ELECTRICAL CIRCUIT DC

BASIC CONCEPTS
TOPIC 1

A. Charge,

Current and
Voltage

Electrical Charge

An electrical property of matter that

exists because of an excess or

deficiency of electrons
Symbolized by Q
A force acts between charges
This force, called an electric field,

Figure 2: Force between Charges

consists of invisible lines of force

Figure 3: Electric field between two

oppositely charged surface

Coulomb: The unit of Charge

Q is measured in coulomb, C
1 C = 6.25 x 1018 electrons
1 electron = 1.6 x 10-19 C
The total charge, Q, expressed in coulombs, for

a given number of electrons is stated in the

following formula:

number of electron
Q
18
6.25 10 e / C
4

Voltage

The amount of energy per charge available to move

electrons from one point to another in an electric circuit.

The formula for voltage is:

Voltage (unit: volt, V)

W
V
Q

Work (unit: joules, J)

Charge (unit: coulombs, C)

One volt is the potential difference (voltage) between two

points when one joule of energy is used to move one

coulomb of charge from one point to another
5

Voltage Sources

Voltage Sources

 Voltage is like differential

pressure,
always measure between two
points.

Measure voltage between two

points
or across a component in a
circuit.

Figure 4: Voltmeter
7

When measuring DC voltage

make
sure polarity of meter is correct,
positive (+) red, negative (-)

Current [1]

Current [1]

Uniform flow of electrons thru a circuit,

is called Current
Symbolized by I

Q
I
t

Current
(unit: Ampere, A)

Figure 5: Illustration of charge

Formula:

Charge
(unit:
Coulomb,
C)

Time
(unit: second, s)

Figure 6: Illustration of 1 A of current

(1 C/s) in a material
8

Current [2]
2 types of current

(a)

Direct current (DC)

A current that remains
constant with time
Figure 8 (a): Direct current

Alternating current
(b)
Figure 7: Flow notation of (a) electron
(b) conventional
9

WILL USE CONVENTIONAL FLOW

Pn Shareen Adlina
NOTATION
ON ALL SCHEMATICS

(AC)
a current that varies

sinusoidally with time

Figure 8 (b): Alternating current

BASIC ELECTRICAL MEASURING

INSTRUMENTS
Voltmeter MEASURE VOLTAGE
AMMETER MEASURE CURRENT
OHMMETER MEASURE RESISTANCE
MULTIMETER MEASURE VOLTAGE,CURRENT AND

RESISTANCE

Analog meter
Digital multimeter

10

Measurement
Measuring resistance

Measuring current

(a)
Measuring voltage

(c)
Figure 10: measure (a) current
(b) voltage and (c) resistance

11

(b)

B. Resistor Elements

THANK YOU
Q&A