in this video we're gonna work on

solving some diode circuit problems so

for each of these circuits calculate the

output voltage and the current flown

through the resistors now the first

thing we need to determine is if the

diode is on or in the off state the

silicon diode requires a voltage of

about point seven volts to activate it

so there's enough energy in these

batteries to turn on the silicon diode

now for the circuit on the Left the

current which flows from the positive

terminal to the negative terminal that

is the conventional current keep in mind

electron flow is in the opposite

direction but in the direction of

conventional current this silicon rece

I mean the silicon diode will be on the

other one is in the opposite polarity

it's not connected properly so this

particular diode will be off so there's

nothing we could really do with this

circuit so the output voltage will be

zero and there's gonna be no current in

this circuit so the current is zero but

now let's focus on the circuit on the

left we can assign the ground as a

potential of zero the potential at this

point will be 12 the silicon diode has a

voltage drop of 0.7 12 minus 0.7 will

give us an output voltage of eleven

point three so that's the first answer

for the first problem the next thing we

need to do is calculate the current in

the circuit the current is going to be

the voltage across the resistor divided

by the resistance so there's a voltage

drop of eleven point three volts across

our resistor the resistance is five kilo

ohms so eleven point three divided by

five is two point two six so you should

get two point two 6 milliamps

now let's work on another problem go

ahead and calculate the output voltage

and the current flowing through the four

kilo ohm resistor so first let's

identify the different points in the

circuit let's call this point a point B

Point C and point D so the ground is at

a potential of zero the potential at

Point a with respect to the ground is

nine volts in order to activate the

silicon diode we need a voltage drop of

point seven and there's enough energy to

activate both the silicon energy meaning

diamond and the current is flown in the

right direction so both of these diodes

will be in the on state now the

potential at point B will be nine volts

minus the voltage drop of point seven so

that's going to be eight point three

volts there germanium diode o has a

voltage drop of point three so eight

point three minus point three will give

us the potential at Point C which is 8

volts so that is the output voltage for

this particular circuit so now that we

have that we can calculate the current

flowing through a resistor the current

is going to be the voltage across the

resistor times I mean divided by the

resistance so the voltage across the

resistor is the difference between the

potentials at Point C and D so we have a

potential difference of eight volts the

resistance is four kilo ohms so eight

divided by four is going to be two now

keep in mind you're really doing eight

divided by four thousand which you

should get point zero zero two amps

which is equal to two milliamps one amp

is a thousand milliamps and one milliamp

is point zero zero one amps so this is

the current that is flowing in this

resistor here's another example that we

could work on feel free to pause the

video and go ahead and calculate the

output voltage and the current flowing

through the five kilo ohm resistor

so the first thing we need to determine

is if the diodes are on or off the

current is flowing in the right

direction which is good and the battery

has enough power to activate both of

those two diodes now we have a silicon

and a germanium diode each with a

different voltage drop so one of them is

going to be on and the other is going to

be off but let's label our points of

interest so we have point a point B and

Point C the potential at Point C is zero

volts at a and six volts now the

germanium diode has a voltage drop of

point three so it wants B to be at five

point seven the silicon diode has a

voltage drop of case seven so it will

cause b2 have a voltage drop of five

point three but both of these values

can't be correct one of them is correct

because the germanium diode requires

less energy to be activated now that's

the diode that's going to be in the on

state electricity will always flow in

the path of least resistance and

germanium is the diode that offers the

path of least resistance so this diode

will be on while this one will be off so

the potential at point B is five point

seven volts so that's our first answer

so now we can calculate the current so

it's gonna be the voltage divided by the

resistance the voltage across the

resistor is five point seven volts the

resistance is five kilo ohms so five

point seven divided by five that's going

to give us a current of one point 1 4

milliamps so that's it for this

particular circuit and go ahead and try

this problem calculate the output

voltage

and the current flowing through the 4k

resistor now we're gonna do this two

different ways the quick and simple way

and also the way that you need to do it

if you have a test where you have to

show your work so we know that the

voltage drop of the silicon diode is 0.7

so 10 minus point seven is nine point

three that means that we have a total of

nine point three volts across these two

resistors so we can calculate the

current it's going to be the nine point

three volts across those two resistors

divided by the sum of those of you

systems because they're in series and

that will give us a current if we round

it to one point 33 milliamps so now we

could find the discotheque so the

voltage across the four K resistor is

going to be the current that flows

through it times the resistance so it's

one point 33 times four K and that will

give you an output voltage of five point

32 volts so that's how we can quickly

get the answer if you understand

circuits and the way they work it all

comes down to understanding Ohm's law

and the voltage drop across diodes now

let's talk about the other way of

getting the answer so we need to use

kirchoff's voltage law which states that

the sum of the voltages around a closed

loop circuit adds up to zero so let's

start from this point as we travel in

this direction this is a voltage rise

the battery increases the voltage of the

circuit by putting energy into it so

