Republic of the Philippines

CAVITE STATE UNIVERSITY

Cavite College of Arts and Trades Campus
Rosario, Cavite

DEPARTMENT OF ENGINEERING

EENG 55 – Electrical Circuits 1

Learning Element 1

Introduction to Electrical Circuits

Prepared by

Joel C. Gammayao, REE

August 2020
OBJECTIVES:

This course learning element will help the students to gain essential knowledge in basic
electrical circuits to complex networks. They will learn more about the nature of electricity and
how power works in electrical circuits.

After the completion of this module, students should be able to:

1. List and describe common electrical circuit diagram symbols.

2. Discuss and explain that electric current is the rate of movement of charge and is measured
in amperes.
3. Discuss and explain that a potential difference between two points in a circuit is required for
current to flow.
4. Discuss and explain that resistance opposes current flow and is measured in ohms.
5. Use Ohm’s law in calculations, including multiples and sub-multiples of units.
6. Define electrical energy and state its unit.

PRETEST:
Try answering the following questions to test your knowledge about electrical circuits.
1. What is Ohm’s law?
2. What is the relationship of temperature to the resistance of a material?
3. What do call the specific resistance of a material?
4. Which has a higher resistance, the longer wire or a shorter wire and why?
5. What is the resistance of a resistor having this color, yellow, black, blue and gold?
6. Determine the resistance of 3000 ft copper wire having a diameter of 0.460 inch, the
resistivity of copper being taken as 1.724 microohm-cm at 20 ºC.
7. The cross section of a wire is 0.02062 in2 and the resistivity of copper at 0.06794
microohm inch. Determine the conductance of 850 ft of such wire.
DEFINITION OF TERMS

Coulomb

Defined as the quantity of electricity which flows past a given point in an electric circuit when a
current of one ampere is maintained for one second.

Joule

Defined as the work done or energy transferred when a force of one newton is exerted through
a distance of one meter in the direction of the force.

Power

Defined as the rate of doing work or transferring energy.

Volt

Defined as the difference in potential between two points in a conductor which, when carrying a
current of one ampere, dissipates a power of one watt

Ohm

Defined as the resistance between two points in a conductor when a constant electric potential
of one volt applied at the two points produces a current flow of one ampere in the conductor.

Conductance

It is the reciprocal of resistance and is measured in siemens (S).

Conductors

Are materials that contain electrons that are loosely connected to the nucleus and can easily
move through the material from one atom to another.

Insulators

Are materials whose electrons are held firmly to their nucleus.

Resistance

The property of a conductor that limits current.

Ohm’s law

States that the current I flowing in a circuit is directly proportional to the applied voltage V and
inversely proportional to the resistance R, provided the temperature remains constant.

Resistivity
The specific resistance of a unit cube of the material measured between opposite faces of the
cube.

DISCUSSION

Electric Current

Electric current is defined as the rate of flow of charge in a conducting medium. The unit
of current is ampere. It was derived from 1 coulomb of charge over time. Electric current is
calculated using this formula:
𝑞𝑞
𝑖𝑖 =
𝑡𝑡

Where: i is the current, in ampere

q is the charge, in coulomb

t is the time, in seconds

Potential Difference

Potential difference is requirement between two points of a circuit in order for current to
continuously flow. It is also known as the change in potential between two points in a circuit.
The unit for potential difference is the volt. One volt is equivalent to joules per coulomb.
𝑊𝑊
𝐸𝐸 =
𝑄𝑄

Where: E is the Potential Difference or Voltage in volts

W is the work done in joule

Q is the charge in coulomb

The electromotive force (emf) is provided by a source either a battery or a generator

which is measured in volts.

Note: E are constants

V varies with load

Resistance

Whenever there is a flow of current, a resisting or opposing force is present to it. This is
called the resistance which is the property of a material to limit the flow of current. The unit of
resistance is ohm. One ohm is equivalent to one volt per ampere.

Resistance can be calculated using this formula:

Source: google image

Where:

R - is the resistance

r – is the specific resistance or resistivity of the conductor in Ω-m or Ω-CM/ft

= 1.77 x 10 –8 Ω -m or 10.66 Ω -CM/ft for hard drawn copper (HDC) at 20°C

= 1.72 x 10 –8 Ω -m or 10.50 Ω -CM/ft for annealed copper at 20°C

= 2.83 x 10 –8 Ω -m or 17.0 Ω -CM/ft for aluminum at 20°C

l – length of the conductor in m or ft

A – cross-sectional area in m2 or circular mils (CM)

A – d2 CM; if the diameter (d) of the conductor is in mils

Note: 1 inch is 1000 mils

The picture given below are the electrical symbols of resistor in the circuits. The symbols may
vary based on the standards used. Resistor a is based on ANSI while Resistor b is from IEC
both internationally accepted standards.

