Basic Concepts of Electric Circuits

International System of Units (SI)

• Adopted by the General Conference on Weights and Measures in 1960
• Based on six defined quantities
Table 1. The SI Six Basic Quantities
Quantity Basic Unit Symbol
Length meter m
Mass kilogram kg
Time second s
Electric Current ampere A
Thermodynamic Temperature kelvin K
Luminous Intensity candela cd

Table 2. The SI Prefixes

DC CIRCUITS
Electric circuit – interconnection of electrical elements

Figure 1. Simple Electric Circuit

Charge and Current

Charge (Q or q) – is an electrical property of the atomic particles of matter, measured in
coulombs (C)

Electric Charge Fundamentals

1. There are 6.24 x 10^18 electrons in 1 C of charge.
2. 1 e = -1.602 x 10^-19 C
3. The law of conservation of charge states that charge can neither be created nor destroyed,
it can only be transferred.
Electric Current (i) – is the rate of flow of charges, measured in amperes (A). 1A = 1 C/s
𝑑𝑞
𝑖=
𝑑𝑡
Andre-Marie Ampere – French mathematician who defined the electric current and developed a
way to measure it in 1820s.
 Figure 2. Electric Current due to Flow of Electronic Charge in a Conductor
Direct Current (DC) – current that remains constant with time

Figure 3. Direct Current

Alternating Current (AC) – current that varies sinusoidally with time

Figure 4. Alternating Current

Electromotive Force (emf) or Voltage (V)- is the energy required to move a unit charge through
an element, measured in volts (V). 1V = 1 J/C
Alessandro Antonio Volta – Italian physicist who invented the electric battery, which provided
the first continuous flow of electricity

Figure 4. Two Equivalent Representations of the Same Voltage

Power – time rate of expending or absorbing energy, measured in watts (W)
𝑃 = 𝑉𝐼
where: P = instantaneous power
V = voltage
I = current
Passive sign convention – is satisfied when the current enters through the positive terminal of an
element and 𝑝 = +𝑣𝑖. If the current enters through the negative terminal , 𝑝 = −𝑣𝑖.
+ 𝑃𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟 𝑎𝑏𝑠𝑜𝑟𝑏𝑒𝑑 = −𝑃𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟 𝑠𝑢𝑝𝑝𝑙𝑖𝑒𝑑
Energy – capacity to do work, measured in Joules (J)
1 𝑊𝑎𝑡𝑡 − ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑟 = 3600J
Circuit Elements
Element - basic building block of a circuit
Circuit analysis - process of determining voltages across (or the currents through) the elements of
the circuit
Two Types of Elements
1. Passive elements - not capable of generating energy
i. resistors
ii. capacitors
 iii. inductors
2. Active elements – capable of generating energy
i. Generators
ii. Batteries
iii. operational amplifiers
Two Kinds of Sources
1. Ideal Independent Source - active element that provides a specified voltage or current that
is completely independent of other circuit elements
2. Ideal Dependent (or Controlled) Source - active element in which the source quantity is
controlled by another voltage or current

Exercises
1. How much charge is represented by 4600 electrons?
2. The total charge entering a terminal is given by 𝑞 = 5𝑡 sin 4𝜋𝑡 mC. Calculate the current
at t= 0.5 s.
3. Determine the total charge entering a terminal between t=1s and t=2s if the current
passing the terminal is 𝑖 = (3𝑡 2 − 𝑡)𝐴
4. An energy source forces a constant current of 2A for 10s to flow through the light bulb. If
2.3 kJ is given off in the form of light and heat energy, calculate the voltage drop across
the bulb.
5. Find the power delivered to an element at t=3ms if the current entering its positive
terminal is 𝑖 = 5 cos 60𝜋𝑡 A and voltage is 𝑣 = 3𝑖.
6. How much energy does a 100W electric bulb consume in two hours?
7. Calculate the power supplied or absorbed by each element in the figure.