FOUNDATION OF DC

CONCEPTS
EE104 – BASIC ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING
 OBJECTIVES
▪Identify different electric variables and elements and their
behaviour
▪Identify parameters that determine the resistance of an
element
▪Solve for the resistance of conductors
▪Solve problems regarding Ohm’s Law, Power, and Energy

EE104 – BASIC ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING

System of Units
Six basic units
Quantity Basic unit Symbol
Length meter m
Mass kilogram kg
Time second s
Electric current ampere A
Thermodynamic kelvin K
temperature
Luminous intensity candela cd
3
System of Units
The derived units commonly used in electric circuit theory

Decimal multiples and

submultiples of SI units
4
 ELECTRICAL CIRCUIT
▪A system of conductors and components forming a
complete path for current to travel

Simple electrical circuit

EE104 – BASIC ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING

ELECTRICAL CIRCUIT

Electric Circuit of a Radio Receiver

EE104 – BASIC ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING

 CHARGE
▪An electrical property of the atomic particles of which matter
consists, measured in coulombs (C).

Electric current due to flow

of electronic charge in a
conductor

EE104 – BASIC ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING

 FACTS ABOUT CHARGE
▪Charge e on an electron is negative and equal in magnitude to
1.602 x 10-19 C
▪Proton carries a positive charge of the same magnitude as the
electron.
▪The coulomb is a large unit for charges. In 1 C of charge, there are
6.24 x 1018 electrons.

EE104 – BASIC ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING

 CURRENT
▪The time rate of change of charge, measured in amperes (A).

Where q is charge
1 ampere = 1 coulomb/second

EE104 – BASIC ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING

 CURRENT FLOW
▪Conventional Current assumes that current flows
Conventional
out of the positive side of the battery, through the Current
circuit, and back to the negative side of the
battery.
▪Electron Flow is what actually happens. The
Electron
electrons flow out of the negative side of the Flow
battery, through the circuit, and back to the
positive side of the battery.

EE104 – BASIC ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING

 CURRENT
Currents may be classified as
▪Direct Current
▪Alternating Current

EE104 – BASIC ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING

 DIRECT CURRENT
▪A current that remains constant with time

▪By convention, the symbol I is used to represent such a constant

current

EE104 – BASIC ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING

 ALTERNATING CURRENT
▪A current that varies sinusoidally with time

▪By convention, the symbol i is used to represent such an alternating

current

EE104 – BASIC ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING

 SAMPLE PROBLEM 1
▪A conductor has a constant current of 5 A. How many electrons pass a fixed point on the
conductor in one minute?
Solution:
𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑛𝑜. 𝑜𝑓 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑔𝑒𝑠 𝑝𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑖𝑛 1 𝑚𝑖𝑛 𝑖𝑠 𝑔𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑛 𝑏𝑦
𝐶 𝑠 𝐶
5𝐴 = 5 60 = 300
𝑠 𝑚𝑖𝑛 𝑚𝑖𝑛

𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑛𝑜. 𝑜𝑓 𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑛𝑖𝑐𝑠 𝑝𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑖𝑛 1 𝑚𝑖𝑛 𝑖𝑠 𝑔𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑛

300 C/min
1.602𝑥10−19 C/electron

Answer:𝟏. 𝟖𝟕𝒙𝟏𝟎𝟐𝟏 electrons/min

 SAMPLE PROBLEM 2
▪The total charge entering a terminal is given by q = 5t sin 4πt mC. Calculate the
current at t = 0.5 s.
Solution:
𝑑𝑞 𝑑 𝑚𝐶
𝑖= = (5𝑡 sin 4𝜋𝑡) = (5 sin 4π𝑡 + 20𝜋𝑡 cos 4π𝑡) 𝑚𝐴
𝑑𝑡 𝑑𝑡 𝑠

𝐴𝑡 𝑡 = 0.5,

𝑖 = (5 sin 2π + 10𝜋 cos 2π) = 0 + 10π = 31.42 𝑚𝐴

Answer: 𝟑𝟏. 𝟒𝟐 𝒎𝑨
 VOLTAGE
▪Energy required to move a unit charge through an element, measured
in volts (V)

▪Where w is energy in joules (J) and q is charge in coulombs (C).