that's going to be positive ten as we

travel through this resistor that's a

voltage drop the resistor consumes

energy from the circuit now the voltage

dropped keep in mind V equals IR it's

going to be the current times the

resistance so the resistance is three

the current is I there's only one path

for the current to flow and that's in

this direction so we can just call the

current I as we flow through the diode

or as the current flows through the

diode rather we can see that we have a

voltage drop of point seven so the

circuit loses 0.7 joules per Coulomb

four point seven volts now flowing

through this resistor that's another

voltage drop but it's going to be four

times I and so now that we've completed

the loop we're going to set this equal

to zero so we have ten minus point seven

which is the nine point three that we

have here and then if we add like terms

this is going to be negative seven I and

that is equal to zero moving this to the

other side we have nine point three is

equal to seven odd dividing both sides

by seven you can see we're going to get

the same answer nine point three over

seven that's going to be one point

thirty three milliamps now once you have

the current you could just use this

formula to get the voltage of five point

three two so that's how you could show

your work

and getting the current for this

particular circuit go ahead and try this

problem calculate the output voltage and

the current flowing through each diode

so the current is flowing in the right

direction and the battery has enough

energy to activate these diodes

so both diodes will be in the on state

now let's call this point a point B

which is the same as that point and

Point C so we're gonna sign zero volts

to the ground which means a will be at a

potential of eight volts now the diode

will have a voltage drop of 0.7 so B is

at point seven volts which means both

diodes are on

so we already have our output voltage

it's point seven now we need to

calculate the current so let's focus on

the 3k resistor I'm not sure what just

happened there sometimes this computer

acts up so notice that the voltage

across the 3k resistor is seven point

three so using this formula to calculate

the current flowing through it it's

going to be the voltage or the potential

difference between points a and B

divided by the resistance so the high

potential is at eight the minus the low

potential of point seven divided by a

current of three so we have a voltage of

seven point three divided by the three

kilo ohm resistor so the current is two

point four three milliamps so we got two

point four three milliamps flowing

through the resistor now that current is

going to be split into the two diodes so

two point four three divided by two

assuming that both diodes are the same

if they're identical the current will be

one point two one five in both diodes

so that's it for this problem that's how

we can calculate the current through

each diode as well as the output voltage

let's work on this example go ahead and

calculate the output voltage and the

current flowing through the 2 K and the

5 K resistor so the current is flowing

in the right direction in both diodes

so both diodes are on the germanium

diode has a voltage drop of 0.3 and the

silicon diode has a voltage drop of 0.7

now the voltage across these two points

is 16 minus negative 8 so 16 minus

negative 8 is positive 24 so that's

really the voltage across this circuit

or at least across point a and point B

so to calculate the current it's going

to be the voltage the total voltage

across these two resistors divided by

the sum of those resistors since they're

in series so the voltage across those

two resistors is going to be 24 minus

the voltage drop of the two diodes and

then the total resistance is 7 K so keep

in mind the current is voltage over

resistance so 24 minus 0.7 minus 0.3

that's going to be 23 and so we got to

divide 23 volts by 7 K and so the

current flowing in the circuit is three

point two eight six milliamps now for

those of you who want to show you work

the proper way is what you can do so

we're gonna start from the high

potential so we have positive 16 the

voltage drop of point three going

through this resistor is going to be

minus two times the current then going

through the silicon we I mean a silicon

diode it's gonna be a minus

point seven and then going through the

five kiloohm resistor it's going to be

five times I and then minus we have a

negative eight voltage potential and

then that's going to equal zero

so we have 16 minus 0.3 minus point

seven that's 15 plus eight that's 23 and

then we have negative 2i minus 5i which

is negative 7i so 23 is equal to seven I

divided both sides by seven we can see

that I it's 23 over seven which gives us

the same answer so now that we have the

current let's calculate the output

voltage let's calculate the voltage

across every element or the potential at

each point so the potential at a is 16

the potential IB has to be 16 minus

point three which is fifteen point seven

now there's two ways we can calculate

the potential at C we can start with

this value so it's going to be fifteen

point seven minus the voltage drop of

that resistor so the voltage drop is

going to be I times R which we really

don't know what well we do have the

value of I so it's going to be three

point two eight six and milliamps times

the two kiloohm resistor

so at Point C the voltage is nine point

one to eight so that's one way in which

you can get the answer the other way is

going up this way so let's calculate the

potential at D starting from B so B is

at negative eight the potential at D is

higher than B because the current is

flowing from D to B conventional current

will always flow in the direction from

high potential to low potential so D is

at a higher potential so to get the

potential ID because we're going up

against the current and we need to add

as opposed to subtract so it's gonna be

the current flowing through the five

kilo ohm resistor which is this number

again times five kilo ohms so negative

eight plus three point two eight six

times five that will give us the

potential at point D which is eight

point four three volts so now to get the

potential at Point C we need to add

these two numbers so eight point four

three plus point seven gives us nine

point 13 so these two answers are

approximately the same the difference is