Resistance with respect to Temperature

The resistance of metallic conductors increases with rise in temperature.

where:

R0 – resistance of the conductor @ t0; t0 = 0ºC

R1 – resistance of the conductor @ t1

R2 – resistance of the conductor @ t2

a0 – temperature coefficient of resistance at 0ºC in oC-1

T – inferred absolute zero resistance temperature in oC

T = -234.5ºC (for copper)

α1 – temperature coefficient of resistance at t1 in ºC-1

 α2 – temperature coefficient of resistance at t2 in ºC-1

ΔT – change in temperature or temperature rise in ºC

ΔT = final temperature – initial temperature, say (t2 – t1)

Note: The reciprocal of resistance is conductance which is measured in mho or siemens.

Resistor Color Band

Four Band Color Code is read as follows:

1. Start with the band closest to one end of resistor. The first band is the first digit of the
resistance value.
2. The second band is the second digit of the resistance value.
3. The third band is the number of zeroes following the second digit, or the multiplier.
4. The fourth band indicates the percent tolerance and is usually gold or silver.

Four band resistor color code

Digit Color Tolerance:

0 Black ±5% Gold

1 Brown ± 10 % Silver

2 Red

3 Orange

4 Yellow

5 Green

6 Blue

7 Violet

8 Gray

9 White

Example is the picture given below:

Source: google image

Try this:

Find the resistance values in ohms and percent tolerance for each of the color-coded
resistor.

a. Red, Violet, Orange, Silver

b. Brown, Black, Brown, Silver
c. Green, Blue, Green, Gold

Five Band Color Code

Five Band Color Code is read as follows:

1. Start with the band closest to one end of resistor. The first band is the first digit of the
resistance value.
2. The second band is the second digit of the resistance value.
3. The third band is the third digit of the resistance value.
4. The fourth band is the multiplier.
Gold – 0.1
Silver – 0.01
 5. The fifth band indicates the percent tolerance.
±2% Red

±1% Brown

± 0.5 % Green

± 0.25 % Blue

± 0.1 % Violet

Try this:

Find the resistance values in ohms and percent tolerance for each of the color-coded
resistor.

a. Red, Violet, Black, Gold, Red

b. Yellow, Black, Red, Black, Brown
c. Orange, Orange, Red, Orange, Green

Ohm’s Law

It states that the ratio of potential difference (V) between any two points on a conductor
to the current (I) flowing through them is constant provided the physical conditions (e.g.
temperature) of the conductor does not change.

Ohm’s law can be likened to a cause and effect relationship. The voltage is the cause
while the current is the effect.
Work, Power and Energy.

According to Joule’s Law of Electric Heating, the amount work required to maintain a
current I amperes through a resistance R ohm for t seconds is given by:

W is in watt-seconds or joules

The amount of heat produce is given by:

Where:

Q – is in kilocalories (kcal) or British Thermal Unit (BTU)

J – mechanical equivalent of heat

J = 4.186 KJ/kcal = 778.16 ft-lb/BTU

Note: 1 Joule = 107 ergs = 0.24 gm-calorie

Thermal Efficiency

It is the ratio of the heat actually utilized to the total heat produced electrically.

where:

h – thermal efficiency

m – mass in gm. or lb

Cp – specific heat constant in cal./gm-oC or BTU/lb-ºF

∆T – change in temperature or temperature rise in oC or ºF

∆T = (tf – ti)

tf – final temperature

ti – initial temperature
Sample Problems:

Problem no. 1

Determine the resistance of two Brass rods A and B, the resistivity of Brass being 11.4
microohm-cm. Rod A is 100 cm long and has a circular cross section 4 square centimeters. Rod
B is 50 cm long and a cross-section of 8 square centimeters.