1 volt = 1 joule/coulomb
= 1 newton-meter/coulomb

EE104 – BASIC ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING

 VOLTAGE
▪Two equivalent representations of the same voltage vab

▪Point a is 9 V above point b; Point b is -9 V above point a

EE104 – BASIC ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING

 VOLTAGE
▪Like electric current, a constant voltage is called dc voltage and is
represented by V, whereas a sinusoidally time-varying voltage is
called an ac voltage represented by v.

EE104 – BASIC ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING

 SAMPLE PROBLEM 3
▪The potential difference between two points is 140 mV. If 280 mJ of work are
required to move a charge Q from one point to the other, what is Q?
Solution:

280 𝑚𝐽
𝑄=
140 𝑚𝑉

Answer: 𝟐 𝑪
RESISTANCE & RESISTIVITY
Resistance is the physical property of
an element or device that impedes
the flow of current; it is represented
by the symbol R.
The ability of a material to resist the
flow of charge is called its resistivity,
ρ. Resistivity values for selected
materials are given in Table 2.4-1. The
SI unit of resistivity is the ohm-meter
with unit symbol Ω-m.
A good conductor has a resistivity
close to 10^(-8) Ω-m. Silver, the best
conductor, is too expensive for most
uses. Copper is a common conductor,
as is aluminum.
Materials with resistivities greater
that 10^(10) Ω-m are insulators.
RESISTANCE
Georg Simon Ohm (1787-1854), who
determined Ohm’s law in 1827. The ohm was
chosen as the unit of electrical resistance in
his honor.
Ohm, defined the constant resistance R as
where A is the cross-sectional
area, ρ the resistivity, L the ❑The resistance of any
material is due primarily
length, and v the voltage across to four factors:
the wire element. 1. Material
2. Length
Ohm’s law, which related the voltage and 3. Cross-sectional
current, was published in 1827 as area
An element that has resistance R is called a 4. Temperature of
resistor. the material
RESISTANCE
Resistance is a measure of an element’s
ability to dissipate power irreversibly.
The unit of resistance R was named the
ohm in honor of Ohm and is usually
abbreviated by the symbol Ω (capital
omega), where 1 Ω = 1 V/A.
A short circuit is a circuit element with
resistance approaching zero. Fig. (a)
An open circuit is a circuit element with
resistance approaching infinity. Fig. (b)
RESISTANCE
❑Mathematically,

l
R=
A
❑Where:
❑R = resistance (ohms or Ω)
❑ρ = resistivity (Ω-CM/ft or Ω-cm, Ω-m) at t =
20°C (a) Resistor as the element used to
❑l = length (ft or cm or m) model current-resisting behavior
❑A = area (CM or cm2 or m2) of a material
(b) Circuit symbol for resistance
Resistivity of Various Materials
Resistivity of Various Materials
 RESISTANCE
❑Circular Mils (CM)
❑The area can also be measured in a quantity called circular mils (CM).
❑It is the quantity used in commercial wire tables.
❑The mil is a unit of measurement for length and is related to the inch by:
RESISTANCE
A circular mil is defined as the area contained within a circle
having a diameter of 1 mil (1 mil = 0.001 inch)

A square mil is defined as the area contained in a square having side

dimensions of 1 mil (1 mil = 0.001 inch)
RESISTANCE

Cases in which R2 > R1

For each case, all remaining parameters that control the resistance level
are the same.
Popular wire sizes and some of their areas of
application
TEMPERATURE EFFECTS ON
RESISTANCE
1. It increases the resistance of pure metal.
2. It increases the resistance of alloys.
3. It decreases the resistance of inductors and electrolytes.
 TEMPERATURE EFFECTS ON
RESISTANCE
The rate at which the resistance of a material changes with a variation in
temperature is called the temperature coefficient of the material
TEMPERATURE EFFECTS ON
RESISTANCE
 TEMPERATURE EFFECTS ON
RESISTANCE

❑Where: R2 T2 − T0
=
❑T0 = inferred absolute zero, inferred R1 T1 − T0
zero resistance temperature (unit: °C)
❑α1 = temperature coefficient of R 2 = R1 1 + α1 (T2 − T1 )
resistance at temperature T1 (unit: per
degree Celsius, ℃−1)
TEMPERATURE EFFECTS ON
RESISTANCE