due to the rounding that I've made with

this current value so we can say that

the output voltage is approximately nine

point one three because both numbers

surround to that value so that's it for

this particular problem here's another

one for you let's say both of these are

silicon diodes what is the output

voltage and the current flowing through

the six kilo ohm resistor go ahead and

try it

so both diodes have potential to be on

the current is flowing in the right

direction and the potential difference

between those two values and these two

values exceed point seven

now let's call this point a point B now

at Point a due to this silicon diode the

potential should be four point three and

at Point a due to this silicon diode and

a twelve volt potential it should be 12

minus 0.3 or eleven point three now

because of this we can't have two

different values so one of these values

will be correct so the higher potential

is going to win out against the lower

potential so therefore it's going to be

eleven point three this diode will be on

and the other one will be off so now we

can calculate the current flowing

through the six kilo ohm resistor and we

know that the output voltage is eleven

point three so the current is going to

be the voltage across the resistor

divided by the resistance and the

voltage across it will be VA the minus

vb since the current is flowing from A

to B so the potential at Point a is

eleven point three minus the potential

at point B which is negative three

divided by six kilo ohms so the voltage

is going to be fourteen point three

volts and if we divide that by six that

will give us a current of two point

three eight milliamps so that is the

current flowing through the resistor and

because of this diode is off the current

flowing through this diode all of it

will be two point three eight milliamps

so that's it for this problem so here we

have a challenge problem go ahead and

calculate the current flowing through

each resistor as well as the output

voltage so let's call this point a

and this is going to be point B point C

point D and point E both silicon diodes

will be in the on state so they will

both have a voltage drop of point seven

12 minus 0.7 is eleven point three so

the potential at point B and C are the

same because of that we can treat the

two kiloohm resistor and the four kilo

ohm resistor as if they are parallel to

each other because they have the same

voltage across it to calculate the

equivalent resistance of two resistors

in parallel you could use this form so

it's going to be 1 over 2 plus 1 over 4

raised to the minus 1 and that should

give you 4 over 3 or 1 point 33 so these

two resistors in parallel are in series

with the 8 kiloohm resistor so the total

resistance is 8 plus 1 point 33 which is

9 point 33 ohms and we know the

potential between these two resistors in

parallel and that resistance series it's

going to be the difference between point

B and point E so the current the total

current flowing in this resistor which

is the two currents the sum of the two

currents flowing in those resistors it's

going to be the voltage between points a

B and E divided by the total resistance

so that is 11 point 3 minus a negative 9

and the total resistance is 9 point 33

so that's eleven point three plus nine

which is 20 point three divided by 9.33

this gives us a current of two point one

eight milliamps and that is a rounded

value so that is the current that is

flowing through the 8 kilo ohm resistor

now how much current is flowing through

the 2 kilo ohm resistor and the 4 kilo

ohm resistor we can't just divide them

by 2 because the resistor values are

different so what should we do in this

case when you have two resistors in

parallel to each other that is that they

have the same voltage across each other

let's call this r1 and r2 if you know

the total current that is either

entering that branch or that is leaving

that branch you can calculate the

currents flowing through each resistor

to calculate I 1 it's going to be the

total current times the other resistor

which is r2 divided by the sum of those

two resistors so in this case to

calculate the current flowing in that

resistor it's going to be the other

resistor for kilohms divided by the sum

of the two resistors 4 plus 2 times the

total current that is either entering or

leaving that branch which we can see

it's 2.18 so it's going to be 4 over 6

times 2 point 18 so the current that is

flowing through the 2 kilo ohm resistor

it's approximately 1 point 4 5 milliamps

now the current that's flowing through

the 4 kilo ohm resistor we can do 2.18

minus 1 point 4 5 and that's going to

give us point seven three milliamps or

we could use the formula it's going to

be the other resistor which is two

divided by the sum of the two resistors

times two point one eight so that's 2

over six times two point one eight and

that will give you the same answer point

seven two six seven which rounds to 0.73

so that's how you can calculate the

currents flowing through those two

resistors now if you want to check your

work here's what you can do let's

calculate the potential at Point D two

ways to make sure our work is correct so

let's start with the potential at point

B which is eleven point three LS

subtracted by the voltage drop of that

resistor which is

the resistance of two kilohms times the

current of 1.45 milliamps so eleven

point three minus two times one point

four five that gives us a potential of

eight point 4 volts so we can also get

that answer

going through this branch from Point C

to point D so the potential at Point C

is eleven point three we have a four

kilohm resistor and a current of twenty

seven three milliamps and that gives us

eight point three eight which rounds to

eight point four now let's go this way

to calculate the potential at Point D so

we're going to start with the negative

nine volts now we're going against the

current through the resistor so we got

to add the voltage drop so the current

flowing through that resistor is 2.18 as

we can see here times the eight kilo ohm

resistor so it's negative nine plus two

point one eight times eight and that

gives us eight point four four in all

cases we could say that the output

voltage is approximately eight point

four volts so as we can see the math

makes sense so that's it for this video

now you know how to solve diode circuit

problems