3145 - Circuits

Module 1: Basic Concepts and

Circuit Laws

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 Course Plan
Module Titles
Current Focus: Module 1 – Basic concept
Module 2 – Nodal and Mesh analysis techniques
Module 3 – Circuit Theorems
Module 4 – Capacitors and Inductors
Module 5 – First order circuits
Module 6 – Second-order circuits
Module 7 – AC steady-state circuit analysis
Module 8 – AC Power Analysis
Module 9 – The Frequency Response and Laplace Transform
Module 10 – Application of Laplace transform to circuit analysis
Module 11 – Two-port networks
Module 12 – Final Exam

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 Topics for this Module

• 1.1 Course Introduction

• 1.2 Basic Concepts
• 1.3 Circuit Laws
• 1.4 Some Techniques to Simplify a Circuit

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 Module 1 – Section 1

Course Introduction

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Instructor

• Name: Alireza Siadatan

PhD, P.Eng., Senior Member of IEEE
Dept. of Electrical and Computer Engineering
University of Toronto

• Email: a.siadatan@utoronto.ca

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 Course Description

• This course is part of the Certificate in “Licensing International Engineers into the
Profession (LIEP) – Electrical Engineering” program.
• It prepares the participants for the Professional Engineers Ontario (PEO)’s
examination on “Circuits” that confirm their knowledge in the field for a P.Eng.
Licence.

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 Overview on Resources and Tools

• Required Text: C. A.K. Alexander, Matthew Sadiku (2021),

Fundamentals of Electric Circuits ,
Publisher: McGraw Hill,
ISBN: 978-1-260-57079-3

• Recommended Text: J. W. Nilsson, Susan Riedel (2015)

Electric Circuits
Publisher: Pearson
ISBN: 978-0-13-376003-3

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 Overview on Resources and Tools

• Quercus
– Quercus is the Learning Management System used by UofT
– It is powered by a platform called ‘Canvas’
– User IDs are required to access Quercus
– Course materials will be placed here
– These include modules content, assignments, quizzes, templates and discussion boards

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Study Expectation of Learners
• Learners are expected to spend at least 3 hours each week on problem solving
and preparation outside of the classroom. This is a closed book examination
and only non-programable calculators will be allowed

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 Grading and Evaluation

• Course Assessment
– Assignments1 15%
– Midterm (Module 6) 35%
– Final Exam (Module 12) 50%

1 Five assignments worth 3% each, assigned throughout the term.

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PEO Exam
• 3 hours duration
• NOTE:
1. No question to be asked. If doubt exists as the interpretation of any
question, the candidate is urged to submit with answer paper, a clear
statement of any logical assumptions made.
2. Candidate may use one of the two calculators, a Casio FX or Sharp EL.
No programmable models are allowed,
3. This is a closed book examination.
4. Any five questions constitute a complete paper. Please indicate in the
front page of your answer book which questions you wanted to be
marked. If not indicated, only the first five questions as they appear in
your book will be marked.
5. All questions are of equal value.
6. Laplace Table is given in the last page of this question paper.

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Past PEO Exams
• 6 Questions
– 1- Network laws: (Mesh, Nodal, Max Power Transfer)
– 2- Phasor Analysis: AC circuits
– 3-Transient Analysis: First or Second order system, Differential equations
– 4- Frequency Analysis: Transfer function and filter
– 5- Laplace Analysis
– 6- Two-Port network

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 Reading

Fundamentals of Electric Circuits , 2012

by C. A.K. Alexander, Matthew Sadiku,

– Chapter 1: 1.1 to 1.6

– Chapter 2: 2.1 to 2.14

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 Module 1 – Section 2

Basic Concepts: Circuit Elements, Basic

Quantities

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What is a Circuit?
• An electric circuit is an interconnection of electrical elements.
• It may consist of only two elements or many more:

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Electric Charges
• Charge is an electrical property of the atomic particles of which matter
consists, measured in coulombs (C).

• The charge e on one electron is negative and equal in magnitude to

1.602  10-19 C which is called as electronic charge. The charges that
occur in nature are integral multiples of the electronic charge.

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Current (1)
• The movement of charge is called a current
• Historically the moving charges were thought to be positive
• Thus we always note the direction of the equivalent positive charges, even if the
moving charges are negative.

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Current (2)
𝑑𝑞
• Electric current: 𝑖=
𝑑𝑡
– The unit of ampere can be derived as 1 A = 1C/s.

• A direct current (dc) is a current that remains constant with time.

• An alternating current (ac) is a current that varies sinusoidally with time.
(reverse direction)

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Direction of Current
• A positive current through a component is the same as a negative
current flowing in the opposite direction.

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Voltage
• Voltage (or potential difference) is the energy required to move a unit charge
through an element, measured in volts (V).

• Mathematically, vab = dw / dq (volt)

• Where w is energy in joules (J) and q is charge in coulomb (C).

• Electric voltage, vab, is always across the circuit element or between two points in
a circuit.
o vab>0 means the potential of a is higher than potential of b.
o vab<0 means the potential of a is lower than potential of b.

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Power and Energy (1)
• Power is the time rate of supplying or absorbing energy,
measured in watts (W).

i
i
+
+

v
v
–
–
Passive sign convention
P = +vi p = –vi
absorbing power supplying power

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Power and Energy (2)

• The law of conservation of energy

p=0
• Energy is the capacity to do work, measured in
joules (J).
Mathematical expression

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Circuit Elements

Active Elements Passive Elements

• A dependent source is an active element in

which the source quantity is controlled by
another voltage or current.