Inferred absolute zero, T0

TEMPERATURE EFFECTS ON
RESISTANCE

Temperature coefficient of resistance for various

conductors at 20 °C
 SAMPLE PROBLEM 4
▪Find the resistance at 20°C of an annealed copper bus bar 3 m in length and 0.5 cm by 3 cm in
rectangular cross-section.
Given: Solution:
ρ = 1.723 𝑥 10−6 Ω·𝑐𝑚 𝑙
𝑅=ρ
𝐴 = 0.5 𝑐𝑚 𝑥 3 𝑐𝑚 𝐴
300
𝑙 = 3 𝑚 = 300 𝑐𝑚
𝑅 = 1.732 𝑥 10−6
0.5 ∗ 3

R = 344 μΩ
 PRACTICE PROBLEM 1
Find the resistance of an aluminum wire that has a length of 1000 m
and a diameter of 1.626 mm. The wire is at 20°C. Resistivity of
aluminum is 2.83 x 10-8 Ω-m

R = 13.6 Ω
 SAMPLE PROBLEM 5
The resistance of a certain copper power line is 100 Ω at 20°C. What is its resistance when the
sun heats up the line to 38°C?
Given: Solution:
𝑅1 = 100 Ω R 2 = R1 1 + α1 (T2 − T1 )
T1 = 20 °C
T2 = 38 °C R 2 = 100 1 + 0.00393 (38 − 20)

R2 = 107 Ω
 PRACTICE PROBLEM 2
Calculate the temperature coefficient of resistance of aluminum at
30°C and use it to find the resistance of an aluminum wire at 70°C if
the wire has a resistance of 40 Ω at 30°C.

R2 = 46 Ω
 CIRCUIT ELEMENTS
Linear Element:
▪Satisfies both the homogeneity and additivity properties.

Homogeneity
▪Requires that if the input is multiplied by a constant, then the output is
multiplied by the same constant

Additivity
▪Requires that the response to a sum of inputs is the sum of the responses to
each input applied separately

EE104 – BASIC ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING

 LINEAR ELEMENTS
Resistor: a good example of a linear element

EE104 – BASIC ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING

 LINEAR ELEMENTS
Resistor: a good example of a linear element

EE104 – BASIC ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING

 NON-LINEAR ELEMENTS
Non-linear Resistor: a good example of a linear element

EE104 – BASIC ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING

 POWER
▪Time rate of expending or absorbing energy, measured in watts

▪where p is power in watts (W), w is energy in joules (J), and t is

time in seconds (s).

EE104 – BASIC ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING

Power and Energy
Power is the time rate of expending or absorbing energy,
measured in watts (W).
dw dw dq
Mathematical expression: p= =  = vi
dt dq dt
i i

+ +

v v

– –
Passive sign convention
P = +vi p = –vi
absorbing power supplying power
45
 ENERGY
▪Capacity to do work, measure in joules (J).

▪The electric power utility companies measure energy in watt-

hours (Wh)

1 𝑊ℎ=3,600 𝐽

EE104 – BASIC ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING

 SAMPLE PROBLEM 6
▪An energy source forces a constant current of 2 A for 10 s to flow through a
lightbulb. If 2.3 kJ is given off in the form of light and heat energy, calculate the
voltage drop across the bulb.
Solution:

Δ𝑄 = 𝑖Δ𝑡 = 2 𝑥 10 = 20 𝐶
Δ𝑤 2.3 𝑘𝐽
𝑣= = = 115 𝑉
Δ𝑞 20 𝐶

Answer: 𝟏𝟏𝟓 𝑽
 PRACTICE PROBLEM 3
If a nonlinear resistor has a voltage-current relation of 𝑉 = 3𝐼2 + 4,
what current does it draw when energized by 61 V? Also, what
power does it absorb?

I = 4.36 A; P = 266 W
 SAMPLE PROBLEM 7
▪Find the power delivered to an element at t = 3 ms if the current entering its
positive terminal is 𝑖=5 cos 60π𝑡 𝐴 and the voltage is v = 3i.
Solution:

𝑣 = 3𝑖 = 15 cos 60π 𝑡
𝑝 = 𝑣𝑖 = 75 cos 2 60π 𝑡
𝐴𝑡 𝑡 = 3 𝑚𝑠,
𝑝 = 53.48 𝑊

Answer: 𝟓𝟑. 𝟒𝟖 𝑾
 PRACTICE PROBLEM 4
What is the greatest voltage that can be applied across a 0.125-W,
2.7 MΩ resistor without causing it to overheat?

V = 581 volts