Solution:

Given:

Resistivity (r) of Brass is 11.4 x 10-6 ohm-cm

lA (length of rod A) = 100 cm

lB (length of rod B) = 50 cm

AA (cross sectional area of rod A) = 4 cm2

AB (cross sectional area of rod A) = 8 cm2

Substitute the given in the formula,

RA = 11.4 x 10-6 ohm-cm x (100 cm / 4 cm2)

RA = 0.285 x 10-3 ohm

RB = 11.4 x 10-6 ohm-cm x (50 cm / 8 cm2)

RB = 71.25 x 10-6 ohm

Problem no. 2

Determine the resistance of 3000 ft copper wire having a diameter of 0.460 inch, the
resistivity of copper being taken as 1.724 microohm-cm at 20 ºC.

Given:

D (diameter) = 0.460 inch = 1.168 cm

l (length) = 3000 ft = 91440 cm

r = 1.724 x 10-6 ohm-cm

Solution:
𝜋𝜋
R = r l/ A ; A = 𝐷𝐷 2
4

𝜋𝜋 91440 𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐
R = (r l) / ( 𝐷𝐷 2 ) = 1.724 x 10-6 ohm-cm ( 𝜋𝜋 )
4 1.1682
4

R = 147.129 x 10-3 ohm

Problem no. 3

The resistance of a copper wire at 30 ºC is 50 ohms. If the temperature coefficient of

copper remains at 0 ºC is 0.00427, what is the resistance at 100 ºC?

Given:

R1 = 50 ohm @ T1 = 30 ºC

a0 = 0.00427 ºC

R2 = ? @ T2 = 100 ºC

Solution:

/ T / = 1/0.00427 = 234.19 ºC
𝟏𝟏 𝟏𝟏
a1 = =
𝑻𝑻𝟏𝟏 + /𝑻𝑻/ 𝟑𝟑𝟑𝟑 + 𝟐𝟐𝟐𝟐𝟐𝟐.𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏

a1 = 0.00379 ºC-1

R2 = R1 (1 + a1 (T2 – T1)) = 50 (1 + 0.00379 (100-30))

R2 = 63.647 Ω
TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE

Answer the following problems by applying the knowledge you gain from the discussion
above. Explain the concepts and applications of the questions if required. Use an engineering
paper to write your answers with complete solutions.

1. What is Ohm’s law?

2. What is the relationship of temperature to the resistance of a material?
3. What do call the specific resistance of a material?
4. Which has a higher resistance, the longer wire or a shorter wire and why?
5. What is the resistance of a resistor having this color, yellow, black, blue and gold?
6. A carbon resistor at room temperature (20 ºC) is attached to a 9.0-v battery and the
current measured through the resistor is 3mA. (a) What is the resistance of the resistor
measured in ohms? (b) If the temperature of the resistor is increased to 60 ºC by heating
the resistor, what is the current through the resistor?
7. (For question a, use Ohm’s Law. For question b, the temperature coefficient for Carbon
is -0.0005 ºC-1.)
8. Determine the resistance of 3000 ft copper wire having a diameter of 0.460 inch, the
resistivity of copper being taken as 1.724 microohm-cm at 20 ºC.
9. The cross section of a wire is 0.02062 in2 and the resistivity of copper at 0.06794
microohm inch. Determine the conductance of 850 ft of such wire.
10. A kilometer of wire having a diameter of 11.7 mm and a resistance of 0.031 ohm is
drawn down so that its diameter is 5.0 mm. what does its resistance become?
11. Determine the conductance at 20 ºC of an aluminum bus bar 0.5-inch-thick, 4 inches
wide and 20 ft long. The conductivity of aluminum is 61% that of copper and copper has
a conductivity of 580 000 mho-cm-1 at 20 ºC.
12. A copper wire whose resistivity is 0.0043/ºC at 0ºC has its resistance increases by 25%
of its initial value at 20 ºC. what is the operating temperature?
13. Study your house plumbing system, observe the flow of water in the faucet when others
are closed and when many are open. Relate the flow of water in Ohm’s Law or the flow
of water as the flow of electricity. Your observation should be in paragraph from with at
least 10 sentences.
REFERENCES

Bird, J (2010). Electrical Circuit Theory and Technology, Fourth Edition. UK:
Elsevier Ltd.

Hyat, W.H., Kemmerly, J.E., & Durbin, S.M. (2012). Engineering Circuit Analysis, Eight Edition.
New York, NY: The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

electricaltechnology.com

allaboutelectronics.com

electrical4u.com

IEE.org

Khanacademy.org

CHED open online sources

openpress.usask.ca

circuit-diagram.org/editor/