• They have four different types: VCVS, CCVS,

VCCS, CCCS. Keep in minds the signs of
Independent Dependent dependent sources.
sources sources
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 Module 1 – Section 3

Circuit Laws: Ohm’s law, Kirchhoff’s laws,

Nodes, Branches, and Loops

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Ohms Law (1)
• Ohm’s law states that the voltage across a
resistor is directly proportional to the
current i flowing through the resistor.

• Mathematical expression for Ohm’s Law is

as follows:
v = iR
• Two extreme possible values of R: 0 000
0 (zero) and  (infinite) are related with
two basic circuit concepts: short circuit and
open circuit.

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Ohms Law (2)

• Conductance is the ability of an element to conduct electric current;

it is the reciprocal of resistance R and is measured in mhos or
siemens.
1 1 i
𝑖 = 𝑣 = 𝐺𝑣 G= =
𝑅 R v

• The power dissipated by a resistor:

2
v
p = vi = i 2 R =
R

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Nodes, Branches and Loops (1)
• A branch represents a single element such as a voltage
source or a resistor.
• A node is the point of connection between two or more
branches.
• A loop is any closed path in a circuit.

• A network with b branches, n nodes, and l independent

loops will satisfy the fundamental theorem of network
topology:

b = l + n −1

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Nodes, Branches and Loops (2)
• Example 1

Original circuit

b = 5, l =3, n =3

b = l + n −1
Equivalent circuit

How many branches, nodes and loops are there?

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Kirchoff’s Laws (1)
• Ohm’s law is not sufficient for circuit analysis (Element’s Law)
• Kirchoff’s laws complete the needed tools (Circuit’s Law)
• There are two laws:
– Current law
– Voltage law

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Kirchhoff’s Current Law (KCL)

• Kirchhoff’s current law (KCL) states that

The algebraic sum of currents in a network of conductors meeting at a point
(or a closed boundary) is zero.

N
Mathematically, i
n =1
n =0

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Kirchhoff’s Laws (Exam)

Example 4

• Determine the current I for the circuit shown in the figure below.
(+ for going out)
Assuming the current going out
We can consider the whole of the node (surface) is positive
enclosed area as one “node”.
I + 4 – (–3) –2 = 0
 I = –5A
This indicates that
the actual current
for I is flowing in
the opposite
direction.

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Kirchhoff’s Voltage Law (KVL)

• Kirchhoff’s voltage law (KVL) states that the algebraic sum of all voltages
around a closed path (or loop) is zero.

Mathematically,
M

v
m =1
n =0

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Kirchhoff’s Laws (Example)

Example 5
• Find I by applying the KVL in the circuit of the figure below.

–va+v1+vb+v2+v3 = 0

Ohms law: v1 = IR1, v2 = IR2, v3 = IR3

 va-vb = I(R1 + R2 + R3)

va − vb
I=
R1 + R2 + R3

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 Module 1 – Section 4

Some Techniques to Simplify a Circuit

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Series Resistors (1)
• Two resistors are considered in series if the same current pass through them
• Take the circuit shown:
• Applying Ohm’s law to both resistors

𝑣1 = 𝑅1 𝑖 and 𝑣2 = 𝑅2 𝑖

• If we apply KVL to the loop we have:

−v + v1 + v2 = 0 Or 𝑣 = 𝑣1 + 𝑣2

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Series Resistors (2)

• Combining the two equations:

𝑣 = 𝑣1 + 𝑣2 = 𝑖 𝑅1 + 𝑅2 = 𝑖𝑅𝑒𝑞
• From this we can see there is an equivalent resistance of the two resistors:
Req = R1 + R2

• For N resistors in series:

N
Req =  Rn
n =1

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Voltage Division

• The voltage drop across any one resistor can be known.

• The current through all the resistors is the same, so using Ohm’s law:

• This is the principle of voltage division

R1 R2
v1 = v v2 = v
R1 + R2 R1 + R2

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Parallel Resistors
• When resistors are in parallel, the voltage drop across them is the same

v = i1R1 = i2 R2

• By KCL, the current at node a is

i = i1 + i2

• The equivalent resistance is:

R1 R2
Req =
R1 + R2

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Current Division

• Given the current entering the node, the voltage drop across the equivalent
resistance will be the same as that for the individual resistors
iR1 R2
v = iReq =
R1 + R2
• This can be used in combination
with Ohm’s law to get the current
through each resistor:

iR2 iR1
i1 = i2 =
R1 + R2 R1 + R2

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Wye-Delta Transformations (1)
• There are cases where resistors are neither parallel nor series
• Consider the bridge circuit shown here
• This circuit can be simplified to a three-terminal equivalent

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Wye-Delta Transformations (2)
• Two topologies can be interchanged:
• Y or T network

• Delta (Δ) or pi (Π) networks

• Transforming between these two topologies often makes the solution of a circuit
easier
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Wye-Delta Transformations (3)
• The superimposed wye (Y) and delta (Δ) circuits shown here will be used for
reference
• The delta consists of the outer resistors, labeled a, b, and c
• The wye network are the inside resistors, labeled 1,2, and 3

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Delta to Wye
• The conversion formula for a delta to wye transformation are:

Rb Rc
R1 =
Ra + Rb + Rc
Rc Ra
R2 =
Ra + Rb + Rc
Ra Rb
R3 =
Ra + Rb + Rc

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Wye to Delta
• The conversion formula for a wye to delta transformation are:

R1 R2 + R2 R3 + R3 R1
Ra =
R1
R1 R2 + R2 R3 + R3 R1
Rb =
R2
R1 R2 + R2 R3 + R3 R1
Rc =
R3

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Any Questions

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