a), point a is 9 V above point b and in figure (b),
point b is 9 V below point a. Alternatively, it can be stated that
there is a voltage drop from a to b or a voltage rise from b to a
of 9V.

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 Voltage
Example
To move charge q between points a and b requires 30 J. Find the
voltage drop 𝑣 if (i) q = 2 C, (ii) q =  6 C and interpret the
results.
Solution
Using
𝑑𝑤
𝑣 =
𝑑𝑞
(a) 𝑣 = = −15 V (b) 𝑣 = = +5 V
In (i), point a is at a lower potential with reference to b by 15V.
In (ii), point a is at a higher potential with reference to b by 5V.

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 Typical Magnitudes of Voltage

ac outlet plugs in households in Oman (220  240 V)

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 Power and Energy

 In practice, current and voltage are not enough to describe the

performance of an electric circuit.
 It is often required to know how much power is consumed or
dissipated by an electric circuit.
 Furthermore, electric utility bills are based on how much
energy is consumed by a customer.

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 Power and Energy

 From physics, power is defined as the time rate of absorption or

dissipation of energy, measured in watts (W). Mathematically expressed,
𝑑𝑤
𝑝=
𝑑𝑡
where p is power in watts (W), w is energy in joules (J), and t is time in
seconds (s).
 It follows that
𝑑𝑤 𝑑𝑤 𝑑𝑞
𝑝= = = 𝑣𝑖
𝑑𝑡 𝑑𝑞 𝑑𝑡
or
James Watt (1736-1819) a
𝑝 = 𝑣𝑖 Scottish inventor and
mechanical engineer

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 Power and Energy
 From
𝑑𝑤
𝑝=
𝑑𝑡
the energy absorbed or supplied by an element from time to to time
t is

𝑤= 𝑝𝑑𝑡 = 𝑣𝑖𝑑𝑡

 The electric power utility companies measure energy in watt-hours

(Wh) where
1 Wh = 3,600 J
1 Wh = 1 J/s × 1 h × 60 min/h × 60 s/min

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 Power and Energy

Example:
How much energy does a 100-W bulb consume in two hours.

Solution:

This is the same as

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 Sign of Power

It is often required to compute the power supplied or absorbed by a

circuit element.
 If the calculated power has a  sign, it means power is being
absorbed or dissipated by the circuit element (i.e., passive
element).
 If the computed power has a  sign, power is being supplied or
generated by the circuit element (i.e., active element).
 The sign of power is determined using the direction of current flow
and the voltage polarity.

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 Sign of Power

 If the current i is entering through the positive terminal, the

power p = + vi (i.e. power is dissipated or absorbed by the element).
 If the current i is leaving the positive terminal, the power p =
 vi (i.e. power is supplied or generated by the element).
 In any electric circuit,
power dissipated = power supplied
i.e. ∑ 𝑝 = 0 according to the law of
conservation of energy (Tellegen’s theorem).

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 Example

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 Exercise
Determine the power absorbed or supplied by the elements of
the following circuit:

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 Circuit Elements

 Circuit elements are either active or passive.

 An active circuit element is capable of generating energy. The
most important are voltage or current sources.
 A passive circuit element is not capable of generating energy.
The three common passive elements are resistors, capacitors and
inductors. (A resistor is the only passive element that absorbs
and dissipates energy.)

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 Sources in Circuits

 There are two types: independent and dependent sources.

 An ideal independent source is an active element that provides a
constant voltage or current that is completely independent of
other circuit elements.

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 Symbols for Independent and Dependent Sources

Voltage Sources Current Sources

Independent time- Independent constant Dependent voltage Independent current Dependent current
varying voltage voltage (dc) source V source source i(t) or I source
source v(t) or v

Note:
Circles are used to represent independent sources and rhombuses to
denote dependent sources.
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 Dependent Sources in Circuits
 An ideal dependent (or controlled) source is an active element in
which the source quantity is controlled by another voltage or
current.The four possibilities are:

1. A voltage-controlled voltage source 2. A current-controlled voltage source

(VCVS) (CCVS)

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 Dependent Sources in Circuits

3. A voltage-controlled current source 4. A current-controlled current source

(VCCS) (CCCS)

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 Exercise

How do you classify the sources shown in the circuit below?

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 Example
Calculate the power supplied or absorbed by each element in the
circuit shown (using 𝑝 = 𝑣𝑖). Comment on the results.
Solution:
𝑝 = 20 −5 = −100 W
𝑝 = 12 5 = 60 W
𝑝 = 8 6 = 48 W
𝑝 = 8 −0.2𝐼 = −8 W
 The results show that the independent and dependent sources are
supplying power and the two passive elements are absorbing power.
 It is also noted that the total power supplied is equal to the total
power absorbed (𝑝 + 𝑝 + 𝑝 + 𝑝 = 0).

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 6v is difference between + and -

Exercise
Determine the power supplied by the dependent sources in
figures (a) and (b).

[Ans: (a) 80 W, (b) 160 W]

(a) (b)
note: a source can absorb energy

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 Summary
 The relationship between charge and current
( )
𝑖(𝑡) = or 𝑞(𝑡) = ∫ 𝑖(𝑡)𝑑𝑡

 The relationship between power, energy, current, and voltage

𝑑𝑤
𝑝 = 𝑣𝑖 =
𝑑𝑡
and

𝑤= 𝑝𝑑𝑡 = 𝑣𝑖𝑑𝑡

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 Summary
 The passive sign convention
When the current enters through the positive terminal of the element, as
shown in the figure, 𝑝 = +𝑣𝑖.This means that the element is absorbing
power.
When the current enters through the negative terminal of the element,
𝑝 = −𝑣𝑖.This means that the element is supplying power.

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 Summary
 Independent and dependent sources

An ideal independent source is an active element that maintains a specified

voltage or current independent of other circuit elements.
An ideal dependent source is an active element in which the source
quantity is controlled by another voltage or current.

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 Summary
 Conservation of energy
Any electrical circuit must satisfy the principle of conservation of
energy, i.e., the total power supplied is equal to the total power
absorbed.

 Tellegen’s theorem
The algebraic sum of the powers absorbed (+) and supplied () by all
elements in an electrical network is zero.

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 P 1.20

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 P 1.20 Solution

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 P 1.20 Solution

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 P 1.24

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 P 1.24 Solution

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 P 1.24 Solution

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 P 1.25

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 P 1.25 Solution

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 End of Chapter 1

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