Lecture on Electrical Engineering 1 by Engr. Jaymer G.

Punzalan INTRODUCTION/ DEFINITION OF TERMS, RESISTANCE:

Network or Circuit Diagram – is a series, parallel or combination of two-terminal elements that

represents an electrical device. These two terminal elements maybe active or passive.
Active Elements – is the one that supplies energy to the network like a voltage source or current source.
The diamond shaped active elements are called dependent sources because they depend on
other variables in the circuit. To describe a voltage source a magnitude and polarity must be
specified. The polarity marks are placed near the two conductors where the voltage is defined.
The unit of electric potential or Voltage is Volt. A current source is also given the magnitude
direction. Its direction is specified by an arrow. The unit of electric current is Ampere

Passive elements – is the one that absorbs or stores energy from the sources.
Resistor – is a circuit element that has the property to restrict the flow of current through it. Resistor
receives energy from an active element, consumes it and never returns it. The power in a
resistor is always positive and is equal to the product of the square of the current and its
resistance (P = I2R). Its unit is Ohm.
Capacitor – is a circuit element that stores and returns energy from the circuit. Its property to store
energy in its electric field is called the capacitance. Since its returns energy, its average power is
zero. The unit of Capacitance is Farad.
Inductor – is a circuit element that has the ability to store energy in its magnetic field and returns it after
some time. The average power is also zero. Inductance is the property of an inductor to store
energy. Unit of Inductance is Henry.

Electrical Quantity Symbol Unit Symbol

Voltage V Volt V
Current I Ampere A
Resistance R Ohm Ω
Power P Watts W
Capacitance C Farad F
Inductance L Henry H
Resistivity ρ ohm-meter Ω-m
Resistivity – is defined as the resistance between the opposite faces of a cubic meter of a material. The
ability of a material or conductor to resist the flow of electricity (resistance) depends on Four
factors; (1) Types of Materials, (2) Length, (3) Cross-sectional area and (4) Temperature.

Table 1.1 Resistivities of some Material or Subtance at near 20 °C

𝜌𝐿
R= (1.1) where: R = Resistance of the material or conductor in Ohms
𝐴
ρ = resistiity of the subtance (see table 1.1) in ohm-meter
L = Length of the conductor in meter
A = Cross-sectional area in m2

SAMPLE PROBLEMS:
1. Determine the resistance of 1km wire having a radius of 6.0 mm, if the wire is made of
(a) Tungsten and (b) Nichrome
2. Calculate the resistance of an Iron wire if the area is reduced by a factor of three, the length is
doubled and its original resistance was 1 ohm.
3. A copper wire has a resitance of 75 ohms. What is the resistance of a silver wire if its length is
one-half the length of the copper wire while its diameter is one-fifth the diameter of the copper
wire?
4. What diameter must an Aluminum wire have if its resistance is the same as an equal length of
copper with a diameter of 2.60mm?